Marylander's-So it begins
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And here comes the professional lobbyists after the database expiration:
>>>Ballistics database still needed
By Michael D. Barnes
Originally published February 2, 2005
YOU WOULDN'T scrap a major clinical trial of a life-saving medicine after a month because you haven't yet proved the medicine works. You wouldn't change a quarter of the oil in your car. And it would be foolish for Maryland to abandon efforts to build a ballistics fingerprinting database at the project's infancy.
The Maryland State Police, in a report that smacks of politically ideological motivations, has criticized the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, created by legislation in 2000, for having traced only six bullets to the weapons used to fire them. The police superintendent, Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, is not in favor of the project.
But IBIS is promising, and the premise is simple: Collect records of the unique markings that are left on a bullet when it is fired from a specific gun and, over time, the resulting database will be one way to identify the gun used in an unsolved crime. If such a system existed in the state of Washington, for example, the origin of the gun used by the D.C. -area snipers might have been discovered after the first shooting.
The Maryland system has only started the cataloguing of shells from new guns, so it would be very surprising for the project to have paid immense dividends this rapidly.
In addition, the system is not easily accessible by any law enforcement office except the state police, who investigate far fewer gun crimes than do city and other local police jurisdictions. Indeed, many police experts recommend the creation of a national database -- moving forward with a promising investigative tool rather than backward, which terminating the Maryland system would represent.
The money spent on IBIS, about $2.6 million, represents a down payment on a system that will help solve gun crimes in the future. The National Rifle Association has been opposed to ballistics fingerprinting efforts like this since the technology was pioneered for the same reason it opposes background checks for gun purchases and any other rational records related to gun transactions -- because they can be used to track ownership of firearms. The NRA is using the state police criticism of IBIS to try to kill the project, aided by a handful of rural state legislators who fear crossing the gun lobby.
The responsible move for Maryland would be to keep collecting records and improve access to the database. The start-up costs have been paid. It makes no sense to drop the project now that it will incur less cost.
The reality is that state police criticisms likely have little to do with policy and everything to do with ideology. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., as an NRA-backed candidate, said if elected he would review all of Maryland's gun laws and scrap the ones he could argue didn't have a significant impact.
If Mr. Hutchins and Governor Ehrlich kill the ballistics project, they will be misusing public money -- money that has been spent building a system that the Ehrlich administration wants to see fail.
That's dumb and bad management, and the ultimate beneficiaries of such shortsightedness would be the future criminals who are not caught by a system that promises to make Maryland a safer place to live.
Michael D. Barnes, a former Democratic congressman from Maryland, is president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. <<<
>>>Ballistics database still needed
By Michael D. Barnes
Originally published February 2, 2005
YOU WOULDN'T scrap a major clinical trial of a life-saving medicine after a month because you haven't yet proved the medicine works. You wouldn't change a quarter of the oil in your car. And it would be foolish for Maryland to abandon efforts to build a ballistics fingerprinting database at the project's infancy.
The Maryland State Police, in a report that smacks of politically ideological motivations, has criticized the Integrated Ballistics Identification System, created by legislation in 2000, for having traced only six bullets to the weapons used to fire them. The police superintendent, Col. Thomas E. Hutchins, is not in favor of the project.
But IBIS is promising, and the premise is simple: Collect records of the unique markings that are left on a bullet when it is fired from a specific gun and, over time, the resulting database will be one way to identify the gun used in an unsolved crime. If such a system existed in the state of Washington, for example, the origin of the gun used by the D.C. -area snipers might have been discovered after the first shooting.
The Maryland system has only started the cataloguing of shells from new guns, so it would be very surprising for the project to have paid immense dividends this rapidly.
In addition, the system is not easily accessible by any law enforcement office except the state police, who investigate far fewer gun crimes than do city and other local police jurisdictions. Indeed, many police experts recommend the creation of a national database -- moving forward with a promising investigative tool rather than backward, which terminating the Maryland system would represent.
