- May 22, 2005
- 122,908
In this issue:
1. Annual Meeting June 28th
2. BowieFest A Success
3. First they came for the guns, then they came for the knives
4. More on knife import ban
5. Growing Up Without Guns
6. Only carpenters and other highly trained professionals should have hammers
7. AGC Trip To the USS New Jersey
1. Annual Meeting June 28th
A reminder that the next meeting of Maryland Shall Issue will take place on June 28th at Anne Arundel Fish and Game in Annapolis at 2:00pm. This is the meeting where we present your new board members and officers and lay out our plans for the next year. With the 2010 election season soon upon us, we have a lot of work to do and need your active involvement.
We have lots of plans in the works, but those plans remain just that without people to enact them. Your participation is crucial to defending and advancing our rights.
Surely your civil rights are worth a couple of hours, aren't they?
2. BowieFest A Success
Thanks to the numerous members willing to give up a part of their Saturday on June 6th, MSI's booth at BowieFest was a success. Our group spent the day handing out literature, stickers and pens as well as, most importantly, engaging Maryland citizens in a dialogue on self-defense and firearms. Thanks again to all who participated.
3. First they came for the guns, then they came for the knives
It sounds incredible, or perhaps it doesn't, but the United States Government is actually enacting policies that will begin the banning of the importation of certain kinds of knives into the U.S.
From KnifeRights.org
"The U.S. Government is after your Pocket Knives! In a sneak attack, U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would also include all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives!"
Before you dismiss this as an over reaction and an impossibility, remember that they've already instituted even more Draconian restrictions on knives in England and have, in fact, called for a ban on pointy kitchen knives.
4. More on knife import ban
Thanks to MSI Board Member, Henry Heymering by way of the Shooting Wire:
"The surprise high-demand ammunition continues to be the .380. Long considered too-small for personal defense, new offerings in the cartridge and the firearms that fit them have changed that opinion. Consequently, they're selling for as much as a dollar a round in some areas. Others simply still don't have any.
And it's not exactly your firearms under attack this time, but a decision from the feds at Customs and Border Protection has knife owners more than a little on edge. On May 21, CBP proposed revoking earlier rulings that said assisted-opening knives were not switchblades. That sounds innocent enough, but the proposal is so broadly based as to make virtually any one-hand opening or assisted opening knife a switchblade, even simple slip joints.
Today, just to give you an idea of the potential impact of such a ruling, eighty percent of U.S. knife sales would fall under the new CBP reclassification. Not good.
Also not good was the method CBP used to insert their proposal into regular notices, almost as if they hoped no one would notice and the 30-day comment period would expire.
People noticed. Our friend Doug Ritter, founder of KnifeRights.org, for one.
When Ritter contacted us several days ago, he hinted that something was going on that had the potential to have a severe impact on knife ownership.
That's because the impact of the CBP ruling would go far beyond just imported knives. Often, "agency determination" is used by domestic courts and law enforcement to determine what is a "switchblade" under both federal and state laws. Many states do not themselves define switchblades and simply rely on the federal definition and interpretation, which is only found in rulings by CBP.
Since interstate commerce in switchblades is prohibited, except under very limited conditions, simply driving across a state line with a pocket knife in their possession would make someone a federal felon.
Ritter and hundreds of others protested to CBP, asking for an extension of the comment period. On Wednesday, that request for an extension was denied, meaning, that barring some sudden change of heart, the CBP will proceed with the revocation.
So what does that mean?
"If their new ruling is accepted and put in place, says Ritter, "the next step will be seizing a warehouse full of imported one-hand openers, which they can legally do, declaring them to also meet their now very broadly defined interpretation of what a switchblade is. They came very close to doing that a few years back in a seizure involving Columbia River Knife & Tool."
"With this ruling in place, they would succeed. Then the definition of what is a switchblade is expanded even further. It is this that has knife owners and the knifemaking industry up in arms, because our lawyers understand how these bureaucrats use these rulings and language games to get well beyond what it appears at first glance they are reaching for."
Now, KnifeRights.org and the Second Amendment Foundation have teamed up to try and get together a grassroots campaign to help Customs see the error of their ways.
There's one rub - the comment period ends on June 21 and only written comments sent via FedEx/UPS or USPS will be accepted.
As Ritter points out, failing to protest the move will only open the door for the inevitable expansion of the definition.
There's a model letter available if you're interested in letting Customs know you don't appreciate their proposal. You can see it at http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=29
The knife you save may be your own.
--Jim Shepherd"
5. Growing Up Without Guns
A great article on the perspective of a relative newcomer to this great country who appreciates the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted and understands the necessity for the protections that the 2nd Amendment guarantees.
