ASSOCIATED GUN CLUBS OF BALTIMORE, INC.

Legislative Report: 2014 Session - Gun Bills - New Features
P.O. BOX 20102  -  TOWSON, MD  21284-0102 

410-296-3947  Email:  [email protected] 

  
Happy New Year!
New in this edition:
2014 Session - AGC Gun Bill Status Reports
Updates to AGC's Legislative News Website Page
2014 Session of the Maryland General Assembly
Delegate Michael Smigiel Schedules a "2A" Tuesday Rally for Feb. 4, 2014
"Zimmerman Case" Pro-Criminal Bills Filed by Delegate Frank Conaway
Are You a Sunshine Patriot, or a 2nd Amendment Warrior?
Legislative Volunteers Needed
1994 Gun Ban .."Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"
Utah Concealed Carry Permit Class
Take Back Maryland Fund Raising Raffle
TAKE BACK MARYLAND PAC
 2014 Session - AGC Gun Bill Status Reports - How to Read & Use 

The 2014 Session does not begin until January 8th and we already have 7 gun bills and and 3 non-gun bills of interest to gun owners. As in the past, AGC will publish dynamic bill status reports as a service to all Maryland gun owners.

A sample AGC Bill Status Report is show below with an explanation of the various features it contains, including how to obtain more information. These reports are updated as needed, usually on a daily basis, and after the Session begins, updates may occur more often.

 
Updates to AGC's Legislative News Website Page
 
We have now completed the necessary revisions and updates on the AGC's Legislative News page. These updates reflect changes in the Maryland General Assembly website and Maryland State Police website as well a normal "housekeeping" revisions necessary to maintain the AGC status as the premier source of information on gun rights issues and events in the Maryland General Assembly.
 
As always, encourage our readers to offer suggestions for further enhancements as well as report any broken links.

2014 Session of the Maryland General Assembly
 
The 2014 Session of the Maryland General Assembly will convene at Noon on Wednesday, January 8, 2014. During the 90 day session we will no doubt be dealing with a number of gun related bills. Approximately 10 bills have already been posted and more are sure to follow.

Delegate Michael Smigiel Schedules a "2A" Tuesday Rally for Feb. 4, 2014

Planning is now in the works for a rally and citizen lobbying event on Tuesday, February 4, 2014. Stay alert for more information on this important event when the details have been finalized.
"Zimmerman Case" Pro-Criminal Bills Filed by Delegate Frank Conaway

The following bills appear to have their roots in the George Zimmerman case. These bills demonstrate how far elected officials are willing to go to find new restrictions on the natural right of self-defense. All of these anti self-defense, pro-criminal bills were sponsored by Delegate Conaway.

HB 21 would make failing to obey the instructions given by a 9-1-1 operator a misdemeanor punishable by up to 1 year in prison and/or a fine of up to $2,500.

HB 22 would prohibit Baltimore City from enacting any ordinance that eliminates the general duty to retreat when attacked.

HB 67 a person charged with a crime can assert self-defense only if the person can prove that he or she did not have the ability to retreat or could not retreat or escape safely.
Are You a Sunshine Patriot, or a 2nd Amendment Warrior?

"These are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman."
                                                                          --Thomas Paine, The American Crisis, No 1., 1776

During 2013, Maryland citizens purchased 121,475 regulated firearms. They spent almost 61 Million dollars on firearms, 1.2 Million dollars for MSP fees (not counting the new handgun qualification license fees), and over 3.6 Million dollars in sales tax (which O'Malley is only too happy to have).

What these gun owners did not do, is volunteer to support good candidates' election campaigns and donate to the Take Back Maryland PAC. If gun buyers had made a donation to the PAC equal to the MSP fee, the PAC would have over 3.6 Million Dollars to support 2nd Amendment candidates in the 2014 Elections. Think about what the PAC could do with 3.6 Million Dollars!

The 2014 Election is only 11 months away. As Delegate Mike McDermott commented: "If we don't take back the Maryland General Assembly in 2014, Maryland is going to go to the dark side and never return." 

Are You a Sunshine Patriot, or a 2nd Amendment Warrior?

Click here to support the Take Back Maryland PAC
Legislative Volunteers Needed

The AGC is seeking pro-active, motivated volunteers to assist with the legislative effort. Volunteers are need for the following activities:
  • Gun Shows - recruit new members and contacts for the AGC Legislative Email list.  
  • Take Back Maryland PAC - recruit new PAC members and accepting donations to the PAC 
  • Research & technical support 
  • Logistics support in Annapolis 
Click here to volunteer your special skills.
1994 Gun Ban

"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"

George Santayana 1863-1952
The Life of Reason
1906

20 Years Ago....the following article appeared in the Baltimore Sun:

Md. House clears way for assault pistol ban


April 01, 1994
| By Frank Langfitt | Frank Langfitt, Sun Staff Writer

Responding to public outcry over handgun violence, the House of Delegates gave final legislative approval yesterday to a bill banning the sale of assault pistols -- virtually assuring that Maryland will become the fifth state to outlaw certain military-style weapons.

 

Delegates voted 81-60 to pass the bill, giving Gov. William Donald Schaefer a long-sought victory in the waning days of his final legislative session. Mr. Schaefer, who has struggled for an assault weapons ban since 1991, plans to sign the bill into law in May.


 

"This is a great day for the citizens of Maryland," Mr. Schaefer said in a statement. "Opponents sometimes cast this issue as an assault on their rights; today, I say we stood up for our citizens' rights to a safer life."

 

For gun rights advocates, the bill's passage marks the first major defeat in the Maryland General Assembly since 1988, when the legislature passed a ban on "Saturday Night Specials."

