Church Groups Harass Clyde's Sport Shop - Plan Protest Demonstration

For some weeks we have been monitoring a developing story involving religious leaders and a Baltimore County sports shop.

The first act of this story opened on September 21, 2010, when a coalition of 3 Baltimore City religious leaders "Heeding Gods Call in Maryland" wrote a letter to Clyde Blamberg of Clyde's Sport Shop on Hammonds Ferry Road in the Linthicum area of Baltimore County. In the letter, the

leaders suggested 2 dates (September 30 or October 11, 2010) for a meeting to discuss Clyde's "adherence to the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership Agreement identical to that agreed to between Wal-Mart and the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition."

According to the letter, Clyde's is simply the first every Maryland gun store in their sights; "beginning with stores such as yours, for which there is evidence of a disproportionate number of guns sold that were eventually recovered from crime scenes in Baltimore City. The religious leaders offered no proof to support their allegation.

Understandably, and to their credit, Clyde's chose not to respond to the letter or the allegations it contained.

Act two unfolds on October 20^th with a visit to Clyde's by 4 religious leaders who were supported by about a dozen demonstrators outside the shop. After listening to what the religious leaders had to say, Bill and Clyde Blamberg politely declined to sign the Responsible Firearms Retailer Partnership Agreement.

Clyde's has reportedly been receiving numerous letters accusing them of selling guns to criminals.

Act three was to take place on Sunday, November 21, 2010. The religious leaders obtained a Baltimore County permit for an anti-gun demonstration from 2 PM until 7 PM in front of Clyde's Sport Shop. They reportedly requested a permit for 1,000 demonstrators. The Baltimore County Police limited their permit to 75 demonstrators.

In response to the planned demonstration, Clyde's scheduled a Customer Appreciation Day featuring free hot dogs, hamburgers, soft drinks, side dishes, popcorn and a DJ to provide music.

The church groups were nowhere to be found but over 200 gunnies had a very good time and enjoyed good food. It seems that several local churches took the Heeding God's Call group to task for harassing Clyde's, whom they consider to be a good neighbor and law abiding business.
 

We are now told that these same religious groups have rescheduled their protest for Saturday, December 11, 2010 from 3:00 - 5:00 PM.
 

In response, Clyde's has planned another Customer Appreciation Day!  See below for details.

Clyde's Customer Appreciation Day II - Positive Response to Protesters

In view of the upcoming protest by Baltimore City religious leaders, and not to be outdone, Clyde's has scheduled another Customer Appreciation Day Event:

Clyde's Sports Shop Customer Appreciation Day & Bar-B-Que

This event is open to all of Clyde's customers, future customers, friends and 2^nd Amendment supporters. It will feature hot dogs, hamburgers, side dishes, popcorn and soft drinks for all who attend. A DJ is planned to play patriotic songs during the event.

When:    Saturday, December 11, 2010

Where:  Clydes Sport Shop 

      2307 Hammonds Ferry Road

              Halethorpe, MD  21227

               410-242-6108

Time:     3:00 - 5:00 PM

This is an outstanding opportunity for gun owners and all law abiding citizens to demonstrate support for Clyde's Sport Shop and the 2^nd Amendment.

We need several hundred gun rights supporters to offset the negative message of the religious groups. There is little doubt that next year in Annapolis, these same groups will attempt to pass legislation built around Mayor Bloomberg's "Mayors Against Illegal Guns" agenda.

A number of AGC members will be there in support of Clyde's, and we look forward to seeing you there!

Click here for event information:  Click here

For address information and directions:  Click here

Maryland State Police Defined .22 Rimfire Rifles as "Assault Weapons"
Attorney General Doug Gansler Disagrees - Supports MLFDA
Maryland State Police Forced to Reverse Its Policy

Over a year ago on September 4, 2009, we reported the following:

In its infinite wisdom, the licensing division of the Maryland State Police has determined that certain .22 caliber rimfire rifles are "assault weapons" based solely upon there cosmetic resemblance to some firearms that are defined by Maryland law as "assault weapons."

In a letter to attorney Frank D. Boston, III, Captain Laura Lu Herman (Commander of the MSP licensing division) wrote in part:

"The Annotated Code of Maryland, Public Safety Article 5-101, defines a regulated firearm as "a firearm that is any of the following specific assault weapons or their copies, regardless of which company produced and manufactured that assault weapon..."  The precise meaning of the words "copy" or "replica" are not included in the statute suggesting that a copy or replica may be interpreted as cosmetically copied or replicated or perhaps require more similar functional qualities."

I will take into consideration the points you have identified in your letter and will forward a request for a formal opinion from the State of Maryland Attorney General on the precise meaning of "copy" and replica" as used in Public Safety Article 5-101.

Until the opinion of the Attorney General is published relating to this matter, the Maryland State Police Licensing Division believes it is in the best interest of the public in general to continue to process the purchases of the .22 caliber Rimfire Rifles in accordance to the statutory requirements for purchases of regulated firearms."

The real problem is: The Maryland State Police have apparently not issued a formal written bulletin to the firearms dealers informing them of this new requirement. It is entirely possible for a dealer and/or buyer to be arrested, charged, and prosecuted for violating an unwritten policy established in secret by Maryland State Police Licensing Division.

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We now have this to report:

Under pressure from the Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers Association (MLFDA), the AGC and others, the Maryland State Police agreed to ask Maryland's Attorney General for an opinion on exactly what constitutes a copy of an "assault weapon" as currently defined under Maryland law.

In a opinion dated May 10, 2010, Attorney General Doug Gansler opined that a firearm must be far more that simply cosmetically similar to a defined "assault weapon". Simply stated, the Attorney General sided with the MLFDA and Maryland gun owners and against the Maryland State Police.

On November 4, 2010, the Maryland State Police issued 2 bulletins (#10-2 & #10-2) to all Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers.

Firearms Bulletin #10-1 rescinds the MSP illegal requirement that cosmetically similar firearms be registered and subject to the 7 day waiting period.

Firearms Bulletin #10-2 clarifies what legally constitutes a copy of an "assault weapon" by going beyond simple cosmetic similarity and including function and interchangeable internal parts.

What is not yet clear are:

• How many firearms were illegally registered by the Maryland State Police
•  What action the MSP will take (if any) to notify the owners of these firearms that their firearms are not regulated firearms
• What steps the MSP will take (if any) to purge their files of these illegal registrations

Click here for the MSP Bulletins, Attorney General Opinion and related correspondence.