SB0281 - Testimony Primer and Tracking

[Vic]

I want to say thanks to all of you out there taking a stand. I plan to stand with you. It does my heart good to hear your stories and your statements.

Kathy, Think you have a great statement. Whistlers Mom, I agree that you should say you are not a gun owner but think others rights shouldn't be infringed. MDShooter, I think, Closing statement is good but you might want to reference FBI stats. If memory serves there were 3 murders in MD with rifles. I don't think any with the proposed ban weapons. I also think the guns weren't lawfully owned. So in affect there were 0 homicides in MD by the guns in question. Should be easy to look up.

Norton, thanks for all you do. I sent an email to a delegate asking a similar question as to how best to approach this panel.

Question: I know Feinstein, Schumer and others who want the ban have concealed carry permits, does anyone know if members of the committee have CC permits? Could be an interesting point to make if they do.

To me we may want to play by the same rules as our advasaries. If they don't like what you say they tarnish you and say you are bad and they are good rather than argue the facts. The facts say the only thing that lessons crime is CC. Almost every stat I have seen says gun bans favor the criminal. Might be a good ace to have up ones sleeve. Can anyone find out about this?

I plan to talk about the registration aspect. To me it is the most heinous part of the legislation. Criminals get fingerprinted however they want to finger print us for exercising our Rights guaranteed by the constitution. I will tailor as it forms in my mind.

It is good to hear Liberty is still in fashion with many. Warms my heart.

Vic

 

[Haides]

Not if your parents are supervising.
This law stinks worse then a dead skunk in the Texas sun.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

And if I don't live with my parents or they aren't home, I'm illegally in possession of ammunition for my legally owned firearm. Because that makes sense. Let's just start letting me buy a car, but not buy or be in possession of the gas to run it.

If they hadn't gone full retard by this point, they sure have now...

 

[hvymax]

I thought of a great conclusion for anyone not using their full 3min. The New York legislature has passed similar laws recently. Their Governor has threatened "Hundreds of Waco's" on any citizens who do not submit to this rule. This shows who the bloodrhirsty and powerhungry really are doesn't it.

 

[Goose Guy]

I do have a question. I am trying to arrange time off from work on the 6th. I may only be able to venture down to Annapolis for part of the day. Is it worth it for me to show up???

Same here. Time off is iffy. Is it possible to submit written testimony and not be there to present it in person?

Also, should I mention I am not in the NRA? Yeah, I know...

 

[hvymax]

Written testimony is better than no testimony and becomes part of the record.

 

[Goose Guy]

Written testimony is better than no testimony and becomes part of the record.

Cool, thanks. Hopefully I don't have to do that scenario. At least my voice (may) be heard.

 

[kmco]

Need some help

OCCBRIAN--Thank you for the excellent suggestions and guidance!

So, I've been working on my testimony and need some help. Essentially, I need some cited facts. In a pamphlet I received from Maryland Shall Issue, it notes two facts, but fails to provide a source for either...

• Last year, only two out of 217 homicides in Baltimore were committeed with a long gun of any type.
• Last year, 45% of the suspects arrested for murder in Baltimore had already been arrested for prior gun crimes.

I'm planning on speaking on how the bills (SB and HB) fail to address the real problems of crime around here and instead simply block law-abiding citizens from doing what they can legally do now. But, I need some more oomph.

Below is my statement draft. Any pointers folks can provide are much appreciated!

--------------------
Mr. Chairman and honorable members--thank you for hearing my testimony today.

My name is [KMCO]. I have been a Prince George's County resident for the last four years and am now purchasing a home there. I have a graduate certificate in information design from the University of Baltimore, work full-time as a web usability specialist for federal agencies, and am starting a small business on the side. And, I am a gun owner.

I appreciate your concern about the prevalence of firearm crime and violence in our state and around the nation. However, as we have heard from others today, Senate Bill 281 and House Bill 294 are not the solution.

I want to speak briefly about what these bill do not do and what these bills succeed in doing.

To put it succinctly, this bill does not make our schools and streets safer. THIS IS WHERE I WISH TO INCLUDE SOME STATS ON CRIME TYPES IN MARYLAND AND REPEAT OFFENDERS...

What these bills really do is to put up a facade of action--when nothing is being accomplished. Criminals will continue to illegally acquire and use firearms for criminal activity, and my family and I will not be any safer.

