Maryland Shall Issue – Gun Owners Action Needed Now
Maryland ––(Ammoland.com)- Maryland Shall Issue has six steps for your to follow in support of Maryland Gun Owner Rights.
1. House Bill Summaries
Hearing Date: January 25, 2011
- •HB-9 – Regulated Firearms – License Issued Delaware, Pennsylvania, or Virginia – Reciprocity – STRONGLY SUPPORT
We gave you the action plan for this bill in the January 18th Update. See the hearing recap later in this issue.
Hearing Date February 1, 2011
- •HB91 – Courts-Bankruptcy-Arms – SUPPORT
Hearing Date February 9, 2011
- • HB-79 – Task Force to Study the Creation of a Maryland Center for School Safety – NO POSITION
No Hearing Scheduled Yet
- •HB-161 – Use of Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence or a Felony – NO POSITION AT THIS TIME
- Cross-filed as SB174
- •HB-172 – Criminal Law – Diminution Credits – Possession of a Regulated Firearm by Person Convicted of Crime of Violence – NO POSITION Cross filed as SB173
- •HB-241 – Criminal Law – Restrictions Against Use and Possession of Firearms – NO POSITION AT THIS TIME
- Crossfiled as SB240
- •HB-252 – Crimes – Possession of Loaded Handgun or Regulated Firearm – Enhanced Penalties – OPPOSE
- Crossfiled as SB239 – See below
2. Senate Bill Summaries
Hearing Date February 10, 2011
- •SB-161 – Regulated Firearms – Applications for Dealer’s License – Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements – OPPOSE
- •SB-162 – Firearms – Detachable Magazines – Maximum Capacity for Ammunition – STRONGLY OPPOSE
- •SB-173 – Criminal Law – Diminution Credits – Possession of a Regulated Firearm by Person Convicted of Crime of Violence – NO POSITION
- •SB-174 – Use of Firearm in the Commission of a Crime of Violence or a Felony – NO POSITION AT THIS TIME
- •SB-239 – Crimes – Possession of Loaded Handgun or Regulated Firearm – Enhanced Penalties – OPPOSE
- •SB-240 – Criminal Law – Restrictions Against Use and Possession of Firearms – NO POSITION AT THIS TIME
3. Action Plans for Bills
House Bills
- •HB9 – Go to the January 18th Update
- •HB91 – Send a short email to the House Judiciary Committee asking them to support H91 as it will exempt $2000.00 worth of firearms from execution of a judgment in a bankruptcy proceedings. This is not a high profile bill, but it does provide some extra protections for members of our community who are facing tough fiscal times.
- •HB252 – Send a an email to the House Judiciary Committee and express your opposition to HB252. This bill would levy the same punishments on someone who accidentally has a loaded firearm in their vehicle coming from the range as it does the hardened criminal intent on victimizing someone. Further it adds mandatory sentences of 18 months to 10 years with no parole for someone under 21 years of age who is in possession of “ammunition solely designed for a regulated firearm”. With only a very few exceptions, there is no ammo designed “solely” for use in a regulated firearm, This clause could lead to someone under the age of 21 being charged because a States Attorney interprets 9mm or .223 as being “solely” for use in a regulated firearm. This demonstrates that Maryland’s legislature is continuing to write law about a subject that even it can not understand.
Senate Bills
- •SB161 – This bill will effectively make all firearms in the state of Maryland subject to a recordation of sale and thus creating a database of these firearms that is available to the State Police. Currently, non-regulated firearms are not subject to recordation of sale in the manner that handguns or regulated long guns are since they are only done on form 4473 and not Maryland paperwork. This is a huge leap in the intrusion of the state into affairs where they have previously been unable to go. Given the anecdotal reports of the Maryland State Police using the recordation of sales of handguns to cross reference ammunition purchases and then paying midnight visits to gunowners’ homes, we are leery of granting any further powers to the state.
It also allows the State Police to inspect the inventory and records of a dealer at any time, thus creating potential for abuse by that agency whereas they could harass a dealer to the point that they could not conduct business.
What we need you to do: Contact the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and let them know that you oppose this blatant power grab that is an intrusion on Maryland gun owners and obstructive to Maryland gun dealers for the reasons outlined above.
- •SB162 – See the January 27th Update for the plan of action.
- •SB239 – See HB252 above for the details. Send an email to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee for the same reasons.
4. February 10 – Gun Day in the Senate
February 10 is shaping up to be the main event for the season in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. This is the day that we see Senator Frosh’s magazine ban bill heard as well as the other bills that we took positions on at the top of this Update.
Your letters, phone calls and emails leading up to that date are crucial as is your presence at the hearing. Even if you choose not to speak, your presence in the room still speaks volumes and it bolsters the resolve of your peers who do choose to speak.
5. Coming to a Hearing in Annapolis
We gave you the rundown of the process of attending a hearing back in the January 18th Update. Here’s the information again if you need it.
6. MSI Lapel Pins and Polo Shirts
Per your many requests, we’re making available some MSI gear that you can order for both everyday wear, working MSI events and attending the hearings in Annapolis. Keep your eyes open in the next couple of days as we’ll have a link available for you to order both.
1332 Cape Saint Claire Road #342
Annapolis, Maryland 21409
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.