hodgepodge
Senior Member (Gold)
Jen's here with a seat at the table.
I attended last night’s session on gun violence in Annapolis. The session was hosted by Sarah Elfreth, Democratic candidate for the District 30 Senate seat.
The panel consisted of Elfreath, Jen P (Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence), Lindsay Nichols (Giffords), and Alexandra Novak (Moms). There were about 20 people present. All nodded their heads at each statement.
Jen opened by explaining Maryland’s current laws. From the 1970s through 1996, 2013 and 2018, it’s been generally positive as we’ve restricted access. Successes of 2018 included the bump-stock ban, the ERPO (“red Flag”) bill and the ability of MSP to appeal HPRB decisions to an Administrative Law Judge. The last is positive because Hogan has politicized the board with his appointments. MPGV says the HPRB is overturning 4 MSP decisions for every one they affirm. The provision of funding for Community Violence Prevention programs is also a positive result of the 2018 session.
States that have imposed requirements like Maryland’s, primarily Missouri and Connecticut, have seen great drops in suicides, youth access to guns and overall positive results. (No mention that these trends were already heading in a positive direction. Results do not indicate causation.)
Nichols indicated that while Maryland had closed many of the evil loopholes. But there are loopholes within loopholes. These include the lack of background checks in the private sales of long guns (Acknowledgement that these are rarely used fir crime, but they are evil.), the Chow case limiting prosecution for the transfer of handguns and the lack of funding for gun violence research. She indicated that we need to address the question “Who should have a gun?”
Novak, Moms Demand Action, talked about their grass roots organizing and their presence at the MDGA.
All were familiar with the statistics; the number of gun deaths, number of suicides, the number of guns in the US and the number of gun owners. They cited past studies that when guns are threatened, some new people buy guns, but that there is a tendency of gun owners to buy multiple guns. (This is bad. I was trying to count how many I own.)
They did take questions, but only written ones. I asked about stronger sentencing of criminals, as opposed to the general demand for control of lawful possession. The answer, from the Giffords rep, was basically, that we don’t want to pile on strict sentences; we want them back in their community. (How’s that working out?)
I did meet two of the Democratic nominees for the House from District 33, where I live. They were clueless. One asked why we don’t license guns like we license cars and drivers. I told her you can drive a car, on your own property without a license. The 2A would have blown her mind.
Be prepared. (Thank you, Lord Baden Powell.) Know your facts. And NEVER be afraid to confront these folks.
I attended last night’s session on gun violence in Annapolis. The session was hosted by Sarah Elfreth, Democratic candidate for the District 30 Senate seat.
The panel consisted of Elfreath, Jen P (Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence), Lindsay Nichols (Giffords), and Alexandra Novak (Moms). There were about 20 people present. All nodded their heads at each statement.
Jen opened by explaining Maryland’s current laws. From the 1970s through 1996, 2013 and 2018, it’s been generally positive as we’ve restricted access. Successes of 2018 included the bump-stock ban, the ERPO (“red Flag”) bill and the ability of MSP to appeal HPRB decisions to an Administrative Law Judge. The last is positive because Hogan has politicized the board with his appointments. MPGV says the HPRB is overturning 4 MSP decisions for every one they affirm. The provision of funding for Community Violence Prevention programs is also a positive result of the 2018 session.
States that have imposed requirements like Maryland’s, primarily Missouri and Connecticut, have seen great drops in suicides, youth access to guns and overall positive results. (No mention that these trends were already heading in a positive direction. Results do not indicate causation.)
Nichols indicated that while Maryland had closed many of the evil loopholes. But there are loopholes within loopholes. These include the lack of background checks in the private sales of long guns (Acknowledgement that these are rarely used fir crime, but they are evil.), the Chow case limiting prosecution for the transfer of handguns and the lack of funding for gun violence research. She indicated that we need to address the question “Who should have a gun?”
Novak, Moms Demand Action, talked about their grass roots organizing and their presence at the MDGA.
All were familiar with the statistics; the number of gun deaths, number of suicides, the number of guns in the US and the number of gun owners. They cited past studies that when guns are threatened, some new people buy guns, but that there is a tendency of gun owners to buy multiple guns. (This is bad. I was trying to count how many I own.)
They did take questions, but only written ones. I asked about stronger sentencing of criminals, as opposed to the general demand for control of lawful possession. The answer, from the Giffords rep, was basically, that we don’t want to pile on strict sentences; we want them back in their community. (How’s that working out?)
I did meet two of the Democratic nominees for the House from District 33, where I live. They were clueless. One asked why we don’t license guns like we license cars and drivers. I told her you can drive a car, on your own property without a license. The 2A would have blown her mind.
Be prepared. (Thank you, Lord Baden Powell.) Know your facts. And NEVER be afraid to confront these folks.
May the fleas of a thousand camels infest her armpits. - Cpl Maxwell Klinger (I think)
They did take questions, but only written ones. I asked about stronger sentencing of criminals, as opposed to the general demand for control of lawful possession. The answer, from the Giffords rep, was basically, that we don’t want to pile on strict sentences; we want them back in their community. (How’s that working out?)
States that have imposed requirements like Maryland’s, primarily Missouri and Connecticut, have seen great drops in suicides, youth access to guns and overall positive results. (No mention that these trends were already heading in a positive direction. Results do not indicate causation.)
Nichols indicated that while Maryland had closed many of the evil loopholes. But there are loopholes within loopholes. These include the lack of background checks in the private sales of long guns (Acknowledgement that these are rarely used fir crime, but they are evil.),
Novak, Moms Demand Action, talked about their grass roots organizing and their presence at the MDGA.
They did take questions, but only written ones. I asked about stronger sentencing of criminals, as opposed to the general demand for control of lawful possession. The answer, from the Giffords rep, was basically, that we don’t want to pile on strict sentences; we want them back in their community. (How’s that working out?)
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