Overall crime in the region continues on a downward trend. This was especially true in the Maryland suburbs, when crimes against people dropped 20 percent between 1998 and 1999. While Virginia's crime rate may be lower, it's easier for people there to get guns, according to Handgun Control. The minimum age for handgun possession in Virginia is 18, compared with 21 in Maryland. There is no waiting period to acquire a firearm in Virginia, whereas Maryland has a seven-day waiting period for handguns, stricter background checks, and a ban on assault weapons.
Kids are also likely to be safer around guns in Maryland.
The legislature last year required locks on handguns sold in Maryland, starting in 2003. Virginia is nearly as liberal with the death penalty as it is with gun sales, according to Death Penalty Information Center. By the end of last year, Virginia had 81 executions since 1976, the second highest in the nation, just behind Texas. There were three executions in Maryland during the same period. Virginia, which has the nation's swiftest move from sentence to execution, has 29 inmates on death row, compared with 16 in Maryland.