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"A
legislative act contrary to the Constitution is not law."
-- Justice
John Marshall
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The Maryland 2010
legislative session
started January 13!
QUICK REVIEW
OF KEY BILLS
HERE.
Most (but not
all!) bills are at these links:
SELF-DEFENSE *
GUNS *
Weapons
*
HUNTING
VIDEO: The British want
their guns back!
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New!
Watch for
questionnaires in doctors' offices that ask about guns in the
home. You are not required by law to report this
information. Also, there is no law requiring that
ammunition purchasers record private information in logs.
Both of these infringements are ways to desensitize law-abiding
citizens to gradual loss of their rights, as well as being
carefully orchestrated steps in an agenda advocated by the
disarmament community.
ALERT: Effective
August 1, 2007, the state police require access to
individuals' private medical records prior to any regulated firearm purchase
(includes all handguns) without any supporting law. 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
Crime Statistics
FBI National Instant Criminal Background
Check System (NICS)
FBI Research Resources, including Crime Statistics
FBI Uniform Crime Reports
FBI Preliminary Semiannual
Uniform Crime Report for 2009,
released December 21, 2009
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. Thanks to
MCSM's
Bob Culver this a link to a Harvard Journal of Law & Public
Policy
article that "Confirms
that Reducing Gun Ownership by Law-Abiding Citizens Does Nothing
to Reduce Violence."
Please
testify and/or offer written testimony in Annapolis, or contact
your legislators if you are unable to attend.
written
testimony:
HOUSE - Submit 35 copies by 11:00 AM;
senate - SUBMIT 20 COPIES by noon.
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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2010
Session Key Bills
Special thanks to
AGC for descriptive information
regarding 2010 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
Overview: SAS supports bills that reflect
our natural right to keep and bear arms for self-defense as
guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
To "bear" means to carry on one's person. We think of
mothers who must travel alone at night for family emergencies,
especially on isolated roads and in high crime areas, as well as
nurses and other workers who must be out late at night because
of their jobs. And if someone enters our home or place of
business for the purpose of committing a criminal act, we should
be free to defend ourselves, knowing that if a criminal is hurt
or killed, we will not become subject to a civil lawsuit.
It is our right to keep and bear arms, and illegal acts by
government officials should not be tolerated by anyone who has
sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution.
HB-52
Sponsored by
Delegate Smigiel ,
Entitled: Regulated
Firearms - License Issued by Delaware, Pennsylvania, or Virginia
- Reciprocity.
Synopsis:
Specifying that a license to
carry a regulated firearm, including a concealed regulated
firearm, issued by Delaware, Pennsylvania, or Virginia to an
individual is valid in Maryland.
**HB-207
Sponsored by Delegate
William Frank (R-42), Entitled: Civil Immunity -
Wednesday, February 3, at 1:00 p.m., House Judiciary Committee.
Synopsis: HB207 would provide civil immunity to a person who
uses force, including deadly force, against someone who enters
their dwelling or business with the intent to commit first,
second or third degree burglary or a crime of violence.
Please contact the members of the House Judiciary Committee
TODAY and respectfully urge them to support your
right to self-defense by voting in favor of HB207. Email
contact
here
(highlight all names in list).
HB 683 Public Safety -
Handgun Permits - Repeal of Finding Requirement
Repealing the requirement that the Secretary of State Police
find that a person has a good and substantial reason to wear,
carry, or transport a handgun before issuing a handgun permit to
the person.
(STRONGLY SUPPORT)
SB 22 Criminal Law -
Prohibitions on Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Firearms -
Exceptions
Establishing an exception to the prohibition
against wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun or
other regulated firearm for a person who is carrying a
specified court order requiring the surrender of the handgun
or other regulated firearm and who is in the immediate
process of surrendering the handgun or other regulated
firearm to law enforcement; etc.
(SB 22 is pro-gun rights only because protects persons who
have been ordered to surrender their firearms from being
arrested and prosecuted for transporting firearms in order
to surrender them as has happened in Prince George's County)
(SUPPORT)
SB 386
Victims of
Crime - Burglary and Crimes of Violence - Civil Immunity
Providing that a person is not liable for damages for a
personal injury or death of an individual who enters the
person's dwelling or place of business with the intent to
commit specified crimes under specified circumstances; etc.
(SUPPORT)
SB 411 Defense of
Dwelling or Place of Business - Civil Immunity
Providing that a person is not liable for damages for a
personal injury or death of an individual who enters the
person's dwelling or place of business under specified
circumstances; requiring the court to award costs and
reasonable attorney's fees to a specified defendant;
defining the term "person", as it is used in the Act, to not
include a governmental entity; providing for the application
of the Act; etc.
(SUPPORT)
SAS
OPPOSES
Overview: SAS opposes
any bill that infringes on our natural right to keep and bear arms for
self-defense as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the
U.S. Constitution. We oppose
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.
SB 645 & HB
820 Firearm Safety Act of 2010.
These bills are
cross filed (identical) bills in the House and the Senate.
Despite the politically correct bill titles, they are not
about safety. They are about gun owner control.
The sole purpose of these bills is to discourage the
ownership of handguns by increasing the cost, establishing a
series of hurdles that citizens must negotiate, providing
the Maryland State Police (MSP) with more ways to deny a
handgun purchase, and enabling the MSP to build a database
of rifle and shotgun owners via dealer records.
(STRONGLY OPPOSE)
SB 191
Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones.
Prohibiting the
carrying or possession of firearms, knives, and deadly
weapons on the property of public institutions of higher
education; providing for exceptions to this prohibition for
law enforcement officers, a person hired for the purpose of
guarding the institution's property, a person engaged in
shooting activity for educational purposes, and a person who
has a written invitation from the president of the
institution to engage in a historical demonstration; etc.
(STRONGLY OPPOSE)
WITHDRAWN SB 516
Maryland
Assault Weapons Ban of 2010.
Designating specified firearms as assault weapons;
prohibiting with specified exceptions a person from
transporting an assault weapon into the State or possessing,
selling, offering to sell, transferring, or receiving an
assault weapon; requiring the Handgun Roster Board to
compile and maintain a roster of prohibited assault weapons;
etc.
(STRONGLY OPPOSE)
"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?
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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!).
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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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