"While growing up, I knew there were guns and other arms, because the army and police had them. Us, ordinary people didn’t need them. The saying was “my police protect me”. I don’t think I ever saw a gun except in movies or those carried by police on the streets. Some people in remote mountain villages had small rifles and a limited amount of ammunition - mainly to shoot predator animals to protect their farm animals. At 13, police were going door to door at night, pointing guns at my family and other neighbors. Later I witnessed how government ordered army and tanks to the streets of my city under the cover of the night, killing dozens of innocent people. Not a very good experience to base your opinion about guns." Article Continues
6. Only carpenters and other highly trained professionals should have hammers
Following an all-to-familiar pattern, a career criminal who has been passed through the Maryland justice system for more than two decades continues to ply his violent trade on our fellow citizens. We anxiously await the calls from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins for a ban on the private possession of hammers except by those registered and trained to use them.
From WBALTV:
WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Maryland State Police have added rape to the charges against a Carroll County man accused of attacking his neighbor with a hammer. Paul Scott, of Westminster, was previously charged with attempted murder and assault. On Wednesday, authorities charged the 51-year-old with rape in the attack on his 56-year old neighbor. Police said Scott hit the woman in the head and face with a hammer Sunday morning after offering to bring her newspaper to her. The victim said she thought Scott raped her while she was in and out of consciousness, and police said Wednesday they discovered evidence that confirmed the rape. The woman told police that Scott threatened her with a knife after hitting her with the hammer. Scott was arrested Sunday after troopers surrounded his home. Court records show Scott has a criminal history spanning 25 years in three Maryland counties with numerous convictions, including assault, battery and theft.
7. AGC Trip To the USS New Jersey
A reminder that the 16th is the deadline for registration for this outstanding trip.
This is a "Rain or Shine" event!
When: Saturday, July 18, 2009
Where: Timonium Park & Ride
Time: Depart 8:00 AM
Return approximately 5:30 PM
Cost: $75.00 per person (checks only)
How: Advance reservations only
Who: Adults and children over 10 years of age
Note: All reservations must be RECEIVED by June 16, 2009 to guarantee this event.
Seating is limited, reserve your seat early.
For additional information and to make reservations: Click here
or email: lvp@associatedgunclubs.org
1. Annual Meeting June 28th
2. BowieFest A Success
3. First they came for the guns, then they came for the knives
4. More on knife import ban
5. Growing Up Without Guns
6. Only carpenters and other highly trained professionals should have hammers
7. AGC Trip To the USS New Jersey
1. Annual Meeting June 28th
A reminder that the next meeting of Maryland Shall Issue will take place on June 28th at Anne Arundel Fish and Game in Annapolis at 2:00pm. This is the meeting where we present your new board members and officers and lay out our plans for the next year. With the 2010 election season soon upon us, we have a lot of work to do and need your active involvement.
We have lots of plans in the works, but those plans remain just that without people to enact them. Your participation is crucial to defending and advancing our rights.
Surely your civil rights are worth a couple of hours, aren't they?
2. BowieFest A Success
Thanks to the numerous members willing to give up a part of their Saturday on June 6th, MSI's booth at BowieFest was a success. Our group spent the day handing out literature, stickers and pens as well as, most importantly, engaging Maryland citizens in a dialogue on self-defense and firearms. Thanks again to all who participated.
3. First they came for the guns, then they came for the knives
It sounds incredible, or perhaps it doesn't, but the United States Government is actually enacting policies that will begin the banning of the importation of certain kinds of knives into the U.S.
From KnifeRights.org
"The U.S. Government is after your Pocket Knives! In a sneak attack, U.S. Customs has proposed revoking earlier rulings that assisted opening knives are not switchblades. The proposal would not only outlaw assisted opening knives, its overly broad new definition of a switchblade would also include all one-handed opening knives and most other pocket knives!"
Before you dismiss this as an over reaction and an impossibility, remember that they've already instituted even more Draconian restrictions on knives in England and have, in fact, called for a ban on pointy kitchen knives.
4. More on knife import ban
Thanks to MSI Board Member, Henry Heymering by way of the Shooting Wire:
"The surprise high-demand ammunition continues to be the .380. Long considered too-small for personal defense, new offerings in the cartridge and the firearms that fit them have changed that opinion. Consequently, they're selling for as much as a dollar a round in some areas. Others simply still don't have any.
And it's not exactly your firearms under attack this time, but a decision from the feds at Customs and Border Protection has knife owners more than a little on edge. On May 21, CBP proposed revoking earlier rulings that said assisted-opening knives were not switchblades. That sounds innocent enough, but the proposal is so broadly based as to make virtually any one-hand opening or assisted opening knife a switchblade, even simple slip joints.
Today, just to give you an idea of the potential impact of such a ruling, eighty percent of U.S. knife sales would fall under the new CBP reclassification. Not good.
