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http://www.gazette.net/200340/weekend/a_section/181171-1.html
Under fire, governor drops Exile
by Thomas Dennison
Staff Writer
Oct. 3, 2003
Gun debate poised to re-emerge in General Assembly
ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. will not reintroduce Project Exile legislation next year, a decision that comes as the governor finds himself under increasingly heavy fire from both sides of the gun debate.
With this week's one-year anniversary of the sniper attacks providing momentum for a bill banning assault style weapons similar to the one used in the attacks, the highly emotional gun debate is promising to re-emerge in next year's General Assembly session.
Ehrlich (R) is showing clear signs that he wants to remain above the fray by pulling the plug on a Project Exile bill. But his overall silence on gun issues has prompted sharp criticism from a leading pro-gun activist and some lawmakers, who say he has failed to live up to campaign promises to reconsider gun control laws that they contend amount to a de facto handgun ban.
Meanwhile, gun control advocates, including the top two likely Democratic contenders for governor in 2006, are pushing the assault weapons ban, which Ehrlich opposes.
Instead of trying to legislate Project Exile -- a program piloted in Richmond, Va., and billed as a crackdown on gun-toting criminals -- Ehrlich plans to implement portions of the program administratively through partnerships with the federal government, mainly the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The administration claims the spirit of Project Exile's mandatory sentences and stiff penalties for people caught with guns are already being enforced in Baltimore city and Prince George's County, so legislation that is bound to get bogged down in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly is not necessary.
Ehrlich's Project Exile bill was bottled up in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee this year because of strong opposition from both the pro- and anti-gun lobbies. Chairman Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda essentially held the bill hostage and was willing to consider passing portions of the bill only as a compromise to pass new gun control legislation in a deal Ehrlich ultimately rejected.
"There has been a shift with Project Exile that, instead of doing legislation, lets us implement what we can do at the federal level in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Joseph Getty, Ehrlich's director of policy and a former delegate from Carroll County. "It's fair to say that the focus for Project Exile has shifted from the state to the federal government."
The administration's backing off of Project Exile caught some top Democrats by surprise and is providing fuel for critics who say that Ehrlich is unwilling to get involved in the gun issue because of its no-win political ramifications.
"I'm surprised because this was his main campaign theme and it was one of his major priorities this session," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach. "I think the program was trendy a few years ago, but elected officials like Bob Ehrlich have to do a balancing act and decide to support things that are doable."
Miller and some Republicans agree that Ehrlich's slightest move on guns is almost certainly going to incite criticism, battles that Getty and other Ehrlich staffers said the governor needs not to be fighting at a time when he wants to pass slots and accomplish other priorities.
"The governor is going against two Democratic houses of the General Assembly," said Greg Massoni, Ehrlich's press secretary. "Basically, with every issue he is walking into the batter's box with two strikes. ... Thirty-six years of turmoil and policy by Democratic leadership will not be overturned in eight months, and we have to pick our battles."
Pro-gun complaints
But Jim Purtilo, a leading voice on gun issues in Maryland and publisher of Tripwire, a 60,000 circulation gun-rights newsletter, said Ehrlich's first eight months in office "have been a huge disappointment."
The governor is "selling out his base," Purtilo said.
Purtilo said he understands the political complexity of the gun issue for governor Ehrlich, but said the administration is not willing to even address some major issues that candidate Ehrlich promised to resolve in last fall's campaign.
"Bob Ehrlich cannot have this firewall between himself and his base," said Purtilo, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. "You can't win if you don't bring your base, and right now, he is absolutely disenfranchising the base that strongly supported him last fall.
"We don't make up issues to elect candidates; we elect candidates to take care of issues," he said.
Purtilo is particularly peeved at what he calls Maryland's de facto handgun ban, which is in place because of the 2000 trigger-lock legislation strongly supported by Ehrlich's predecessor, Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D).
Because regulations are in place designating that handguns sold in Maryland be equipped with an "integrated mechanical safety device," many top gun manufacturers have refused to send new handguns to local gun shops because the new guns do not comply with Maryland's law.
Ballistic fingerprinting
What Purtilo and some other pro-gun legislators want is for the governor to adjust the regulations through legislation or executive order. And they want to cut off funding for the "ballistic fingerprinting" program being used by the Maryland State Police. Under Glendening's bill in 2000, new handguns are test-fired and the specific markings the gun makes on shell casings are catalogued in a database that law enforcement agencies hope to use to match with guns used in crimes.
"Gun control enacted by Parris Glendening is the same gun control being enforced by Bob Ehrlich," Purtilo said. "It's really frustrating that a governor who is supposed to be a friend to your issue is treating you this way."
The law's supporters say ballistic fingerprinting is a prudent way to help law enforcement officers catch criminals.
But Purtilo calls the program a boondoggle and said it "has yet to catch one bad guy." The money being spent on keeping it going should be directed elsewhere, he said.
"I think [Purtilo] is absolutely right," said Del. Kevin Kelly (D-Dist. 1B) of Cumberland, a leading pro-gun lawmaker and a close friend of Ehrlich's. "Parris Glendening was very successful in eliminating the second amendment right for people of Maryland to own handguns. ... I'm hopeful the Ehrlich administration will re-examine the [trigger] lock issue and the ballistic fingerprinting issue because right now I can't go into a gun shop in Maryland and buy a new handgun."
