Maryland, No 2A Rally Wednesday – Just Hearings & Testimony

All actions requested below are 2A FlashMob Approved, anyone attending will automatically qualify for their own FREE 2A Mob Patch.

Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association
Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association

Maryland –-(Ammoland.com)-  This is to remind you about the upcoming Gun Bill Day in the Senate this coming Wednesday, February 26 2014.

2nd Amendment supporting Maryland Senators have introduced seven “good” gun bills identified below which we think are worthy of (y)our support.  There are also three bills on which Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association ( MSRPA ) takes no position either way.  And finally, there is one bill (SB353) which we oppose and we hope that you do likewise.

While previous emails and website postings suggested that there would be a Lawyers Mall rally on Wednesday, please be advised that there are NO plans at this point for rally.  MSRPA and our fellow gun rights organization Maryland Shall Issue, the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore and, of course, NRA-ILA feel that we demonstrated on Feb 4th (2ATuesday) that gun rights supporters in Maryland are not going away after passage of the Firearms Safety Act of 2013 (the infamous SB281) and that we will continue to fight against any infringements of our 2nd Amendment rights in the Free State.

We are all quite aware of the infringements resulting from passage of the Firearm Safety Act of 2013. Gun rights supporting members of the minority party in the Senate, along with the support of some members of the majority party, have proposed numerous bills to repeal the Act or to amend some of the outrageous facets of the Firearms Safety Act of 2013.

The following bills will have a hearing on Wednesday, February 26 2014:

No Position
(SB164)- Crimes – Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Crime – Diminution Credits and Sentencing. Senators Brochin, Feldman, Getty, and Pugh
Prohibiting the earning of diminution credits to reduce the term of confinement of an inmate committed to the custody of the Commissioner of Correction or sentenced to a term of imprisonment in a local correctional facility who is serving a sentence for the use of specified firearms in the commission of specified crimes; prohibiting a court from suspending any part of a specified mandatory minimum sentence; and applying the Act prospectively.
~~In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

No Position
(SB248)- Criminal Law – Use of Handgun in Crime of Violence or Felony – Statute of Limitations Senators Frosh, Madaleno, and Raskin This is cross filed with the house in HB286
Providing that a person who violates a specified provision of law prohibiting using a firearm in the commission of a crime of violence or felony is not covered by the 1-year statute of limitations for a misdemeanor.
~~In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

No Position
(SB283)- Public Safety – Handgun Permit Background Check – Armored Car Company Employees Senators Jennings, Brochin, Hershey, Jacobs, Klausmeier, and Shank
Authorizing the Secretary of State Police to accept a background check from an armored car company in place of a criminal history records check performed by the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services under specified circumstances.
Senate: Hearing Judicial Proceedings – 2/26

Oppose
(SB353)- Criminal Law – Deadly Weapons on School Property – Public and Private Schools Senators Manno, Benson, Conway, Currie, Ferguson, Forehand, Frosh, Kasemeyer, King, Madaleno, McFadden, Middleton, Montgomery, Muse, Peters, Pugh, Raskin, Robey, and Zirkin
Prohibiting a person from carrying or possessing a deadly weapon on public or private school property; and extending specified exceptions that allow the carrying or possession of a deadly weapon on public school property to private school property.
Senate: Hearing Judicial Proceedings – 2/26

Support
(SB584)- Public Safety – Handgun Identification Requirements – Repeal: Senator Astle
Repealing a provision of law requiring specified firearms manufacturers and dealers and the Department of State Police to take specified actions relating to identification of handguns.
~~In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

Support
(SB728)- Public Safety – Licensed Firearms Dealers – Background Checks Senators Jacobs, Brinkley, Colburn, Getty, Glassman, and Kittleman
Authorizing, before October 1, 2016, a licensed firearm dealer to conditionally sell, rent, or transfer a firearm to a firearm applicant under specified circumstances; prohibiting the licensee from selling, renting, or transferring the firearm under specified circumstances; requiring the licensee to make specified notifications under specified circumstances; authorizing a law enforcement agency to confiscate a specified firearm under specified circumstances; and terminating the Act at the end of September 30, 2016.
In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

Support
(SB729)- Public Safety – Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun – Qualifications Senators Jacobs, Astle, Brinkley, Colburn, Dyson, Edwards, Getty, Glassman, Hershey, Jennings, Klausmeier, Mathias, Reilly, Shank, Simonaire, and Stone.
Clarifying that self-defense can qualify as a good and substantial reason to wear, carry, or transport a handgun for purposes of the issuance by the Secretary of State Police of a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun.
In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

