lowell melser, wbal tv-11 news. >> alright. thank you. for the first time since the shooting in connecticut, the national rifle association is commenting on the tragedy. the statement reads in part "it is shock, sadness, and are broken by the horrific and senseless murders in newtown." the nra said it wanted to wait before commenting to allow for morning, prayer, and a full investigation of the facts. it will hold a news conference on friday to offer meaningful contributions to make sure this never happens again. meanwhile, the shooting at sandy hook has raised questions about whether adequate mental health care is easily a sensible. access to mental health services is essential, but one expert says once a person gets too old for those services in school, he or she may slip through the cracks. >> there has been a reduction in the mental-health community. that whole system has become frayed and shredded over the years. there is no safety net in place. >> over the years, the profession has gotten better at diagnosing and prevention, but men

lowell melser is here on this windy day. >> the strongest wind gust was in frederick county, 51 miles an hour. 44 miles an hour at bwi. it has been a windy day. the good news is it is dying down. outside right now, it is very cold. we will have the insta-weather plus forecast after the break. >> here is your insta-weather forecast. >> it is a windy day. the current wind gusts are still in the greater baltimore area. things are in the 20-mile per hour range. same thing for the eastern shore. out west, they have had a lot of snow. i will show you what i am talking about in a second. current temperatures, 42 downtown. on the eastern shore, 39. when you combine the heavy wind which the temperatures, they feel about 10 degrees cooler. keep that in mind if you are heading out tonight. you will need a jacket definitely. high temperatures only around 26 to 32 degrees. clear, breezy, and cool. the wind will still be strong out of the west. 15 to 25 miles per hour. the current weather shows clearing conditions for most of the state except way out west where they are still seeing some of this lo

lowell melser joins us with more. >> the police and really began yesterday -- the pleas really began yester day in towson. you had county executives asking for a closer look at the state gun laws. >> gun violence is a public health epidemic. >> the baltimore county police chief who also chairs the national law enforcement partnership to prevent gun violence highlights what many are feeling around the state after the shootings in newtown, conn., and now the same elected officials are calling for new gun control laws. >> we must take immediate action to pursue reasonable gun safety legislation, not only in our state, but in our nation. >> over in howard county, they have formed a task force to look of school safety and mental health. also the current gun laws. >> hopefully, we can agree that there ought to be basic steps that can be taken to ensure that people are responsible in owning a weapon and take a look at what kind of weapons are appropriate to be on the street. >> senator barbara mikulski has called for it two-step approach, taking a look at the culture of violence and offerin

lowell melser has more. >> maryland woke up to this headline. "u.s.s aid to maryland storm victims." this is the picture of the face of maryland during the storm. >> senator barbara mikulski speaks wednesday at a senate appropriations subcommittee on capitol hill expressing sadness fema denied the state's request for individual residents of the lower eastern shore affected by superstorm sandy. also in attendance, senator ben carden who pointed out while the state was spared from devastation seen to the north, 30 inches of north fell in parts of garrett county to the west and areas around crisfield were destroyed by flooding. >> if you live in crisfield, maryland, you are suffering as badly as any community in this that are notmes habitable. >> both governor o'malley and n.e.m.a. director have pledged to appeal the denial. another lawmaker has said, "i cannot remember a public policy decision that more deeply grieved me than that of the denial of assistance to somerset counties, homes and businesses. as one of maryland's poorest communities and hit the

lowell melser caught up with a screen printer in columbia who has a deal with the nfl players' associationp with a shirt to celebrate the ravens' title. >> now that the ravens have locked up the a.f.c. north and are heading to the playoffs, more and more ravens gear is popping up. at fans only in columbia, they're busy printing their latest shirt titled "on top of the north." >> we picked some fan favorites. >> fans only recently got the rights from the nfl players' association to use ravens' players names on the shirts. this one includes suggs, flacco, ngata and pitta. >> during playoff runs, the town thances the players more normal. >> as far as the design, phil says he came up with it and his artist, a huge ravens fan, did the rest. >> he lives in south carolina but he's from dundalk and whenever we do ravens merchandise or ravens players, he puts a little extra in it because he knows a lot of people in town and he's a ravens fanatic. >> what's the public opinion of the shirt? >> what do you think of it? >> it looks took me. i think they should be the champions, don't you think? >> i wi