Del. Carmen Amedori (R-Dist. 5A) of Westminster, another leading pro-gun advocate, said she "was not disappointed" in the Ehrlich administration's handling of gun issues, and she castigated Purtilo as an extremist who will go from friend to enemy in the blink of an eye.
"You could be with Jim Purtilo 99.9 percent of the time, but if you disagree with him one iota, he'll turn on you in a second," said Amedori, who added that she once worked closely with Purtilo until they had a falling out recently. "Gun issues are never a win-win situation in this state. These issues need to be treated with kid gloves and, if anyone should know that, it's Jim Purtilo."
Getty, who was a respected voice on gun issues during his time in the legislature and is the point man for Ehrlich on guns, also discredited Purtilo's criticism as "an example of his history of working with you and then turning on you."
"I think he just expected a lot very quickly and that's simply not how things work," Getty said. "I don't think we're ignoring the gun issue at all. We've asked the various departments to look at some of his issues, and the process is ongoing."
Purtilo, who said he has been prevented from talking to Ehrlich at public events, argues that he is "just trying to solve the problem," but "you can't make any progress when they are slamming the door on you."
Randy Kozuch, director of state and local affairs for the National Rifle Association, said the NRA has worked closely with Purtilo and "he has some legitimate concerns."
The verbal firefight between Ehrlich's staffers and Purtilo comes as all of them must gear up to derail a bill none of them supports, the bill to ban assault weapons. Ehrlich opposes the bill, the NRA is planning on having a presence in Annapolis to oppose it, and Purtilo is expected to lend his weight and readers to stop it from becoming law.
But they face a tough fight. Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) held press conferences backing the bill, and two leading Senate players in the gun debate are backing the idea.
"Maryland should take steps in limiting access to assault weapons," Frosh said. "Assault rifles are not necessary for legitimate activity like hunting and self defense. We don't need them on the streets of Maryland."
Miller agreed. "The general feeling in Maryland is we don't want assault weapons. If you're for the police and law-abiding citizens, I think most people agree that there is no need to have assault weapons on the street."
Asked if he would help push the assault weapons ban, Miller was noncommittal.
"The state has real serious problems like the budget and fixing the transportation problem," Miller said. "Guns are not on the front burner."
Under fire, governor drops Exile
by Thomas Dennison
Staff Writer
Oct. 3, 2003
Gun debate poised to re-emerge in General Assembly
ANNAPOLIS -- Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. will not reintroduce Project Exile legislation next year, a decision that comes as the governor finds himself under increasingly heavy fire from both sides of the gun debate.
With this week's one-year anniversary of the sniper attacks providing momentum for a bill banning assault style weapons similar to the one used in the attacks, the highly emotional gun debate is promising to re-emerge in next year's General Assembly session.
Ehrlich (R) is showing clear signs that he wants to remain above the fray by pulling the plug on a Project Exile bill. But his overall silence on gun issues has prompted sharp criticism from a leading pro-gun activist and some lawmakers, who say he has failed to live up to campaign promises to reconsider gun control laws that they contend amount to a de facto handgun ban.
Meanwhile, gun control advocates, including the top two likely Democratic contenders for governor in 2006, are pushing the assault weapons ban, which Ehrlich opposes.
Instead of trying to legislate Project Exile -- a program piloted in Richmond, Va., and billed as a crackdown on gun-toting criminals -- Ehrlich plans to implement portions of the program administratively through partnerships with the federal government, mainly the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The administration claims the spirit of Project Exile's mandatory sentences and stiff penalties for people caught with guns are already being enforced in Baltimore city and Prince George's County, so legislation that is bound to get bogged down in the Democrat-controlled General Assembly is not necessary.
Ehrlich's Project Exile bill was bottled up in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee this year because of strong opposition from both the pro- and anti-gun lobbies. Chairman Brian E. Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda essentially held the bill hostage and was willing to consider passing portions of the bill only as a compromise to pass new gun control legislation in a deal Ehrlich ultimately rejected.
"There has been a shift with Project Exile that, instead of doing legislation, lets us implement what we can do at the federal level in cooperation with the U.S. Attorney's Office," said Joseph Getty, Ehrlich's director of policy and a former delegate from Carroll County. "It's fair to say that the focus for Project Exile has shifted from the state to the federal government."
The administration's backing off of Project Exile caught some top Democrats by surprise and is providing fuel for critics who say that Ehrlich is unwilling to get involved in the gun issue because of its no-win political ramifications.
"I'm surprised because this was his main campaign theme and it was one of his major priorities this session," said Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Dist. 27) of Chesapeake Beach. "I think the program was trendy a few years ago, but elected officials like Bob Ehrlich have to do a balancing act and decide to support things that are doable."
Miller and some Republicans agree that Ehrlich's slightest move on guns is almost certainly going to incite criticism, battles that Getty and other Ehrlich staffers said the governor needs not to be fighting at a time when he wants to pass slots and accomplish other priorities.
