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How I Spent My Day Off
By Tim Craig
February 13, 2004 KeepAndBearArms.com --
I went to the Maryland General Assembly this week to watch State Senate hearing
on SB 288.
Since the Federal "Assault" Weapons Ban went over so badly that Congress will
hopefully not renew it, the left-wingers in Maryland thought they'd commit their
own "assault" weapons ban error. However, not to be outdone by the feds, they
included 45 firearms in their version of the ban, basing the criteria on the
usual cosmetic nonsense. And just for grins, the Maryland ban would outlaw guns
that possess one or more of a myriad of cosmetic features. I had heard about this
hearing from friends and fellow gun nuts. (Yes, you can call me a gun nut; I
don't have a problem with that). The idea was to get as many of us like-minded,
law abiding gun owners to show up so that we could pack the place and let the
Senators see the faces of those out of whom they would be making criminals
should this absurd ban pass. So I took the day off and drove out to Annapolis.
While walking to the Miller Senate building, I was thinking, "It is such a nice
day out. I'd rather be at the range." I arrived at the Miller
Senate building and was pleasantly surprised when I found the meeting room.
Even though I was about 15 minutes early, the place was packed. And it was
packed with our side. I had my NRA button on, and so did many others. Maryland
gun owners, gun club members and gun dealers all showed up to support our
rights. We filled all the seats in the committee room, spilled out into the
hallway and overflowed toward the main entrance. Everywhere I looked there were
people professing to be gun owners. I saw only three people from the "gun ban"
crowd, and for some strange reason they felt the need to sit on the floor in the
hallway. The hearing began with
the sponsor's quick description of the bill, urging legislators to enact it now,
because the federal ban is about to expire. Immediately after the speech, one
of the pro-gun legislators asked why they were having a hearing on a bill the
Governor said he would veto. The gun grabbers responded that the Governor's
veto was not a sure thing. However, the the legislators on our side seemed
rather sure of themselves leading me to think I was about to witness a good bit
of grandstanding. The gun banners
presented their usual arguments, including the misrepresentation that one in
five police officers were being killed by "assault" weapons. This, of course,
is a lie. The Uniform
Crime Reports do not differentiate between regular rifles and what the
gun banners like to call "assault" weapons. Therefore the figure used to push
the insidious "assault" weapons ban is disingenuous. But I noticed another
curious
contradiction about the gun banners. They said this effort was not about
banning all guns, just the 'assault' weapons. Yet two of the witnesses
testifying on their behalf said they would ban all guns if they had their
choice, and a third witness "compromised" by stating he would just ban all
handguns and 'assault' weapons. Somehow, the peaceable gun owners who showed up
to watch the proceedings were not in the mood to believe that lie.. Next, the
gun grabbers asserted this
ban was about fighting criminals with 'assault' weapons. A pro-gun Senator
assured the audience that the gun grabbers had nothing to fear from law abiding
citizens owning semi-automatic rifles, and got a round of applause from the
chamber, which was quickly gaveled down by the hoplophobic Chairman Senator
Frosh who hypocritically admonished
US not to
be emotional about the issue. In the meantime the enemies of freedom continued
to pound the audience with yet more emotional, fear mongering. Some of the gun
grabbers knew so little about the guns they were trying to ban, that one
particular exchange that required some firearms knowledge led Senator Jacobs to
comment, "I'll ask someone who knows." These people tried to assure us this ban
would not take away our hunting rifles, and yet they fail to realize that the
Second Amendment is not about hunting. Gun banner "testimony"
ended with
one of the "Million" Misguided Mommies, who wanted to know why we were so
adamant about keeping our guns. Well, if she had to ask... However, she
was invited to stay and hear the opposition's testimony, which would provide her
with a satisfactory answer to her query, but she declined. Imagine that. When it was our side's turn
to testify against the Maryland "Assault" Weapons Ban, we dealt our opposition
two
devastating blows from the beginning. Both the Maryland State Police and the
Maryland Fraternal Order of Police testified against the ban. Maryland State
Police had statistics that indicated 'assault' weapons are not a problem
in the state. And while the proponents of the ban tried their best to change
the subject, including hauling out the well-beaten "bazookas on the streets"
strawman, the Maryland State Police stuck to their guns and insisted they
opposed the bill before them today. According to the
Baltimore Sun, the committee is evenly divided between those
opposing the ban and those supporting it. Out of the eleven on the committee,
five senators want to implement the ban, while five oppose it. The only Senator
on the fence is
Senator John Gianetti. Please give him a call and tell him to oppose
the Maryland "Assault" Weapons Ban. He can be reached at 1-800-492-7122 ext.
3141 or you can email him at:
[email protected] . NOTE:
The toll free telephone number listed above is only good for the Maryland area.
The Senator's other numbers are as follows: |
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