The money spent on IBIS, about $2.6 million, represents a down payment on a system that will help solve gun crimes in the future. The National Rifle Association has been opposed to ballistics fingerprinting efforts like this since the technology was pioneered for the same reason it opposes background checks for gun purchases and any other rational records related to gun transactions -- because they can be used to track ownership of firearms. The NRA is using the state police criticism of IBIS to try to kill the project, aided by a handful of rural state legislators who fear crossing the gun lobby.
The responsible move for Maryland would be to keep collecting records and improve access to the database. The start-up costs have been paid. It makes no sense to drop the project now that it will incur less cost.
The reality is that state police criticisms likely have little to do with policy and everything to do with ideology. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., as an NRA-backed candidate, said if elected he would review all of Maryland's gun laws and scrap the ones he could argue didn't have a significant impact.
If Mr. Hutchins and Governor Ehrlich kill the ballistics project, they will be misusing public money -- money that has been spent building a system that the Ehrlich administration wants to see fail.
That's dumb and bad management, and the ultimate beneficiaries of such shortsightedness would be the future criminals who are not caught by a system that promises to make Maryland a safer place to live.
Michael D. Barnes, a former Democratic congressman from Maryland, is president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. <<<
tall2tango
Member
Mr. Barnes' argument is fraught with faulty logic. It makes me wonder if he bothered to read the MD. State Police report. As in all human endeavor, there will be some bias; HOWEVER, the report is as objective as you can get. Mr. Barnes is blowing smoke and will no doubt get the support of those who, likewise, are either too trusting in his rhetoric or too lazy to read the report.
Sure, it makes LOTS of sense to throw $$$ into a system whose shortcomings are documented (the report presents NY state fruitless experience with the same system). ??? :banghead:
How "might" IBIS have led to a quicker apprehension of the MD-D.C. snipers? The weapon they used wasn't purchased in MD.
I'm so glad we have "experts" such as Mr. Barnes to tell the real experts how to do their jobs.
Maybe we'll be fortunate enough for them to hang themselves by their own faulty arguments.
Sure, it makes LOTS of sense to throw $$$ into a system whose shortcomings are documented (the report presents NY state fruitless experience with the same system). ??? :banghead:
How "might" IBIS have led to a quicker apprehension of the MD-D.C. snipers? The weapon they used wasn't purchased in MD.
I'm so glad we have "experts" such as Mr. Barnes to tell the real experts how to do their jobs.
Maybe we'll be fortunate enough for them to hang themselves by their own faulty arguments.Where to even begin with this crap?
Maybe if Mr. Barnes could get through a complete sentance without spewing lies, misinformation, anti-gun rhetoric, or just sheer ridiculousness... I'm sorry, I forgot where I was going with that...
But would you keep paying millions of dollars for a stethoscope that has yet to find a heartbeat in three years?
An anti lecturing us about ideological motivations? Ha! That's a good one.
Five of which the police already had in custody. So really, it only worked the way it's supposed to once.
No, actually it collects records of the markings on shell casings.
And how exactly would discovering that the gun used was stolen from a WA gunshop have led us to the one who stole it? For that matter, if it hadn't been purchased yet, the shell casings wouldn't have been submitted to the database, so you wouldn't even be able to find the gunshop.
Given that it couldn't even match any of the tests of known guns known to be in the database, I'd be surprised if it paid any dividends ever.
Clearly they're using some definition of "promising" that I wasn't previously aware of.
...that doesn't work, and wouldn't do what they're claiming it can do if it did work.
*snicker*
And have been used to confiscate them. Even in the US.
No, the responsible thing would be to spend the money on something (like the DNA database) that actually accomplishes something.
Again, *snicker*
But "guns are bad, get rid of them all" has nothing at all to do with ideology.
Because spending millions on a system that doesn't do squat is a great use of taxpayer money.
You could gouge out my eyes, and I'd still be able to see the system fail. It has failed. IT DOESN'T WORK.
Empty promises. One more time: The system does not work. And even if it did, criminals' guns are not in the database. And even if those guns were in the database, most of those guns are stolen of otherwise acquired through illegal means, so the database still wouldn't be able to find the person who used the gun in a crime.
