swgunner
Member
Immediate Action Needed
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We have two companion bills that need the immediate action of everyone in our community.
Maryland's criminal code currently protects homeowners who must defend their family in the event of a burglary, violent assault or home invasion. This is the concept commonly referred to as the castle doctrine.
Imagine being spared a criminal trial only to be sued by the criminal or his family for damages. That's right, Maryland civil law provides no protection from being sued out of the very home that you were defending.
We are trying to change that but need your immediate help to ensure passage of this important piece of legislation.
As you may know HB1060, commonly referred to as the Civil Immunity bill, was passed 135-0 last year in the House of Delegates and would have given protection from the outrageous lawsuits that we outlined above.
Once the bill travelled across to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, it was given a "desk drawer veto" by the chairman of the committee, Senator Brian Frosh (D - District 16, Montgomery County). In other words, he unilaterally subverted the will of the entire House of Delegates and refused to allow the bill to even be heard in his committee.
Any rational person would have to question how one man can allow his personal ideology to stop a piece of legislation that enjoyed universal bipartisan support from the House.
The two bills that we are strongly supporting are HB332 and SB420.
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Here's what we need you to do:
1. Action on HB332 in the House of Delegates
•Contact the following members of the House Judiciary Committee who are not already sponsors of the bill and ask for their affirmative vote on HB 332, Delegate Frank's Civil Immunity Bill. Remind them that they voted for it last year and that it passed unanimously on the floor.
Samuel I. Rosenberg
Curtis S. (Curt) Anderson
Benjamin S. Barnes
Jill P. Carter
Kathleen M. Dumais
J. B. Jennings
Susan C. Lee
Gerron S. Levi
Victor R. Ramirez
Luiz R. S. Simmons
Kriselda Valderrama
Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher
•Delegates Frank, Conaway, Dwyer, Kelly, Kramer, McComas, McConkey, Schuler, Shank and Smigiel are the members of the committee who are already sponsors so no need to contact them to ask for their support. You can thank them though.
•Contact your delegates from your district and ask them to vote for HB 332, Delegate Frank's Civil Immunity Bill. Remind them that the bill was passed unanimously last year and that you respectfully request their affirmative vote again this year.
TOOLS TO ASSIST YOU (thanks to our friends at MDShooters.com):
•Quick email tool (thanks to MSI Executive Member Jim S.)
•Find your delegate
•Pre-formatted mailing labels for the House Judiciary Committee
•How to create mail merge letters using pre-formatted labels
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2. Action on SB420 in the Senate
•Contact the following members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee who are not yet sponsors of SB420, the Civil Immunity bill, and ask for their affirmative vote. Remind them that it passed the House last year unanimously with 135-0 vote. Remind them that it was Chairman Frosh who single-handedly circumvented the legislative process by refusing to allow this bill to be heard.
Lisa A. Gladden
James Brochin
Jennie M. Forehand
Jamin B. (Jamie) Raskin
•Contact the chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Brian Frosh and express your desire to see a hearing and a vote on SB420, the Civil Immunity bill, sponsored by Senator Jacobs and 20 other members of the Senate.
Senator Brian Frosh
Miller Senate Office Building, 2 East Wing
11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3124, (301) 858-3124
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3124 (toll free)
e-mail: [email protected]
fax: (410) 841-3102, (301) 858-3102
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We have two companion bills that need the immediate action of everyone in our community.
Maryland's criminal code currently protects homeowners who must defend their family in the event of a burglary, violent assault or home invasion. This is the concept commonly referred to as the castle doctrine.
Imagine being spared a criminal trial only to be sued by the criminal or his family for damages. That's right, Maryland civil law provides no protection from being sued out of the very home that you were defending.
We are trying to change that but need your immediate help to ensure passage of this important piece of legislation.
As you may know HB1060, commonly referred to as the Civil Immunity bill, was passed 135-0 last year in the House of Delegates and would have given protection from the outrageous lawsuits that we outlined above.
Once the bill travelled across to the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, it was given a "desk drawer veto" by the chairman of the committee, Senator Brian Frosh (D - District 16, Montgomery County). In other words, he unilaterally subverted the will of the entire House of Delegates and refused to allow the bill to even be heard in his committee.
Any rational person would have to question how one man can allow his personal ideology to stop a piece of legislation that enjoyed universal bipartisan support from the House.
The two bills that we are strongly supporting are HB332 and SB420.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's what we need you to do:
1. Action on HB332 in the House of Delegates
•Contact the following members of the House Judiciary Committee who are not already sponsors of the bill and ask for their affirmative vote on HB 332, Delegate Frank's Civil Immunity Bill. Remind them that they voted for it last year and that it passed unanimously on the floor.
Samuel I. Rosenberg
Curtis S. (Curt) Anderson
Benjamin S. Barnes
Jill P. Carter
Kathleen M. Dumais
J. B. Jennings
Susan C. Lee
Gerron S. Levi
Victor R. Ramirez
Luiz R. S. Simmons
Kriselda Valderrama
Jeffrey D. Waldstreicher
•Delegates Frank, Conaway, Dwyer, Kelly, Kramer, McComas, McConkey, Schuler, Shank and Smigiel are the members of the committee who are already sponsors so no need to contact them to ask for their support. You can thank them though.
•Contact your delegates from your district and ask them to vote for HB 332, Delegate Frank's Civil Immunity Bill. Remind them that the bill was passed unanimously last year and that you respectfully request their affirmative vote again this year.
TOOLS TO ASSIST YOU (thanks to our friends at MDShooters.com):
•Quick email tool (thanks to MSI Executive Member Jim S.)
•Find your delegate
•Pre-formatted mailing labels for the House Judiciary Committee
•How to create mail merge letters using pre-formatted labels
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Action on SB420 in the Senate
•Contact the following members of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee who are not yet sponsors of SB420, the Civil Immunity bill, and ask for their affirmative vote. Remind them that it passed the House last year unanimously with 135-0 vote. Remind them that it was Chairman Frosh who single-handedly circumvented the legislative process by refusing to allow this bill to be heard.
Lisa A. Gladden
James Brochin
Jennie M. Forehand
Jamin B. (Jamie) Raskin
•Contact the chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, Brian Frosh and express your desire to see a hearing and a vote on SB420, the Civil Immunity bill, sponsored by Senator Jacobs and 20 other members of the Senate.
Senator Brian Frosh
Miller Senate Office Building, 2 East Wing
11 Bladen St., Annapolis, MD 21401
(410) 841-3124, (301) 858-3124
1-800-492-7122, ext. 3124 (toll free)
e-mail: [email protected]
fax: (410) 841-3102, (301) 858-3102
