Jim Sr
R.I.P.
+1Sounds like we have a candidate for the August legislator of the month.
+1Sounds like we have a candidate for the August legislator of the month.
I just received this from MSI. It looks like people are going to take action.
1) Everyone is rightly upset by the new MSP form that will be required to buy a regulated firearm come August 1st.
Here's a good overview of it:
http://www.myguns.net/Articles/mental.htm
From what we are hearing, it is being handled. The Maryland firearms dealers are willing to do a lawsuit over the regs. I spoke today with Delegate Mike Smigiel, who has taken a personal interest in this. He thinks they may be able to dissuade the MSP from even implementing this new form. He also tells me that the NRA is picking up the ball and is preparing to do a lawsuit against the MSP if they do implement it. There is a danger in thinking that something is already taken care of ... it may or may not be. Stay tuned ... and don't hesitate to call your delegates and senators about this problem.
Hey all--Imagine my surprise when I went to Bass Pro Shops today (7/14) to sign paperwork on my Glock 27 that just got delivered and the new mental health form was included. Being as it was WAY before the August 1st date of implementation, I made sure I voiced my displeasure with the new form and asked to speak to the hunting dept manager. After speaking with the manager and the firearms "buyer", I was told that Bass Pro "corporate" had decided to start with the new form early. As I had already waited three months to get this particular Glock 27 (internal gun lock built in) and I'm leaving the country for a couple of weeks, I caved in and filled out the form (SORRY!!!!). Well, by the time I had finished filling out all of the paperwork, the dept manager came back and told the guy I was with to tear up the mental health form because people had "written letters to the powers that be" and the new Bass Pro policy was NOT to include these new forms until Aug. 1st. Chalk one up for whoever was writing the letters!!! The guy I was filling out the paperwork with tore up the paperwork right in front of me. Very satisfying!!
BOYCOTT BASS PRO!!!!
THEY SUCK!!!!
I will beg for forgiveness in advance-I will still use Bass Pro to purchase some of my firearms. I do have a reason. I travel extensively as a contractor and I charge all of my expenses to my Bass Pro Card. I get immediately reimbursed by my company(no interest)--so each year, I'm able to accumulate enough points to "purchase" a firearm for free. Gotta love the fringe benefits!!
I also went in yesterday to fill out paperwork for a transfer and the new form was included. I did not bark at it,
Provided you understand the consequences of supporting a mega company that doesn't give a crap about the community and takes money away from the small local shops...many of which may close as a result of Bass Pro and their ******** policies.
My feeling is that I would rather support my LOCAL shop and keep them in business....if I don't then they may not be there someday.....a life full of Walmarts, Lowes, Circuit City's and Bass Pro's is not so palatable to me.
Provided you understand the consequences of supporting a mega company that doesn't give a crap about the community and takes money away from the small local shops...many of which may close as a result of Bass Pro and their ******** policies.
My feeling is that I would rather support my LOCAL shop and keep them in business....if I don't then they may not be there someday.....a life full of Walmarts, Lowes, Circuit City's and Bass Pro's is not so palatable to me.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Gun buyers will have to waive their privacy rights
State police will require buyers to release mental heath data after July 31
by Margie Hyslop | Staff Writer
Anyone who applies to buy a handgun in Maryland after July 31 will have to allow agencies to tell police whether he or she has suffered from mental illness, has a history of violent behavior or has been confined for more than 30 consecutive days to a mental health facility.
Maryland State Police said it will deny handgun purchases to anyone who does not sign a release authorizing health departments in Maryland or other states to disclose the information.
Police will use the information to determine whether potential purchasers are eligible to have a regulated firearm.
The move, announced in a letter to gun dealers dated June 21, comes early in the administration of State Police Superintendent Terrence Sheridan, who took the helm of the department in June.
Gov. Martin O’Malley ‘‘supports it as a step to ensure that people who purchase guns in Maryland are of sound mind,” said Sasha Leonhardt, a spokesman for O’Malley (D).
The change does not violate privacy rights of applicants, but simply requires the information to be easily available, Leonhardt said.
James Purtilo, publisher of the gun rights newsletter Tripwire, contends the action is not needed because Maryland already requires such commitments to be reported to police. Purtilo said it is illegal because it goes beyond what a 1996 law allows police to ask.
‘‘It’s too bad they take this step without authority, under the guise of trying to solve a nonproblem,” Purtilo said.
Further, Purtilo said, police will be hard-pressed to check all agencies for information within the five-day window for acting on an application.
‘‘Maybe they should talk about an education program for doctors, not new restrictions on gun owners at the point of sale,” he said.
Del. Kevin Kelly said Maryland law already addresses gaps that let the serious mental illness of the shooter in April 16’s Virginia Tech massacre slip unnoticed by authorities who could have denied him permission to buy a handgun.
‘‘Before the new superintendent of state police goes on a crusade, he should be aware that he may be leading his boss, the governor, into a political quagmire,” said Kelly (D-Dist. 1B) of Cumberland, a lawyer and member of the Judiciary Committee.
Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Brian E. Frosh said he does not share opponents’ concerns or believe the extra requirement abridges any rights.
‘‘I think it’s a very good thing ... people who are adjudicated to be dangerous to themselves or others should have additional scrutiny,” said Frosh (D-Dist. 16) of Bethesda.
Frosh said there have been questions about whether such information, ‘‘even if collected, is used at point of sale.”
Maryland State Police search 14 databases when they do background checks on gun buyers, police spokesman Greg Shipley said in April after the Virginia Tech shootings. But medical information is confidential and usually not available, Shipley said.
Tips that a would-be purchaser has mental health problems often have to come from concerned friends or family, Shipley said. If police are alerted, they hold the gun buyer’s application, he said.
Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee Chairman Brian E. Frosh said he does not share opponents’ concerns or believe the extra requirement abridges any rights.
View attachment 593What is going on with this form now? Has the NRA stepped up? Any challenges?