And that says more than I ever could.
Maybe if Mr. Barnes could get through a complete sentance without spewing lies, misinformation, anti-gun rhetoric, or just sheer ridiculousness... I'm sorry, I forgot where I was going with that...
Please Read This Draft Response.....
I'm fairly new to the letter-writing campaign, so I have no knowledge of how long these things can be, what tone is acceptable, etc. Would a couple of you good Marylanders review the draft I'm including here to see if it fits within criteria for being considered for publication by the Sun? Thanks in advance.....
MDHunter
With the General Assembly back in session, we Marylanders are once again forced to sort through the propaganda and misleading information that is tossed around when special interest groups try to promote their legislative agenda. Michael D. Barnes’ opinion piece “Ballistics database still needed†(February 2) is a prime example. Barnes, a former Maryland Congressman and Democrat, is currently president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Barnes states, “the NRA is using the state police criticism of IBIS to try to kill the project, aided by a handful of rural state legislators who fear crossing the gun lobby.†If he took the time to step down off his pedestal and spend time in rural Maryland (or the rural areas of any state for that matter), Mr. Barnes might discover (to his dismay) that the people in these areas believe strongly in gun ownership, both as a Constitutional right as well as a means to protect their families and property. These people believe in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, although it seems that many of our city-based politicians either have forgotten the amendment exists, or don’t understand its intent. The rural legislators aren’t running from the NRA; they’re representing the values of their constituency, rather than bowing to special interests like Mr. Barnes’ own organization.
Mr. Barnes also comments that “If Mr. Hutchins and Governor Erlich kill the ballistics project, they will be misusing public money…..†That’s quite a statement to make, coming from a former Democratic Congressman no doubt heavily involved in drafting and implementing many of Maryland’s overly restrictive gun laws. What type of impact do these gun control laws have on crime and violence? In December the National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report on gun control laws. The big news: the academy's panel couldn't identify ANY benefits of the decades-long effort to reduce crime and injury by restricting gun ownership. Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents. Since over 20,000 laws related to gun control have been passed at the Federal, state, and local levels, I believe THAT is a much larger misuse of public money, and I applaud Governor Erlich’s decision to stop the endless spending stream in Maryland.
Mr. Barnes comments further that “That’s dumb and bad management, and the ultimate beneficiaries of such shortsightedness would be the future criminals who are not caught by a system that promises to make Maryland a safer place to live.†By promising that gun legislation will make our state safer, he reveals his own ignorance of the facts in this area. Not only does the NAS study referenced above refute Mr. Barnes claim, but recent statistics seem to show that LESS restrictive gun laws may lead to decreases in violent crime. Approximately 35 states have passed legislation allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, and in almost every case, the rates of violent crime in these states dropped noticeably shortly thereafter. Close to home, our neighbors in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have all implemented concealed carry legislation for the law-abiding public – and all have lesser violent crime rates than those in Maryland. Is this a coincidence?
Gun control laws not only violate our Second Amendment rights, they have no effect on reducing violent crime, and turn law-abiding citizens into victims by making them easy prey for burglars, rapists, and gangs. Mr. Barnes, if you’re still too buried in your own propaganda to analyze and accept the findings presented by the National Academy of Sciences, perhaps you’ll consider this comment from the criminal element you’re trying so hard to protect us from: “Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun.†(Quote courtesy f Sammy “The Bull†Gravano, Mafia informant).
Michael Moore
I'm fairly new to the letter-writing campaign, so I have no knowledge of how long these things can be, what tone is acceptable, etc. Would a couple of you good Marylanders review the draft I'm including here to see if it fits within criteria for being considered for publication by the Sun? Thanks in advance.....
MDHunter
With the General Assembly back in session, we Marylanders are once again forced to sort through the propaganda and misleading information that is tossed around when special interest groups try to promote their legislative agenda. Michael D. Barnes’ opinion piece “Ballistics database still needed†(February 2) is a prime example. Barnes, a former Maryland Congressman and Democrat, is currently president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.