Also not good was the method CBP used to insert their proposal into regular notices, almost as if they hoped no one would notice and the 30-day comment period would expire.
People noticed. Our friend Doug Ritter, founder of KnifeRights.org, for one.
When Ritter contacted us several days ago, he hinted that something was going on that had the potential to have a severe impact on knife ownership.
That's because the impact of the CBP ruling would go far beyond just imported knives. Often, "agency determination" is used by domestic courts and law enforcement to determine what is a "switchblade" under both federal and state laws. Many states do not themselves define switchblades and simply rely on the federal definition and interpretation, which is only found in rulings by CBP.
Since interstate commerce in switchblades is prohibited, except under very limited conditions, simply driving across a state line with a pocket knife in their possession would make someone a federal felon.
Ritter and hundreds of others protested to CBP, asking for an extension of the comment period. On Wednesday, that request for an extension was denied, meaning, that barring some sudden change of heart, the CBP will proceed with the revocation.
So what does that mean?
"If their new ruling is accepted and put in place, says Ritter, "the next step will be seizing a warehouse full of imported one-hand openers, which they can legally do, declaring them to also meet their now very broadly defined interpretation of what a switchblade is. They came very close to doing that a few years back in a seizure involving Columbia River Knife & Tool."
"With this ruling in place, they would succeed. Then the definition of what is a switchblade is expanded even further. It is this that has knife owners and the knifemaking industry up in arms, because our lawyers understand how these bureaucrats use these rulings and language games to get well beyond what it appears at first glance they are reaching for."
Now, KnifeRights.org and the Second Amendment Foundation have teamed up to try and get together a grassroots campaign to help Customs see the error of their ways.
There's one rub - the comment period ends on June 21 and only written comments sent via FedEx/UPS or USPS will be accepted.
As Ritter points out, failing to protest the move will only open the door for the inevitable expansion of the definition.
There's a model letter available if you're interested in letting Customs know you don't appreciate their proposal. You can see it at http://www.kniferights.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=79&Itemid=29
The knife you save may be your own.
--Jim Shepherd"
5. Growing Up Without Guns
A great article on the perspective of a relative newcomer to this great country who appreciates the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted and understands the necessity for the protections that the 2nd Amendment guarantees.
"While growing up, I knew there were guns and other arms, because the army and police had them. Us, ordinary people didn’t need them. The saying was “my police protect me”. I don’t think I ever saw a gun except in movies or those carried by police on the streets. Some people in remote mountain villages had small rifles and a limited amount of ammunition - mainly to shoot predator animals to protect their farm animals. At 13, police were going door to door at night, pointing guns at my family and other neighbors. Later I witnessed how government ordered army and tanks to the streets of my city under the cover of the night, killing dozens of innocent people. Not a very good experience to base your opinion about guns." Article Continues
6. Only carpenters and other highly trained professionals should have hammers
Following an all-to-familiar pattern, a career criminal who has been passed through the Maryland justice system for more than two decades continues to ply his violent trade on our fellow citizens. We anxiously await the calls from the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins for a ban on the private possession of hammers except by those registered and trained to use them.
From WBALTV:
WESTMINSTER, Md. -- Maryland State Police have added rape to the charges against a Carroll County man accused of attacking his neighbor with a hammer. Paul Scott, of Westminster, was previously charged with attempted murder and assault. On Wednesday, authorities charged the 51-year-old with rape in the attack on his 56-year old neighbor. Police said Scott hit the woman in the head and face with a hammer Sunday morning after offering to bring her newspaper to her. The victim said she thought Scott raped her while she was in and out of consciousness, and police said Wednesday they discovered evidence that confirmed the rape. The woman told police that Scott threatened her with a knife after hitting her with the hammer. Scott was arrested Sunday after troopers surrounded his home. Court records show Scott has a criminal history spanning 25 years in three Maryland counties with numerous convictions, including assault, battery and theft.
7. AGC Trip To the USS New Jersey
A reminder that the 16th is the deadline for registration for this outstanding trip.
This is a "Rain or Shine" event!
When: Saturday, July 18, 2009
Where: Timonium Park & Ride
Time: Depart 8:00 AM
Return approximately 5:30 PM
Cost: $75.00 per person (checks only)
How: Advance reservations only
Who: Adults and children over 10 years of age
Note: All reservations must be RECEIVED by June 16, 2009 to guarantee this event.
Seating is limited, reserve your seat early.
For additional information and to make reservations: Click here
or email: lvp@associatedgunclubs.org
Maryland Shall Issue.org
P.O. Box 314
Libertytown, MD
21762-0314
ph. 240-446-6782
Mission Statement
"Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime."
P.O. Box 314
Libertytown, MD
21762-0314
ph. 240-446-6782
Mission Statement
"Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime."