I understand you want to take a stand against crime with firearms, but don't penalize those of us who are law abiding citizens. Don't penalize those of us who use these proposed banned firearms for hunting, sport, and self defense. And definitely don't penalize those of us who financially cannot afford the fees to license and register what we can own freely and clearly today.

Please, let's look more deeply at REAL solutions to make our communities safer. Start with the laws on the books. Effectively prosecute and impose stricter penalties on criminals guilty of violent crimes and crimes with firearms. Fund mental health treatment facilities and resources. Look for opportunities to better share mental health records.

This is a serious topic, and it deserves a researched, proven approach. Whatever you do, DON'T pass these bills simply for the sake of doing "something." Please seek to take actions that will directly address the crime happening on our streets--then the "something" will be the right thing.

Thank you for your time.

 

[barbedwiredave]

I found a jewel from the CT testimony

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyYYgLzF6zU&feature=player_embedded

 

[ducrider45]

I plan on being there on the 6th. If I testify, I plan on testifying to the features that this law calls out to define an "Assault Weapon" are found on all types of common use firearms with a focus on the handgun portion of this bill being retroactive to 1994. As written; I would be forced to surrender firearms to the State or be forced from my home under threat of prison time. With me having committed no act of violence or crime and keeping with the laws of the day this bill would discriminate against me base on age alone (not old enough to have bought a firearm prior to 1994). I don’t see how any of these options are acceptable.

 

[Rewind]

In prep to attend on 2/6 I've been reading all these posts and working on what I hope to say (as a 1st timer at a Senate public hearing). But now I offer an important reminder to everyone on this thread...

Go back to Occbrian's original post page 1 and re-read Norton's sage advice [1-9]. I plan to practice "I don't know!" It may be your best tactic too.

 

[Mike OTDP]

OK, here's my written testimony...comments welcome.


SENATE BILL 281 – OPPOSED

I am a competitor in the international pistol disciplines for both cartridge and muzzle-loading firearms, and have represented the United States at nine World Muzzle-Loading Championships.

I am opposed to this bill because it would ban the most capable self-loading target pistols currently used in the Olympic Games. SB 281 specifically outlaws any pistol with a magazine outside the grip . Makes and models that would be prohibited include the Benelli MP90, Hammerli 280, Hammerli SP20, Pardini SP, Pardini HP, Tesro SP22, and Walther GSP. All cost between $1,500 and $2,000.

Target pistols with magazines outside the grip dominate the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) pistol disciplines. At the 2010 World Championships, the breakdown was as presented below:

PROPORTION OF 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP PISTOLS AFFECTED BY SB 281 table in original document
Event Olympic Discipline Proportion Of Firearms Banned By SB 281
Women’s Sport Pistol Yes 57%
Rapid Fire Pistol Yes 75%
Standard Pistol No 77%
Centerfire Pistol No 85%

At the Olympic Games, the proportions of firearms affected are higher. Of the six medals won in the 2012 Olympic Games with self-loading pistols, five were won with firearms that would be banned .

SB 281 would have a devastating impact on Maryland's top competitors in the shooting sports. Competing at a World Championship or Olympic level is quite hard enough without being hobbled by substandard equipment. A bill drafted with such a callous disregard for our Olympic hopefuls should be rejected completely.

 

[Simon Yu]

Okay, so I'm coming out of the woodwork for the hearing but need to bounce off some ideas off others before I run off on another direction in regards to testimony again.

I originally was planning on basing testimony around how the federal AWB did nothing to prevent Columbine or the Beltway attacks (the former was a quick latching point since I was a high school student when that occurred) but I imagine others may have already covered it.

I had played around a bit with working in something about how the town Sandy Hook in in had a mental institution until it was shut down due to lack of funding in the 90s and there's the potential for it to have prevented in the incident had it still been around, but that's really something better used in a rebuttal statement IMO.

Instead, I'm now leaning in one of two directions.

First, there's pointing out that not only are detachable magazines of over 10 rounds common, but they go back to WW2 with the M1 carbine. This would pretty much be about the absurdity of treating features dating back to before my grandparents started a family as a new and sudden threat.