Barnes states, “the NRA is using the state police criticism of IBIS to try to kill the project, aided by a handful of rural state legislators who fear crossing the gun lobby.†If he took the time to step down off his pedestal and spend time in rural Maryland (or the rural areas of any state for that matter), Mr. Barnes might discover (to his dismay) that the people in these areas believe strongly in gun ownership, both as a Constitutional right as well as a means to protect their families and property. These people believe in the Second Amendment to the Constitution, although it seems that many of our city-based politicians either have forgotten the amendment exists, or don’t understand its intent. The rural legislators aren’t running from the NRA; they’re representing the values of their constituency, rather than bowing to special interests like Mr. Barnes’ own organization.
Mr. Barnes also comments that “If Mr. Hutchins and Governor Erlich kill the ballistics project, they will be misusing public money…..†That’s quite a statement to make, coming from a former Democratic Congressman no doubt heavily involved in drafting and implementing many of Maryland’s overly restrictive gun laws. What type of impact do these gun control laws have on crime and violence? In December the National Academy of Sciences issued a 328-page report on gun control laws. The big news: the academy's panel couldn't identify ANY benefits of the decades-long effort to reduce crime and injury by restricting gun ownership. Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and some of its own empirical work, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents. Since over 20,000 laws related to gun control have been passed at the Federal, state, and local levels, I believe THAT is a much larger misuse of public money, and I applaud Governor Erlich’s decision to stop the endless spending stream in Maryland.
Mr. Barnes comments further that “That’s dumb and bad management, and the ultimate beneficiaries of such shortsightedness would be the future criminals who are not caught by a system that promises to make Maryland a safer place to live.†By promising that gun legislation will make our state safer, he reveals his own ignorance of the facts in this area. Not only does the NAS study referenced above refute Mr. Barnes claim, but recent statistics seem to show that LESS restrictive gun laws may lead to decreases in violent crime. Approximately 35 states have passed legislation allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, and in almost every case, the rates of violent crime in these states dropped noticeably shortly thereafter. Close to home, our neighbors in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have all implemented concealed carry legislation for the law-abiding public – and all have lesser violent crime rates than those in Maryland. Is this a coincidence?
Gun control laws not only violate our Second Amendment rights, they have no effect on reducing violent crime, and turn law-abiding citizens into victims by making them easy prey for burglars, rapists, and gangs. Mr. Barnes, if you’re still too buried in your own propaganda to analyze and accept the findings presented by the National Academy of Sciences, perhaps you’ll consider this comment from the criminal element you’re trying so hard to protect us from: “Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun.†(Quote courtesy f Sammy “The Bull†Gravano, Mafia informant).
Michael Moore
beerslurpy
member
I think I shall write these lads at the Sun as well. I lived in Baltimore for nearly 6 years while attending college/working there in the mid-late 90s.
Baltimore was/is such a horrible dump. The Inner Harbor (tourist area), the area around the colleges (Loyola/JHU/CONDOM), and the area around the research hospitals is pretty much the only decent part of town. Walk a few blocks outside that corridor of ritzyness and you run into the most desperate ghetto youve ever seen. I'd say maybe 70-80 percent of the city is a wasteland of poverty and crime. I hated it. And I grew up in NYC, so this is a pretty stinging criticism coming from me.
Lot of federal workers in MD as well, thanks to proximity to DC.
Dunno what to make of the state. High taxes, smog regulations, stupid gun laws. Glad I left actually.
Baltimore was/is such a horrible dump. The Inner Harbor (tourist area), the area around the colleges (Loyola/JHU/CONDOM), and the area around the research hospitals is pretty much the only decent part of town. Walk a few blocks outside that corridor of ritzyness and you run into the most desperate ghetto youve ever seen. I'd say maybe 70-80 percent of the city is a wasteland of poverty and crime. I hated it. And I grew up in NYC, so this is a pretty stinging criticism coming from me.
Lot of federal workers in MD as well, thanks to proximity to DC.
Dunno what to make of the state. High taxes, smog regulations, stupid gun laws. Glad I left actually.
mdhunter....
