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"A
legislative act contrary to the Constitution is not law."
-- Justice
John Marshall
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2009
Session has ended!
QUICK REVIEW
OF KEY BILLS
HERE.
Most (but not
all!) bills are at these links:
SELF DEFENSE
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GUNS *
Weapons
*
HUNTING
VIDEO: The British want
their guns back! |
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DirectionS TO
HEARINGS | FIND
YOUR
LEGISLATORS
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written
testimony:
HOUSE - Submit 35 copies by 11:00 AM;
senate - SUBMIT 20 COPIES by noon |
ALERT: Effective
August 1, 2007, the state police require access to
individuals' private medical records prior to any regulated firearm purchase
(includes all handguns). The Maryland State Police state
"If the MSP Form 774-3 is not submitted with the application
it will not be processed and the application will be
administratively disapproved." Find the form at
http://www.mdsp.org/downloads/77R-3.pdf
To read the HIPAA policy on medical records privacy, see
http://www.hhs.gov/ocr/hipaa/privacy.html
FBI National Instant Criminal Background
Check System (NICS)
FBI Research Resources, including Crime Statistics
FBI Preliminary Semiannual
Uniform Crime Report for 2007,
released January 7, 2008
More than 20,000 laws restricting firearms
already exist in the U.S., and most of them are ineffective,
waste resources, and only succeed in turning more law-abiding citizens into criminals with the stroke
of a pen.
Please
testify and/or offer written testimony in Annapolis, or contact
your legislators if you are unable to attend.
MORE INFORMATION: Find current Maryland legislative
information at
NRA-ILA. Details about Maryland concealed carry permits
and related legislation are located at
Maryland Shall Issue. Extensive
Maryland legislative resources are located at
AGC Legislation.
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2009
Session Key Bills
Contact your state
legislators
TODAY via snailmail (preferred), phone,
fax, or email!
"The bias in professional journalism against
the Second Amendment is alarming, and
if it does not concern newsmen and their editors, it should."--Dave
Workman, Examiner
SAS
SUPPORTS
**HOUSE BILL 332
(crossfiled with SB 420) - CASTLE DOCTRINE-CIVIL IMMUNITY -
Would prevent a criminal or his/her family from filing a civil
suit against a victim who legally injures or kills the criminal
during a violent attack. A similar bill had wide support for the past
four (4) years (inclusive), but
Senator Frosh barred it from coming to a vote in Senate Judicial
Proceedings, clearly denying the democratic process and also
supporting criminals' interests over those of law-abiding women
and people with disabilities. Senator Frosh says the bill
is "flawed" but has repeatedly failed to help citizens write a
bill he could support.
DIED IN CHAIRMAN FROSH'S DESK DRAWER.
**HOUSE
BILL 359 (crossfiled with SB 586)- HANDGUN
PERMIT - Victim of domestic violence with protective order
has good and substantial reason for issuance. Doesn't
go far enough (see HB 470), since all citizens should be able to
protect themselves from violent criminals who perpetrate crimes
such as car-jacking, violent assault, and public abduction.
Failed Judiciary.
**HOUSE
BILL 470 - HANDGUN PERMITS - REPEAL OF FINDING
REQUIREMENT. Would allow Maryland's existing "shall
issue" law to stand without arbitrary police power to deny
citizens their rights. All women and men should be
free to exercise their right to self defense. Crime
statistics show CCW permitholders are less likely to commit
crimes than the general population, and the rate of rapes is
lower in those states where women may carry.
Unfavorable vote.
HB 682 (crossfiled
with SB 485) Handgun Permits - Federal Flight Deck Officers.
Requiring the Secretary of State
Police to issue a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun
within a reasonable time to an applicant who can provide
documentation that the applicant has successfully completed the
Federal Flight Deck Officer Program of the Transportation
Security Administration of the United States Department of
Homeland Security and has been authorized to use a firearm to
defend against an act of criminal violence or air piracy.
Unfavorable vote.
**SENATE BILL 420
(crossfiled with HB 332)
Would prevent a
criminal or his/her family from filing a civil suit against a
victim who legally injures or kills the criminal during a
violent attack. Currently, a
woman who harms or kills a brutal rapist in her home may incur
enormous costs, even if she wins a suit brought by the attacker or his
family. We would like to see Senator Frosh sponsor a
"good" bill so law-abiding citizens can defend their families
without the fear of a civil suit. A similar bill
had wide support for the past 4 years (inclusive), but Senator Frosh barred it from
coming to a vote in Senate Judicial Proceedings, clearly denying
the democratic process and also supporting criminals' interests
over the rights of law-abiding women and people with disabilities.
DIED IN CHAIRMAN FROSH'S DESK DRAWER.
SENATE BILL 447 -
SWAT TEAM ACTIVATION AND DEPLOYMENT REPORTS.
SUPPORT.
Passed.
Thank you, legislators!
SENATE BILL 485 (crossfiled
with HB 682) -
HANDGUN PERMITS - FEDERAL FLIGHT DECK OFFICERS.
Unfavorable vote.
**SB 586
(crossfiled with HB 359) - HANDGUN PERMITS - VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC
VIOLENCE.
All citizens should be
able to protect themselves from violent criminals who perpetrate
crimes such as car-jacking, violent assault, and public
abduction. Unfavorable.
