Maryland Shall Issue – Update January 2011
Hearing for HB-9: Regulated Firearms – License Issued By Delaware, Pennsylvania or Virginia – Reciprocity
Remember that the hearing for HB-9, sponsored by Delegate Michael Smigiel (R-36) will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, January 25 at 1:00pm in the House Judiciary Committee.
We gave you the plan of action in the last Update. If you’ve not yet made your calls and sent your letters and emails, please do so today.
Live hearings on the web
Earlier this week, we told you that the hearings will now be accessible in real time on the web. You can access those links in the tool bar to the right of this email.
In this Update, let’s consider the application of this technology as pertained to strategy and how this technology changes the timbre of the hearing process.
Until now, the hearing process has been somewhat insular and both the members of the committees and the witnesses who are testifying have been able to engage in the “theater of the legislature” with impunity. Veterans of the legislative sausage making process have witnessed the propensity for members of the committee to leave the room for long periods of time when the testimony doesn’t suit them. We’ve also witnessed the tendency for witnesses to misrepresent the facts to advance their agenda.
That all ends now. With the ability to have live interaction with not only the committee members but also your MSI representatives, we can drive the discussion through email, Facebook and Twitter. We can also ensure that committee members do their jobs and stay for our testimony instead of checking out of the hearings.
Attempts to Restrict Magazine Capacity
The policy of never letting a good tragedy go to waste is apparently in play at both the federal and state level.
We told you on January 15th about Congresswoman McCarthy’s bill proposal. You can continue to read about it here. You’ll notice that it prohibits the transfer of the magazines, thus preventing them from being sold or even given away. The good news is that it has little chance of advancing in the current climate in Washington.
A greater threat comes from the office of Senator Brian Frosh, who is gathering cosponsors for his own bill that would limit magazine capacity to 10 rounds in Maryland. With the balance of power in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee having tipped against us as a result of the November election, we have to face the fact that this is going to be a tough fight. We’ll keep you informed once the bill is introduced.
Incidentally, the word is that Senator Frosh is going to reintroduce a bill that shares at least some, if not all, of the language from his SB645 from last year. We’ll keep our eyes open for this one as well.
New Mailing Address
Please take note of our new mailing address, effective immediately:
1332 Cape Saint Claire Rd. #342
Annapolis, Maryland 21409
Do NOT use “PO Box” as part of the address.
Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.240-446-6782
Mission Statement: Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners’ rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that ‘shall issue’ laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime.
I emailed gov o'malley and told him after watching legislative session on hb – 9 i felt the msp should not issue or deny concealed carry permits on the basis they themselves addmitted they could not define "good and substantial reason" yet they still issue and deny permits, i dont get it! I would love to see a normal citizen do something like this concerning the law. It was great when a lady on the panel ask them if they could define good and substantial and the msp replied no and then she ask – how are you issueing permits… Read more »