Support
(SB731)- Department of State Police – Firearms – Prohibition on Provision of Information Senators Jacobs, Astle, Brinkley, Colburn, Dyson, Edwards, Getty, Glassman, Hershey, Jennings, Klausmeier, Reilly, Shank, Simonaire, and Stone.
Requiring the Secretary of State Police to keep specified information confidential; and prohibiting the Secretary from providing specified information to any other agency, entity, or individual, except as necessary to participate in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System.
In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

Support
(SB758)- Assault Weapons – Firearms Collector – Possession Senators Jacobs, Brinkley, Colburn, DeGrange, Dyson, Edwards, Getty, Glassman, Hershey, Jennings, Klausmeier, Middleton, Reilly, Shank, Simonaire, and Stone.
Establishing that specified provisions of law prohibiting the possession of specified assault weapons are not applicable to the possession of up to four assault weapons by a specified designated firearms collector or person who holds a specified federal collector’s license
In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

Support
(SB768)- Regulated Firearms – License Issued by Another State – Reciprocity Senators Getty, Brinkley, Colburn, Edwards, Glassman, Hershey, Jacobs, Jennings, Reilly, Shank, and Simonaire.
Specifying that a license issued by another state to an individual to carry a regulated firearm, including a concealed regulated firearm, is valid in Maryland
In the Senate – Hearing 2/26 at 1:00 p.m.

Support
(SB974)- Public Safety – Regulated Firearms – Transport Through State Senators Jacobs, Astle, Brinkley, Colburn, DeGrange, Dyson, Edwards, Getty, Glassman, Hershey, Jennings, Klausmeier, Middleton, Reilly, Simonaire, and Stone.
Cross-filed with: HB0659
Status: In the Senate – First Reading Senate Rules (This bill will not be heard on the 26th as of now, it has not been scheduled yet.)

As of this point, note that there is one bill that MSRPA has an “Oppose position” on: SB353 listed above. There are, however, seven other bills that need your support. Please come and show your support for these bills and our 2nd Amendment supporting Senators that put these forward.

It is our hope that many of you will plan on attending and testifying on behalf of these bills. As has occurred in past years, due to the number of firearm related bills that will be heard you will probably be given only 3 minutes to testify for one or all of the bills.

I would like to suggest even if you plan on testifying orally, that you prepare written testimony in which you may address each bill more thoroughly than what a 3 minute period will allow for.

Please be sure that you address each bill on a separate piece of paper noting at the top of the page the bill number and the words, “IN FAVOR” or “AGAINST”. You will need to provide the committee with 20 copies of each piece of testimony which will need to be turned in prior to 12 noon.

For those of you, who cannot attend the hearing, please be sure to contact the members of the Judicial Proceedings Committee to let your voices be heard:

Location of Hearings

The Senate’s standing committee rooms are in the Miller Senate Building. House standing committee rooms are in the House Office Building.

Judicial Proceedings – 2 East Miller Senate Building, 410-841-3623

Map of State Building Locations

For those of you, who have never been to Annapolis to testify for a bill or visit a legislator, you may find this map helpful as it shows all the building locations.

Entrance into State Government Buildings

To enter into any State Government Building it is necessary that you have on hand a picture identification card. You will be asked to walk through a detector as will any items that you are carrying will be screened.

Hearings in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee begin at 1:00PM. If you will be submitting written testimony, you must provide 20 copies and submit it by 11:30AM. If you plan to give oral testimony, you must be signed up by 12:00PM. Please read this information on giving testimony at the hearing: Witness Guidelines and Committee FAQ’s https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/pubs-current/current-jpr-faqs.pdf

Members and contact information of the Senate Judiciary
https://actionmail.ksconline.net/ We cannot stress this enough: be respectful of the committee and your surroundings. Remember that this hearing is a legal proceeding and its chairman, Senator Brian Frosh, is effectively the judge presiding over it. We may have deeply rooted philosophical disagreements with him and some of the committee members, but they are all deserving of respect. Please don’t be the person who instantly becomes a sound bite for the other side.

The parking situation in downtown Annapolis during the work week is always very difficult. It will be particularly troublesome tomorrow. You are strongly encouraged to forget about parking downtown and head for the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium, located off of Taylor Avenue at Rowe Boulevard. Parking in the main lot is $5. A shuttle service will bring you to the Senate building and drop you off at the lot. This service is $2 each way and will run until 9PM. If you are of a mind to do so, it is roughly a one mile walk from the parking lot to the Senate building.