**SB
746 - Public Safety -
Citizens Self-Defense Act.
Adding self-defense as a
"good and substantial reason" for the Secretary of State Police
to issue a permit to a person to wear, carry, or transport a
handgun. Restrictions based on age, criminal record, and mental
health would still apply. One has to ask, even if Senate Bill
586 passes, what does a victim of domestic violence do to
protect him/herself once a restraining order is lifted?
Burn victim Yvette
Cade would still have no reasonable means of self defense. This
bill also is essential for nurses and others who must travel in
isolated areas or at night.
Senate: Judicial Proceedings
WITHDRAWN.
SAS
OPPOSES
Overview: SAS opposes
all "cookie cutter justice" legislation that
rigidly applies law without providing judges discretion to
act reasonably based on the facts of a given case or that do
not provide a remedy for reclaiming private property or its
value.
Many "surrender of firearms" bills fall in this category. Further,
the
National Academy of Sciences and Centers for Disease Control
both found that no research has demonstrated that gun
control laws reduced crime.
HOUSE BILL
353 (crossfiled with SB 551) -
Public
Institutions of Higher Education - Firearms, Knives, and
Deadly Weapons - Prohibition.
WOULD DENY MEANS OF SELF-DEFENSE TO
ADULT LAW-ABIDING STUDENTS WITH CCW PERMITS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES.
At Appalachian Law School and New Life Church, individuals
stopped mass murderers with firearms. At Virginia Tech
and Luby's restaurant, no one was armed, and many were
murdered as a result.
Unfavorable. Thank you, legislators!
HOUSE BILL 1309 - Natural
Resources Hunting - Expansion of Safety Zone.
Extending the hunter safety zone, within which specified
persons are prohibited from discharging a weapon or
hunting or chasing birds or mammals without permission,
from 150 to 300 yards from buildings occupied by human
beings. This bill is a knee-jerk reaction to a
very rare situation.
Unfavorable. Thank you, delegates, for opposing
this bill!
HOUSE
BILL 1446 - Sales of Ammunition - Records.
Sponsored By: Chair, Judiciary Committee (By Request -
Departmental - State Police). Synopsis: Requiring a person
engaged in the business of selling ammunition to maintain
specified records of sales of ammunition; requiring a person who
purchases ammunition to present specified identification;
requiring the Secretary of State Police to adopt specified
regulations; establishing a civil penalty for a violation of the
Act; etc. This is simply a
backdoor registration scheme, which Canada tried and has
decided, after a longitudinal study, wasted taxpayer funds that
should have been spent on more police officers.
The Centers for Disease Control, National
Academy of Sciences, and recent university studies have found no
reduction in crime resulting from such laws. This
legislation would bring Maryland
closer to becoming a police state. WITHDRAWN.
Thank you, legislators!
HB 1501
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See section 5-608, which includes yet another backdoor
gun registration
scheme
(ammo
registration for ALL citizens, under the guise of
preventing sales to minors). Would also effectively end
youth recreational shooting. This is Prince George's
County, which already takes ammo with firearms under protective
orders--and steals it.
SAS STRONGLY
OPPOSES.
SENATE BILL 551 (crossfiled with HB 353)
WEAPON-FREE HIGHER EDUCATION ZONES.
At Appalachian Law School and New Life Church,
individuals stopped mass murderers with firearms. At
Virginia Tech and Luby's restaurant, no one was armed, and
many were murdered as a result.
Unfavorable.
Thank you, legislators!
**These
bills are essential for women's safety and need your
strongest support.
"Arms discourage and keep the
invader and plunderer in awe, and preserve order
in the
world as well as property... Horrid mischief would ensue
were the
law-abiding deprived of the use of them."
--Thomas Paine
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Directions to Annapolis senate and house locations:
The state buildings are easily accessible by shuttle from the
Navy Marine Corp Memorial Stadium at 550 Taylor Avenue,
Annapolis, Maryland (also accessible via
public transportation). From Route 50, take exit 24, Rowe Blvd.,
South towards Annapolis and the stadium. Go straight to the 2nd
light (pass the
stadium on your right) and take the first right, Taylor Avenue.
Turn right at Gate 5, the 5th driveway on the right (you'll see
a ticket booth). Parking is $5 for the entire day (please have
exact change ready as you enter) and shuttles run frequently. The shuttle driver can direct you to the senate or house
buildings at the "Lawyers Mall" stop on College St. The entrances are on
Bladen Street (facing away from Lawyers Mall courtyard down
Bladen Street) on the left for the senate and the right for the house.
Food is available, but it's a bit of a walk (especially at the
house) - and the eateries are very crowded at the lunch hour plan
ahead!). Babies and citizens of all ages are welcome, so
please bring them!
GOOGLE MAP
Public Transportation
(information on trains, subway, and buses).
QUESTIONS? |
Don't know who your
legislators are? Use a
map:
http://mdelect.net/electedofficials,
or
the General Assembly listings at
http://mlis.state.md.us/, or call
410-841-3000. Search for a
bill by number
here.
Civil Action email system
here
(BE RESPECTFUL! Beta system: please provide recommended enhancements to
webmaster!).
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"The only remedy for a bad guy
with a gun is a good guy with a gun."
--SD Rep. Thomas Brunner |
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