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Wednesday, February 06, 2013

We Can Reduce Gun Violence Without Infringing On Law Abiding Gun Owners’ Rights

Gun safety experts, as well as most Marylanders, agree that these are common sense steps we can take to keep families safe and reduce gun violence in Maryland. Nevertheless, there are some, including gun manufacturers, who will oppose any and all efforts to put safety measures in place. They will use scare tactics and misinformation in order to stir up fear and generate opposition to the Governor’s initiatives.
Let me set the record straight:

(1) Our Gun Safety Proposals Are Not Aimed At Hunters and Sportsmen. The Governor understands and respects the traditions of hunters and sportsmen in Maryland. That’s why we explicitly carve out shotguns and rifles from the licensing requirements of our bill.

(2) Our Gun Safety Proposals Would Not Ban Handguns. The bill would not prevent law-abiding Marylanders who want to purchase a handgun to protect themselves or their families from doing so. Our goal is to prevent criminals from getting guns by using straw purchasers, so the bill creates certain licensing requirements for purchasing a handgun. But law-abiding citizens would still be permitted to purchase and own handguns.

(3) Our Gun Safety Proposals Are Consistent with the Constitution. Maryland’s Attorney General analyzed the proposals and determined that they are “constitutional under the Second Amendment,” that “law-abiding gun owners have nothing to fear,” and that our proposals “do not allow for confiscation of guns nor could they” under Supreme Court precedent.http://www.oag.state.md.us/Press/2013/012913.html

The lobbyists for the gun manufacturers want to preserve the status quo and block even common sense gun safety measures. They will spread falsehoods in order to create unwarranted fear. Know the facts: the licensing requirements don’t affect shotguns and rifles, we don’t ban handguns, and the proposals are consistent with the Constitution.

For more information on the bill, click here: http://governor.maryland.gov/publicsafetypackage.pdf

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Are you aware that there is a rally in Annapolis right now that should be doing a story on.

JoeAlbero said...

Are you suggesting I should be in Annapolis right now covering that story?

Perhaps you haven't noticed ALL of the Posts I have published in the last hour on this matter.

Anonymous said...

So they put out a half ass statements that look reasonable to Joe no nothing citizen. But if you read the real bill you will find its nothing like this. check this one out if a person wants to buy a handgun its still possible YA RIGHT to a person making minimum wage the licence to be able to buy one is almost as much as the handgun BS his affords are a money
making plan for the state of MD only

Anonymous said...

I have an email chain going with Mikulski. She used the same verbage regarding hunters and sportsmen. Americans have the right to bear arms... not the right to go hunting, not the right to protect our families, etc. It's the right to bear arms, and according to our founders... It shall not be infringed. What part don't they get?

Anonymous said...

Let's really set the record straight:
Point 1 is bull. This is a divide and conquer tactic, make the hunters and sportsmen think that we’re only going after the “scary” guns so that they won’t complain when we take the others’ guns. We’ll come back and get theirs later on in the next round of anti-gun bills. Never mind the fact that the hunters and sportsmen are among the enthusiasts that own the “scary” guns.

Point 2 is also bull. Straw purchasing is already a crime. Creating a database of owners that are “licensed” to own only gives the state a list of doors to knock on first when they decide it’s time that they want to start confiscating. And if the licensing requirements are too expensive and gun owners decide that they’ll give up their guns before we come around to confiscate, all the better.

Point 3, you guessed it, bull again. ANY requirement or obstacle (fee, tax, whatever you want to call it) is NOT consistent with the constitution. Any hoop you must jump through placed between you and your 2nd amendment RIGHT is UNCONSTITUTIONAL. you CANNOT create requirements that have to be met before you can exercise a right you already have under the constitution! They can say they have no plans for confiscation (PLAN B perhaps), because their PLAN A is to make gun ownership so expensive and regulatory compliance such a hassle that you give them up before they come to get them. (see point 2 above)

the governors plan in its entirety is HOT AIR and will do nothing to reduce crime!

Anonymous said...

The Bills are lies, propaganda and void of FACTS. These Progressives lie cheat and steal for their agenda, to attack and destroy the 2nd A, when it is destroyed the rest of our rights crumble like dust. An infringement is an attack, an attack against the Bill of Rights is an attack against We the People, its an act of WAR. There are hundreds of thousands of people at the House testifying AGAINST these Bills yet zero news coverage! A news black-out! All we are ALLOWED to see are the letters from progressive terrorist in support of these bills that Joe post.

lmclain said...

QUIT framing the issue as a matter of HUNTING. The Constitution does NOT mention hunting and the Founding Fathers didn't either. But, they DID write a LOT about the citizens being able to resist and "throw off" the bounds (kill the politicians) of an oppressive regime. Every politician who says these things should be called out as a total idiot who swore to defend another document he has never read. The only "hunting" going on should be THEM "hunting" for a safe place to hide.

Anonymous said...

The bill is VERY discriminatory to lower income people. The fee's and taxes associated with owning a gun are prohibitive. Not to mention having to jump through O'Malley's hoops every few years for evaluation and re-certification.
NO NEW GUN LAWS! Period.

Anonymous said...

Throw gun owners in jail if their guns are used by others to commit crimes. Mrs Lanza should be in jail.

Anonymous said...

Why is "gun" violence more important than any other kind of violence that exists? What am I missing? Is there any proof out there that people prone to violent behaviour are going to suddenly become peaceful if firearms aren't available to them?
Wouldn't it make more sense to focus on reducing violence period?
This won't happen though because for the most part politicians are spineless lying wonders. They will never speak the truth about violence which the cause lies in the moral decline of society.
Most politicians care about one thing and one thing only and that's getting re-elected and to offend a portion of their voter base would make them persona non grata.
This is why most politicians are deserving of only disrespect and to be looked down on.

Anonymous said...

Guns arn't the problem the goverment is.