"The governor is going against two Democratic houses of the General Assembly," said Greg Massoni, Ehrlich's press secretary. "Basically, with every issue he is walking into the batter's box with two strikes. ... Thirty-six years of turmoil and policy by Democratic leadership will not be overturned in eight months, and we have to pick our battles."
Pro-gun complaints
But Jim Purtilo, a leading voice on gun issues in Maryland and publisher of Tripwire, a 60,000 circulation gun-rights newsletter, said Ehrlich's first eight months in office "have been a huge disappointment."
The governor is "selling out his base," Purtilo said.
Purtilo said he understands the political complexity of the gun issue for governor Ehrlich, but said the administration is not willing to even address some major issues that candidate Ehrlich promised to resolve in last fall's campaign.
"Bob Ehrlich cannot have this firewall between himself and his base," said Purtilo, a computer science professor at the University of Maryland, College Park. "You can't win if you don't bring your base, and right now, he is absolutely disenfranchising the base that strongly supported him last fall.
"We don't make up issues to elect candidates; we elect candidates to take care of issues," he said.
Purtilo is particularly peeved at what he calls Maryland's de facto handgun ban, which is in place because of the 2000 trigger-lock legislation strongly supported by Ehrlich's predecessor, Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D).
Because regulations are in place designating that handguns sold in Maryland be equipped with an "integrated mechanical safety device," many top gun manufacturers have refused to send new handguns to local gun shops because the new guns do not comply with Maryland's law.
Ballistic fingerprinting
What Purtilo and some other pro-gun legislators want is for the governor to adjust the regulations through legislation or executive order. And they want to cut off funding for the "ballistic fingerprinting" program being used by the Maryland State Police. Under Glendening's bill in 2000, new handguns are test-fired and the specific markings the gun makes on shell casings are catalogued in a database that law enforcement agencies hope to use to match with guns used in crimes.
"Gun control enacted by Parris Glendening is the same gun control being enforced by Bob Ehrlich," Purtilo said. "It's really frustrating that a governor who is supposed to be a friend to your issue is treating you this way."
The law's supporters say ballistic fingerprinting is a prudent way to help law enforcement officers catch criminals.
But Purtilo calls the program a boondoggle and said it "has yet to catch one bad guy." The money being spent on keeping it going should be directed elsewhere, he said.
"I think [Purtilo] is absolutely right," said Del. Kevin Kelly (D-Dist. 1B) of Cumberland, a leading pro-gun lawmaker and a close friend of Ehrlich's. "Parris Glendening was very successful in eliminating the second amendment right for people of Maryland to own handguns. ... I'm hopeful the Ehrlich administration will re-examine the [trigger] lock issue and the ballistic fingerprinting issue because right now I can't go into a gun shop in Maryland and buy a new handgun."
Del. Carmen Amedori (R-Dist. 5A) of Westminster, another leading pro-gun advocate, said she "was not disappointed" in the Ehrlich administration's handling of gun issues, and she castigated Purtilo as an extremist who will go from friend to enemy in the blink of an eye.
"You could be with Jim Purtilo 99.9 percent of the time, but if you disagree with him one iota, he'll turn on you in a second," said Amedori, who added that she once worked closely with Purtilo until they had a falling out recently. "Gun issues are never a win-win situation in this state. These issues need to be treated with kid gloves and, if anyone should know that, it's Jim Purtilo."
Getty, who was a respected voice on gun issues during his time in the legislature and is the point man for Ehrlich on guns, also discredited Purtilo's criticism as "an example of his history of working with you and then turning on you."
"I think he just expected a lot very quickly and that's simply not how things work," Getty said. "I don't think we're ignoring the gun issue at all. We've asked the various departments to look at some of his issues, and the process is ongoing."
Purtilo, who said he has been prevented from talking to Ehrlich at public events, argues that he is "just trying to solve the problem," but "you can't make any progress when they are slamming the door on you."
Randy Kozuch, director of state and local affairs for the National Rifle Association, said the NRA has worked closely with Purtilo and "he has some legitimate concerns."
The verbal firefight between Ehrlich's staffers and Purtilo comes as all of them must gear up to derail a bill none of them supports, the bill to ban assault weapons. Ehrlich opposes the bill, the NRA is planning on having a presence in Annapolis to oppose it, and Purtilo is expected to lend his weight and readers to stop it from becoming law.
But they face a tough fight. Montgomery County Executive Douglas M. Duncan (D) and Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley (D) held press conferences backing the bill, and two leading Senate players in the gun debate are backing the idea.
"Maryland should take steps in limiting access to assault weapons," Frosh said. "Assault rifles are not necessary for legitimate activity like hunting and self defense. We don't need them on the streets of Maryland."
Miller agreed. "The general feeling in Maryland is we don't want assault weapons. If you're for the police and law-abiding citizens, I think most people agree that there is no need to have assault weapons on the street."
Asked if he would help push the assault weapons ban, Miller was noncommittal.
"The state has real serious problems like the budget and fixing the transportation problem," Miller said. "Guns are not on the front burner."
Oh, wait. We're not socialists here. We buy our own guns.