Rather than reinvent the wheel on our website, we ask instead that you visit and pay attention to MSI’s website (https://marylandshallissue.com) and Facebook/Twitter pages for breaking news and updates.  If using Twitter, use hash tag #MD2A.  Also, the Legislative Action pages of the Associated Gun clubs of Baltimore provide similar information regarding the bills and other information regarding Senate Gun Bill Day.

Signing-Up and Preparation for Testifying

The sign-up sheet is placed outside the hearing room at 9 a.m. Please see below the cut-off time for signing up by committee on the day you are testifying. (The earlier you sign-up, the earlier you will be called up to testify.) You will need to provide your name, address, email address, telephone number and will be asked to indicate if your testimony for the bill is favorable, unfavorable or favorable with amendments. You may also need to indicate if you intend to verbally testify or that you wish to hand in your testimony.   It is recommended that if you are giving verbal testimony that you have written testimony as well. Please be sure that on the top of your written testimony indicates the bill number clearly up in the right hand corner – (i.e. SB-000) and indicate below that if your position is favorable, unfavorable or favorable with amendments. You will need to have the appropriate number of copies for the following S enate Committees:

 

Judicial Proceedings – sign-in will be available until 12:45 p.m. and requires you provide 20 copies of your testimony to be turned in by noon.

 

Helpful Hints

Arrive early. Getting to a hearing early will give you the chance to sign the witness sheet and become comfortable with the surroundings;

Introduce yourself. When speaking to a committee, clearly identify yourself and the organization you represent, if any. Then clearly state your position on the bill;

Don’t be intimidated. The General Assembly is a citizen legislature. Legislators want to hear what constituents have to say. State your case clearly and in simple terms as you would to anyone. There are no “rights or wrongs” in testifying;

Be brief. Make your points as concisely as possible, be prepared to limit your testimony if necessary, and try not to repeat testimony offered by previous witnesses. Provide specific information about your position. For example, legislators may want to know what has been done in other states, what the cost might be, and what groups support or oppose your position;

Be prepared to answer questions. The best way to make your case is to provide straightforward answers to legislators’ questions. If you don’t know the answer, say so. Then, if possible, find the answer and relay it later.   Generally, refrain from asking questions of committee members since public hearings are directed toward providing them with information on the legislation under consideration; and

Provide summaries. A concise written summary or clearly written letter is an effective way to further explain your position. Be sure to provide the required number of copies of your written material to committee staff prior to the start of the hearing.

https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/webmga/frmMain.aspx?id=guns&stab=01&pid=narrowsubjpage&tab=subject3&ys=2014RS

Can’t  get to Annapolis to testify at the hearings?

If you cannot testify in person, by all means send letters, emails and make phone calls to demonstrate your support of or opposition to any of the bills.  The easiest way to send emails is to use the AGC “E-Mail your legislator system” at https://www.associatedgunclubs.org/lesagreement.php

For letters and phone calls, refer to the list at the link shown below for addresses and phone numbers. https://www.associatedgunclubs.org/legislative/2014_Session/2014_Senate_Judicial_Committee.pdf

Looking for Lunch or Dinner on Gun Bill Day?

Check out the Chilis in Annapolis for lunch or dinner. Bring a copy of the flyer below and Chilis will donate 20% of your check to Maryland Shall Issue.  Arrangements courtesy of Maryland Shall Issue.

MSI Chili’s Flyer

 

Bill Palk                                                          Meg Clarke
Chairman                                                        President
Board of Directors

About:
The Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA) is the flagship Gun Rights organization in and for the State of Maryland. The Association offers both individual and club memberships. Support of the shooting disciplines and legislative activities is primarily through a systems of committees. All participants are volunteers.

2A Mob Approved
2A Mob Approved

In the face of a near tidal wave of citizen disarmament occurring in Maryland, the MSRPA has played a critical part in drawing the line and standing firm for Gun Rights. Without this resistance, things would have been much worse and been so much sooner. Now the objective is to continue to develop new activists with numerous individual skills who will help us bring Maryland into line with the rest of the states which have made strong gains in protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. Visit: www.msrpa.org

About 2A Flashmob: 
In an effort to motivate gun owners and Second Amendment Supporters to show up in person at important events and rallies AmmoLand Shooting Sports News is giving away FREE 2A Flashmob Patches to anyone who attends a protest, rally, open carry event, committee hearing at your state capital or a Moveon.org counter protest. (You may already be eligible)

Spread the word, get out, get active!

https://www.ammoland.com/2a-flashmob-patches/