WP MD SB 288 Editorial: Vote Set For Thurs or Fri.

[echo3mike]

Washington Post Editorial

A Roll Call on Weapons

Thursday, February 19, 2004; Page A22

THOUGH THERE is no sensible, compelling reason for a civilized society to be loading up with assault-style weapons -- arms that sportsmen do not need -- Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R) and state lawmakers who answer to the call of the National Rifle Association favor the free flow of these arms. And though several surveys over the years have shown that most Marylanders support a ban on such weapons, opponents are working to defeat a measure that would keep a state ban in place if Congress fails to extend a federal ban to expire Sept. 13. A critical vote -- which could be decided by one swing senator in Annapolis -- is set for today or tomorrow in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee.

According to head counts yesterday, five senators supported the measure, five opposed it and Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. (D-Prince George's) had not indicated how he will vote. Given the importance of the measure, the committee should let the bill go to the floor of the Senate, where every member's position can be recorded for their constituents to see. As Sen. Robert J. Garagiola (D-Montgomery), lead sponsor of the bill, warned this month, "If we don't act" and the federal ban expires, "on September 14 you are going to be able to buy an AK-47 again, or an Uzi or a street sweeper" -- weapons designed chiefly to kill people.

One of the chief arguments of opponents is that assault weapons haven't killed as many law enforcement officers as proponents of the ban have been saying. Specifically they challenge a study by the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit that analyzed FBI data on fatal police shootings from Jan. 1, 1998, through Dec. 21, 2001. During that period 211 officers in the United States were killed in the line of duty, 41 of them with weapons that the center determined to be assault-style weapons: AK-47s, M-1 carbines and others. That's one in five officers.

What if the statistic were one in 20? Why does anyone -- killer or not -- need to own one of these weapons? Why leave any police officers outgunned on the streets? Why does Howard County Police Chief G. Wayne Livesay, president of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association, support the ban? Why do so many Marylanders view the ban not as an infringement but as a matter of public safety? Would those who favor repeal of assault weapons also support the return of machine guns to the civilian market?

Congress should not let the federal ban expire; it should expand the limited number of weapons covered. In the meantime, Maryland ought to protect itself; that won't happen if six state senators kill the reasonable measure before their committee.

Aside from the sterotypical bull, thanks for the heads up!

Get back on the horn, gang!

S.

 

[Leatherneck]

You hit the nail on the head with E3M: that editorial almost made me lose my breakfast. So much stupidity, so little time...

TC
TFL Survivor

 

[Harry Tuttle]

On Tuesday i ran a search on the Wash Post site to see what they published about the SB288 hearing

surprise, surprise

nothing

 

[Harry Tuttle]

here comes the liberal spin:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-ed.le.19f2feb19,0,2928514.story
State should act to limit reach of assault weapons

The Maryland legislature is considering a comprehensive bill to ban assault weapons ("Md. lawmakers hear gun-ban testimony," Feb. 11). From a public health perspective, this just makes sense.

Assault weapons are civilian versions of military-style weapons -- guns with features designed to make them more lethal. With Maryland suffering around 600 gun-related deaths a year, we need fewer, not more, guns on our streets.

This is a proven strategy. In 1990, Maryland banned Saturday night special handguns. Public health research we conducted demonstrated that the law has saved the lives of 40 Marylanders per year.

But don't we already have a federal ban on these weapons? Actually, the federal ban applies to only a few guns, permitting copycat or slightly-modified guns -- like the one used by convicted snipers John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo -- to remain for sale. Worse still, the federal assault weapons ban is set to expire in September.

Maryland can't depend on an uncertain, noncomprehensive federal law. The legislature should act now to protect the lives of Marylanders.

Jon S. Vernick Daniel W. Webster Baltimore

The writers are co-directors of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research.