Nearly every film buff is familiar with the line, “If you build it he will come.” That snippet of dialogue, taken from “Field of Dreams”, has been tweaked as it has evolved in the public consciousness, becoming the more encompassing “…they will come.”
That variation could be applied in the reverse; as in, “destroy it and they will come.” And come they did – by the thousands (contrary to mainstream media reports that spoke of hundreds) – to Maryland’s capital last Wednesday, rallying under the threat of Maryland lawmakers obliterating the citizens’ 2nd Amendment rights.
Fueled by the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre, Maryland’s valiant ruling class – you know, the elites, the swells, the ones that tell us we’ll be fine as they hide behind their government-issued bodyguards – used the criminal actions of a mentally deranged individual to advance their feel good notion that yet another expansion of gun control laws will prevent similar mass murders in the future – and they tried to cash in on the killings nearly a week before the last of the victims were laid to rest.
The 20 children – plus 6 faculty members – were murdered on Dec 14. By December 17 the Baltimore Sun-Democrat was reporting that our exploitative elected officials were ratcheting up their gun-grabbing attempts. On December 19, members of the Baltimore and Montgomery County delegations were holding a joint press conference announcing plans to restrict the natural, Constitutionally-protected rights of the people.
The last funerals for the victims were held on Christmas Eve.
Did you know 398 people were murdered in Maryland in 2011, roughly 6.8 killings per 100,000 residents? But those 400 bodies don’t matter nearly as much as the 26 in Newtown because 400 individual deaths doesn’t carry the same high-profile, press conference romance and bluster as a mass killing.
If it bleeds, it leads… if there are buckets of blood it’s a politicking flood.
Most of the homicides in Baltimore – hundreds of them, year after year after year – are committed with assault rifles, right? Why, when I go to the city’s most crime-ridden areas I see people walking around with assault rifles all the time.
Need more examples that our legislators thrive on empty theatrics?
According to the Advocates for Children and Youth organization, 150 people under the age of 18 were murdered between 2005 and 2011, with the majority having been killed in Baltimore City and Prince George’s County.
Remind me again when the joint press conference was held to address those statistics?
See, these charlatans crawl like cockroaches from the darkness to shine a light not on gun violence – or any violence for that matter – but instead on their own political aspirations.
Had you heard any of these caring legislators mention any sweeping gun control reform prior to the soapbox given them by the dead at Newtown?
Still, the people of Maryland are intelligent enough to know that the one-party monopoly in Annapolis care nothing about their Constitutional rights or about their opinions. So while the outcome may seem predetermined, the success of the pro-2nd Amendment rally remains to be seen. Remember: the people of Maryland shut down the state house switchboard in 2007 in protest of raising the sales tax and the Naptown Ninnies raised the sales tax anyway.
“Better choices, better results,” right, Gov O’Malley?
Make no mistake – SB 281 (crossfiled as HB 294) is about much more than restricting the rights of the people. Take the time to read this 20-page monstrosity and you’ll encounter a section touting the expansion of government.
According to the Department of Legislative Services (DLS), General Fund expenditures increase by $2,346,584 in fiscal 2014. Said estimate reflects the cost of hiring seven state troopers, 13 office services clerks, and two computer services technicians in order to handle new handgun licensing and firearms registrations. That number also includes salaries and fringe benefits for “sworn and civilian” personnel, start-up costs, police vehicles, license printing services, and ongoing operating expenses.
In addition, the Maryland Department of State Police (DSP) advises that it needs to hire a total of 59 new staff in fiscal 2014, and that total costs range from $4.7 million in fiscal 2014 to nearly $5.0 million by fiscal 2018. DSP does note, however, that costs to hire personnel to cover an existing staffing shortfall are included, not just the incremental needs resulting from this bill.
Ahh, but never fear - Gov. O’Malley and the rest of the brain trust in the Severn Syndicate also see this gun grab as an opportunity to generate additional revenue. The same Dept of Legislative Services tells us that estimated General Fund revenues under SB 281will top $6.5 million, thanks to “handgun qualification” licenses ($100) and “voluntary registrations” ($15).
Why? Because our Governor (and his minions) thinks it is perfectly acceptable to force people to pay for a natural, Constitutionally-protected right.
Perhaps we can throw a few bucks at our governor to protect our 5th Amendment rights when his friend, President Obama, wants to send a drone missile up our Fruit of the Looms.
There are two things – well, among dozens – that really bug me about these legislators. One, none of the bill’s sponsors could tell you the difference between an assault rifle and an assault set of salt & pepper shakers. In fact, during the testimony on the day of the rally Judiciary Committee Chair Brian Frosh referred to the weapon used at Newtown as fully automatic.
Our state’s leadership doesn’t know the nomenclature and doesn’t understand the vernacular – but these neophytes think that this piece of… legislation – legislation that does nothing to take the guns out of the hands of criminals - will be effective.
In reality, the only measure of effectiveness will come via the regulating of the non-criminal members of society.
Oh, and if I hear the term “10 round clip” one more time I’m going to go all Howard Beale up in this joint. It is a magazine… A freaking magazine!
The government claims that legislation such as SB 281 (and scads of other gun-related bills) is necessary to protect the children; a must to increase public safety and well, dammit, because it is a just and moral thing to do.
What government repeatedly forgets (or more than likely ignores) is one of its core duties: to protect the natural rights of the people. Instead, modern government pretends to protect the people and it does so at the expense of (and through the elimination of) their natural rights.
The direction in which this country is headed demonstrates but one thing: the only rights we the people are going to be left with are the ones we are willing to fight for… and that fight includes so much more than rallying on Lawyer’s Mall.
If this legislative body had any spine they would throw this farce of a bill out with the trash – but with these bollixed invertebrates guarding the rights of the citizens that’s as likely as a fat kid throwing out the last donut.
NOTICE: The Judiciary Proceedings Committee will hold a second “Gun Day” on March 1. If you missed the opportunity to testify against this egregious assault on your liberties make plans now to attend. Also, a second pro-2nd Amendment Rally will be held on Lawyer’s Mall in Annapolis on March 5.
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