Another idea that came to me at work the other day was the logistical issues with keeping a database of gun registrations secure in light of how many government agencies, contractors, and police departments have suffered hacking and data theft in the past few years and pointing out how criminals with a monetary interest in burglary targets or blackmail information via the home addresses of prison guards and police would be even more motivated to break into a database with gun owner info than the teenagers and 20 somethings that join in Anonymous's hacking operations as a hobby. The downside of this approach is that it's pretty niche and previous legislative sessions have informed me that our elected officials are really not the most technical people. It does have the advantages of being an avenue of thought that's different from most, it turns the tables a bit in pointing out how a registration could be a threat to public safety, and this is a field I know pretty well due to working as a software engineer and interacting with databases.

I basically need help choosing between using a different avenue of argument or helping hammer home how out of touch the proposed restrictions are in regards to modern firearms.

 

[Goateggs]

I'm so inspired reading all the different avenues of testimony that various individuals are pursuing. This really is a grassroots effort. I am so excited to be a part of this.

I just wanted to share an insight I had earlier today. I have been practicing delivering my testimony, because I was afraid of becoming nervous and flubbing. And then I realized that I had nothing to be nervous about because these people are not my superiors. They are not my bosses. I am THEIR boss. They work for me. They work for you, and for all of us.

And I can tell you...if they were my employees back at the office, their annual performance reviews would be damn uncomfortable affairs. The Maryland states' attorney recently had his ass handed to him by the 4th Circuit on Woollard. This legislature should be spending its time figuring out how they're going to comply with the gutting of their current concealed carry regime, not cooking up new restrictions that will almost certainly not bear constitutional scrutiny.

So when I stand at that lectern on Wednesday and deliver my testimony, I'm delivering it to an inept and truculent underling who is going to be given his pink slip if he doesn't get with the program.

 

[hodgepodge]

Instead, I'm now leaning in one of two directions.

First, there's pointing out that not only are detachable magazines of over 10 rounds common, but they go back to WW2 with the M1 carbine. This would pretty much be about the absurdity of treating features dating back to before my grandparents started a family as a new and sudden threat.

Another idea that came to me at work the other day was the logistical issues with keeping a database of gun registrations secure in light of how many government agencies, contractors, and police departments have suffered hacking and data theft in the past few years and pointing out how criminals with a monetary interest in burglary targets or blackmail information via the home addresses of prison guards and police would be even more motivated to break into a database with gun owner info than the teenagers and 20 somethings that join in Anonymous's hacking operations as a hobby. The downside of this approach is that it's pretty niche and previous legislative sessions have informed me that our elected officials are really not the most technical people. It does have the advantages of being an avenue of thought that's different from most, it turns the tables a bit in pointing out how a registration could be a threat to public safety, and this is a field I know pretty well due to working as a software engineer and interacting with databases.

I basically need help choosing between using a different avenue of argument or helping hammer home how out of touch the proposed restrictions are in regards to modern firearms.

I'm thinking that hitting one point is good. There's so much wrong with each bill, but for clarity, focus on one thing.


I think the first point is clearer to the politicians and lawyers.

 

[eruby]

I searched for an naswer but could not find one.

If signups for testimony start at 9:00am, do you give testimony in the order you signed up?

I will be there early but can not stay for the duration, and don't want to sign up if I may not be able to testify. I can always be a body at the rally outside.

 

[J-Dog]

I would like to testify, but I've been having some trouble writing up something that would be suitable. Would it be acceptable to just go up, state my name, town, occupation, and that I am against SB281 (and the other bills that call for increased gun control) because they restrict law abiding peoples ability own firearms, and impose fees to exercise a constitutional right?

 

[MJD438]

I would like to testify, but I've been having some trouble writing up something that would be suitable. Would it be acceptable to just go up, state my name, town, occupation, and that I am against SB281 (and the other bills that call for increased gun control) because they restrict law abiding peoples ability own firearms, and impose fees to exercise a constitutional right?

Yes - perfectly acceptable. Written testimony is not required.

 

[J-Dog]

Yes - perfectly acceptable. Written testimony is not required.

Thanks.
I was just worried about writing up and presenting some testimony, and then having Frosh put me on the spot trying to poke holes in my opinions.

There's so much that's wrong with these bills they're proposing, it's hard to pick just one or two things to oppose.

 

[tsmith1499]

I plan on turning in written testimony so it gets on the record. Flood them with paperwork. When/if I do get the chance to actually testify it will be along the same lines as name, town occupation and I am against any and all legislation that infringes upon my second amendment rights. Thank you. Short and sweet. That way the more eloquent among us can get their entire 3 minutes and more people come in front of them.

 

[hvymax]

There used to be a format for written testimony. I can't seem to find it anywhere.