GOA:MD:_ Semi-auto Ban Must Be Stopped

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Harry Tuttle

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Maryland Bill Would Outlaw Vast Numbers of Semi-automatic Firearms

Gun Owners of America E-Mail Alert
8001 Forbes Place, Suite 102, Springfield, VA 22151
Phone: 703-321-8585 / FAX: 703-321-8408
http://www.gunowners.org

February 06, 2004


Just when it seems likely that Congress may sunset the
unconstitutional federal ban on new semi-automatic firearms,
anti-gun members of the Maryland Senate in Annapolis are pushing
legislation that would make Washington, D.C., look pro-gun by
comparison.

Maryland Senate Bill 288, sponsored by anti-gun Senator Garagiola,
would outlaw huge numbers of semi-automatic firearms -- whether or
not covered by the federal ban.

What would be banned under the Maryland law? Under section 4-305,
banned firearms would include any rifle, handgun, or shotgun on the
state's list. S.B. 288 insures that this list will include:

* any centerfire semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine
holding more than 10 rounds;

* any centerfire semi-automatic rifle with a detachable magazine of
any size and any one of six additional characteristics;

* any semi-automatic pistol with a detachable magazine holding more
than 10 rounds;

* any semi-automatic pistol with a detachable magazine of any size
and any one of four additional characteristics;

* a wide variety of semi-automatic shotguns.

The state of Maryland will graciously allow you to hold onto the
firearms that you currently own -- for now. But you can keep your
guns only by submitting your name to a firearms registration list
kept by the state.

And, as residents of New York and other anti-gun jurisdictions have
learned, police can easily use that list to seize your firearms at
gunpoint -- when, a few years from now, the gun Nazis decide to ban
your guns outright.

ACTION: Contact your state senator and state representative. Tell
them to oppose the unconstitutional gun ban contained in Maryland
Senate Bill 288. You can identify your legislators -- and send a
pre-written e-mail message -- by using the GOA Legislative Action
Center. Go to http://www.gunowners.org/activism.htm and enter your
zip code under Elected Officials, then click on the State link.
Phone and fax numbers are also available (some MD legislators do not
maintain public e-mail addresses).


----- Pre-written message -----

Dear ____________________,

The anti-gun zealots are at it again!

Senate Bill 288 would ban a vast number of legal semi-automatic
firearms -- and would create a gun owner registration list for
owners of grandfathered guns.

Semi-automatic firearms are factors in only a microscopic percent of
crimes -- while they are a potent, life-saving means of self-defense
for law-abiding citizens.

Please do not allow the anti-gun zealots to ban another large
category of firearms. Please oppose Senate Bill 288.


****************************
 
Thank you, Harry Tuttle, for sending the GOA activist link.
I have signed up with the GOA email alert network and sent
emails to Ehrlich and my state reps, letting them know of
my opposition to SB 288. I have also forwarded the GOA activist
link to all of my friends.

Baron
 
I emailed all the senators and delegates for Calvert County (I'm too busy at the moment to bother to look up who exactly represents me), including Senator Miller himself. So far, the only response I have gotten was from Delegate O'Donnell, who said he would vote against the ban should it come up. (but that was sort-of expected, he's one of the guys that puts out a shall-issue CCW bill every year or so)

Kharn
 
heres a message one of my TRTers just sent to all the committee folkes:

Dear Public Servants,

Those of you who are NOT elitists will take no offense at my having
addressed you in this manner. Those of you who are elitists (and you
know who you are), need to get a sense of yourselves: you are really
just small fish in a big pond. You have NOT arrived. As public
servants, you are employed by We The People. You don't know it all. Yet
you continually condescend to the weak-minded citizenry who must be told
by you what is best for us.

Since it's unreasonable for me to hold a CPA, an M.D., a J.D., etc. all
at once, I rely on those who are more knowledgeable in a certain area to
inform me. I go to a mechanic to get my car fixed, I go to an accountant
to have my taxes reviewed, etc. I'm sure you would each agree that this
is a reasonable approach to life and you behave similarly. Along the
way, we become more informed in each area by each expert.

For some strange reason, however, when it comes to firearms, certain
among you lose this humble, teachable attitude: for example, at the
Tuesday, Feb 3 press conference in the Miller Senate Building, Sen.
Garagiola claimed that a Striker Shotgun can hold 100 rounds. The
Senator demanded the person who corrected him (it only holds 12 rounds)
to leave the room. It seems that, for Sen. Garagiola, his pride trumps
anyone's First Amendment right to free speech. Had Sen. Garagiola
bothered to seek an education in the first place, he would have avoided
this embarassing public incident altogether.

At the same press conference, the Senator said he'd only take questions
from the press, after being asked, "What about self-defense?" by the same
citizen. How convenient for the Senator, knowing that regular citizens
are the ones who not only ask the tough questions, but have much more
knowledge of firearms than the average reporter.

My associates and I look forward to the opportunity to educate those of
you who wish to learn through our testimony at the hearing on Tuesday.

See you then,
Only one of We The People
 
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