Good letter, but I fear that it's too long. I didn't do a word count, but I think the Sun's limit is 300 words. On top of that, they rarely give even that much column space too us peons. I suggest that if you haven't sent it yet that you apply some strategic editing to it.
Good letter, but I fear that it's too long. I didn't do a word count, but I think the Sun's limit is 300 words. On top of that, they rarely give even that much column space too us peons. I suggest that if you haven't sent it yet that you apply some strategic editing to it.
Here's What I Sent In.....
297 words, we'll see if it makes the light of day.....
No More Spending on Gun Laws
Michael Barnes’ opinion piece “Ballistics database still needed†(February 2) is a prime example of the misleading information promulgated when special interest groups promote their legislative agenda.
Mr. Barnes opines “If Mr. Hutchins and Governor Erlich kill the ballistics project, they will be misusing public money..†How is eliminating ineffective legislation misusing public money? The National Academy of Sciences just issued a 328-page report on gun control laws. Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and its own research, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents. Since over 20,000 gun-related laws have been passed at the Federal, state, and local levels, I believe THAT is the real misuse of public money, and I applaud Governor Erlich’s decision to stop the useless spending in Maryland.
Barnes states that IBIS is “a system that promises to make Maryland a safer place to live.†By promising that gun legislation will make our state safer, he reveals his own ignorance of, or disregard for, the facts. Not only does the NAS study refute Mr. Barnes’ claim, but recent statistics show that LESS restrictive gun laws may correlate to decreases in violent crime. 35 states have passed legislation allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, and in almost every case, their rates of violent crime dropped noticeably shortly thereafter. Our neighbors in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have all implemented concealed carry legislation for the law-abiding public – and ALL these states have lower violent crime rates than Maryland.
Gun control laws violate our Second Amendment rights, do not reduce violent crime, and turn law-abiding citizens into victims by making them easy prey for burglars and rapists. Let’s stop wasting taxpayer money on useless legislation.
297 words, we'll see if it makes the light of day.....
No More Spending on Gun Laws
Michael Barnes’ opinion piece “Ballistics database still needed†(February 2) is a prime example of the misleading information promulgated when special interest groups promote their legislative agenda.
Mr. Barnes opines “If Mr. Hutchins and Governor Erlich kill the ballistics project, they will be misusing public money..†How is eliminating ineffective legislation misusing public money? The National Academy of Sciences just issued a 328-page report on gun control laws. Based on 253 journal articles, 99 books, 43 government publications, and its own research, the panel couldn't identify a single gun control regulation that reduced violent crime, suicide or accidents. Since over 20,000 gun-related laws have been passed at the Federal, state, and local levels, I believe THAT is the real misuse of public money, and I applaud Governor Erlich’s decision to stop the useless spending in Maryland.
Barnes states that IBIS is “a system that promises to make Maryland a safer place to live.†By promising that gun legislation will make our state safer, he reveals his own ignorance of, or disregard for, the facts. Not only does the NAS study refute Mr. Barnes’ claim, but recent statistics show that LESS restrictive gun laws may correlate to decreases in violent crime. 35 states have passed legislation allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons, and in almost every case, their rates of violent crime dropped noticeably shortly thereafter. Our neighbors in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia have all implemented concealed carry legislation for the law-abiding public – and ALL these states have lower violent crime rates than Maryland.
Gun control laws violate our Second Amendment rights, do not reduce violent crime, and turn law-abiding citizens into victims by making them easy prey for burglars and rapists. Let’s stop wasting taxpayer money on useless legislation.
Thanks All.....
for your kind words.
Norton - I now work for a consulting firm.....but back in the 80s, my manager told me I should consider going to law school - it was a backhanded compliment, she was referring to my ability at the time to debate company policies that didn't make sense to me.....
for your kind words.
Norton - I now work for a consulting firm.....but back in the 80s, my manager told me I should consider going to law school - it was a backhanded compliment, she was referring to my ability at the time to debate company policies that didn't make sense to me.....
- Status