 

"Any gun ban is a serious loss," said Robert A. McMurray, spokesman for the Maryland State Rifle & Pistol Association. "We're bleeding."

 

But he and other gun rights advocates vowed to overturn the new ban in federal court on constitutional grounds. "We're going to embarrass this entire legislature," Mr. McMurray declared.

 

Buoyed by their victory, gun control advocates dared him to try. Vincent DeMarco, executive director of Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse, pointed out that such lawsuits have failed in the past.

California, New Jersey, Connecticut and Hawaii have enacted similar assault weapons bans. None has been overturned, he said.

 

The bill passed yesterday would ban the sale or transfer of 18 types of semiautomatic pistols. They are often called assault pistols because of their military look and their ability to carry 30 rounds of ammunition or more. Scores of other types of semiautomatic pistols would not be affected. Mr. DeMarco said the bill would help avert mass public slayings but cautioned citizens not to expect too much.

 

The measure will "prevent terrorist attacks . . . in school yards," he said. "The day-to-day shootings must be dealt with by comprehensive handgun licensing and a civil liability scheme, which we will get enacted next year." [emphasis added]

 

Indeed, while the assault pistol ban is a big victory for gun control advocates, it falls far short of the tougher gun proposals in this year's legislature. They include regulating the sale of handguns by private individuals -- a giant loophole through which criminals routinely obtain weapons -- and limiting the sale of handguns to one per person per month. None of those measures is expected to pass this year.

 

Gun control opponents point out that assault pistols represent only a tiny percentage of weapons linked to crime, arguing that a ban is symbolic at best.

 

Said Del. Ellen R. Sauerbrey, a Baltimore County Republican and gubernatorial candidate: "The sad thing is we're going to go home and tell our constituents we did something, and we've done absolutely nothing."

 

Precarious passage

 

The bill's passage through the House yesterday was more precarious than the 21-vote final margin might suggest. Opponents tried nine times to amend the measure. Any change in the bill would have sent it back for final approval in the Senate, where a late-session filibuster could have killed it.

In a year during which crime has been a top issue in the legislature, gun rights advocates tried to kill the measure with tough sentencing provisions. Del. Norman H. Conway, a Wicomico County Democrat, offered an amendment that would have required a 25-year sentence without parole for anyone using an assault pistol in a crime.

 

He nearly succeeded. The amendment failed by a vote of 66-67. [emphasis added] Opponents continued to offer amendments for at least another hour but never came as close and eventually gave up. In one of the more interesting exchanges, legislators invoked the name of a 10-year-old Baltimore boy slain in a drive-by shooting to argue opposite sides of the issue. Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore Democrat, reminded delegates of young Tauris Johnson, who was cut down by a drug dealer's gun in November.

 

"These are things that we as legislators have to deal with inside the Beltways," said Delegate Anderson. "It is the lives of our children [that] are at stake."

 

Delegate Sauerbrey noted that Tauris' accused killer was out on parole.

 

"Tauris Johnson was killed because this body has refused to get tough on criminals who use the guns," she said.

 

Legislators on both sides of the issue promised to put gun control on the ballot this fall. "Anybody who voted against banning assault weapons has a lot of explaining to do," Mr. DeMarco said.

 

Taylor's vote

 

A noteworthy vote yesterday came from House Speaker Casper R. Taylor Jr. Mr. Taylor is a longtime supporter of the governor. As recently as last week, he said that he favored an assault pistol ban.

 

Yesterday, though, he voted against it.

 

**** 

 

Does this sound familiar? 

 

Note: The AGC's report "Homicide in Maryland 1975-2000 documents the failure of the gun ban to reduce crime in Maryland. During the years from 1994-2000 the homicide trend mirrored the nationwide trend, there was no indication that the gun ban had any impact on crime or criminal activity in Maryland.

 

Utah Concealed Carry Permit Class

Saturday, January 18, 2014                           

9:00 AM - 2:00 PM

 

Baltimore County Game & Fish

3200 Northwind Road

Parkville, MD 21234

www.BCGF.org 

 

Course Fee: $100

UCFP Permit Fee: $51

 

Course details and registration information, call or visit us online:

IOTA Firearms & Security Training Academy

410/750-3278 / www.theiotagroup.com  

Click here for the event flyer and course information. 

Beretta USA Donates 92FS Pistol To Take Back Maryland PAC 

Take Back Maryland, the state's premier 2nd Amendment Political Action Committee announced that Beretta USA has donated a 9mm Model 92FS pistol with 2 standard 15 round magazines.

A drawing will be held in the near future and the pistol will be awarded to the winner.
All persons who have joined the Take Back Maryland PAC are eligible. (Winner must be a Maryland resident and legally eligible to receive the pistol - no cash equivalent)
(Magazine transfer will take place legally outside of Maryland per SB 281)
Details to follow.   Click here to join, and donate to Take Back Maryland PAC.
TBMD Link
TAKE BACK MARYLAND 2nd Amendment PAC

Maryland's Premier 2nd Amendment Political Action Committee (PAC) is now actively seeking new members and support.

Help us to Support and Defend the 2nd Amendment!

Click Here to Join & Support Take Back Maryland
 
Want to help but can't afford to make a large donation at this time? You can schedule periodic donations to Take Back Maryland on your credit card in any amount that suits your personal budget.

Take Back Maryland | PO Box 1346 | Laurel, MD 20725-1346
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John H. Josselyn, Legislative Vice PresidentAGC Logo
Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore, Inc.
P.O. Box 20102
Towson, MD 21284-0102
410-296-3947
Email: [email protected]
Webpage: www.associatedgunclubs.org

 

 

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