All the girls in high school "NOT DISAPPROVED" me, too.

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  • moose&squirrel

    Banned
    BANNED!!!
    Aug 25, 2018
    253
    Don't get me wrong: I was glad to get this email. But I'll never understand the phrasing of "Not Disapproved." You have to wonder how many meetings of the BOGSAT it took to come up with that phrase.

    (BOGSAT = Bunch Of Guys Sitting Around Table)

    Congratulations. Your application, XXXXX, to purchase a regulated firearm from XXXXX has been Not Disapproved by the Maryland State Police. You may return to the selected firearm dealer to arrange pickup/transfer of your item during the dealer's regular business hours.

    When you return to your selected firearm dealer to pick up your item, you will need the application PIN in order to complete the weapon transfer. The PIN for application XXXXX is: XXXX.

    If you have already taken possession of the firearm in question, or you believe you are receiving this email in error, please notify the Maryland State Police Licensing Division immediately at: 410
    Thank you,
    The Maryland State Police,
    Licensing Division
    410
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,233
    Montgomery County
    That phrase is a deliberate reminder from your state government that their default position and preference is for you to be denied. This is meant to make you feel cautious and to remain in a mother-may-I mindset about your rights.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,151
    Sun City West, AZ
    I think it may be a liability thing...if they actually approve you for a firearm then should you or someone else with your firearm commit a crime, an adventurous attorney could sue the state as a party to the crime since it was the state that approved you for the firearm in the first place. By stating you're not disapproved it means they couldn't legally stop you from obtaining it. The fear of liability drives a lot of government as well as corporate decisions.
     

    Mr.Blue

    Living In A Bizarro World
    Nov 21, 2011
    1,523
    Miserable in MD
    I think it may be a liability thing...if they actually approve you for a firearm then should you or someone else with your firearm commit a crime, an adventurous attorney could sue the state as a party to the crime since it was the state that approved you for the firearm in the first place. By stating you're not disapproved it means they couldn't legally stop you from obtaining it. The fear of liability drives a lot of government as well as corporate decisions.

    ^^^this.

    You beat me to it, sir.
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,687
    It may sound like a liability issue, but of course it's mere weasel-wording, pandering to the anti-2A crowd that the state has worked so hard to create and empower.
     

    RoadDawg

    Nos nostraque Deo
    Dec 6, 2010
    94,181
    I think it may be a liability thing...if they actually approve you for a firearm then should you or someone else with your firearm commit a crime, an adventurous attorney could sue the state as a party to the crime since it was the state that approved you for the firearm in the first place. By stating you're not disapproved it means they couldn't legally stop you from obtaining it. The fear of liability drives a lot of government as well as corporate decisions.

    Simple truth.

    This post is NOT DISSAPROVED.
     

    rbird7282

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 6, 2012
    18,531
    Columbia
    I think it may be a liability thing...if they actually approve you for a firearm then should you or someone else with your firearm commit a crime, an adventurous attorney could sue the state as a party to the crime since it was the state that approved you for the firearm in the first place. By stating you're not disapproved it means they couldn't legally stop you from obtaining it. The fear of liability drives a lot of government as well as corporate decisions.



    I doubt the state would’ve liable even if were worded differently. Hell, a county inspector can inspect a deck 10’ off of the ground but when it falls because of improper construction it’s not the county’s problem.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

    MJD438

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 28, 2012
    5,849
    Somewhere in MD
    Personally, I would conjecture that the State AG has likely advised them that it puts the State in a precarious position if they were to use the word "approved" in regards to the exercise of a Constitutionally-protected civil right, hence the double-negative weasel phrase.
     
    Last edited:

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,151
    Sun City West, AZ
    Personally, I would conjecture that the State AG has likely advised them that it puts the State in a precarious position if they were to use the word "approved" in regards to the exercise of a Constitutionally-protected civil right, hence the double-negative weasel phrase.

    Who was AG when this was first put into use? I'm guessing Comrade Joe Curran...the apparatchik's apparatchik. Whatever anti-gun, anti-freedom attitudes Brian Frosh may have he probably learned from Curran.
     

    MJD438

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 28, 2012
    5,849
    Somewhere in MD
    Who was AG when this was first put into use? I'm guessing Comrade Joe Curran...the apparatchik's apparatchik. Whatever anti-gun, anti-freedom attitudes Brian Frosh may have he probably learned from Curran.

    I would have to ask some of those with more gray hair than me. I don't know when they started using the Not Disapproved language. And, again, I am just conjecturing that this was a reason, not the entire rationale, behind the weasel words.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,813
    It's like in court when you are adjudicated "not guilty". They never say "found innocent" It's a CYA thing, I think. It means someone failed to find you guilty. Someone failed to disapprove you. They've cleaned their hands of you.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,151
    Sun City West, AZ
    I would have to ask some of those with more gray hair than me. I don't know when they started using the Not Disapproved language. And, again, I am just conjecturing that this was a reason, not the entire rationale, behind the weasel words.

    They've been using the "Not Disapproved" language since the days of paper applications...before they went to doing so on-line. Your applications would come back with a "Not Disapproved" handstamp in big letters.
     

    TheOriginalMexicanBob

    Ultimate Member
    Jul 2, 2017
    32,151
    Sun City West, AZ
    It's like in court when you are adjudicated "not guilty". They never say "found innocent" It's a CYA thing, I think. It means someone failed to find you guilty. Someone failed to disapprove you. They've cleaned their hands of you.

    It's the same when a state's attorney won't prosecute due to "insufficient evidence". It's a legal way of saying not that you're innocent but they don't have enough evidence to charge you and find you guilty.
     

    outrider58

    Eats Bacon Raw
    MDS Supporter
    Jul 29, 2014
    49,813
    It's the same when a state's attorney won't prosecute due to "insufficient evidence". It's a legal way of saying not that you're innocent but they don't have enough evidence to charge you and find you guilty.
    Exactly

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk
     

    Art3

    Eqinsu Ocha
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2015
    13,267
    Harford County
    They've been using the "Not Disapproved" language since the days of paper applications...before they went to doing so on-line. Your applications would come back with a "Not Disapproved" handstamp in big letters.

    I know it's been like that since 1999, when I came of age. I figure it's been that way when the parchmentwork actually did say, "If it pleases the crown." :shrug:
     

    rambling_one

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 19, 2007
    6,725
    Bowie, MD
    I think it may be a liability thing...if they actually approve you for a firearm then should you or someone else with your firearm commit a crime, an adventurous attorney could sue the state as a party to the crime since it was the state that approved you for the firearm in the first place. By stating you're not disapproved it means they couldn't legally stop you from obtaining it. The fear of liability drives a lot of government as well as corporate decisions.

    I suspect MD is unique in using such language.
     

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