tangent4ronpaul
02-28-2013, 04:57 PM
http://www.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_404h/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/02/06/Others/Images/2013-02-06/JN2_26181360183392.JPG
Gun rights advocates rally Feb. 6 in opposition to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) gun control measure. (4,000+ ppl)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/md-senate-passes-sweeping-gun-control-bill/2013/02/28/c5d38772-81b6-11e2-8074-b26a871b165a_story.html
Maryland Senate Democrats passed sweeping gun-control legislation proposed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday, with tighter firearm restrictions on the mentally ill and token concessions on a new licensing requirement that will force most gun buyers to be fingerprinted.
Before Thursday’s 28 to 19 vote, Republicans attempted a filibuster, railing against the plan for more than four hours and warning that the bill proposed by O’Malley (D) would put Maryland in the untenable position of requiring fingerprints of residents to exercise a constitutional right.
Seven conservative Democrats joined Republicans in opposition, but the motion to cut off debate passed by one vote. The Senate later approved the governor’s plan by the same margin: 28 to 19.
O’Malley’s bill now heads to the House of Delegates, where lawmakers are expected to make several changes. But with the legislature just past the halfway point of its session Friday, the bill has powerful momentum with weeks to work out a final agreement.
That was little consolation to opponents.
“You’re chipping away and chipping away at a constitutional right,” said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), who voted against the measure.
Sen. Christopher B. Shank (R-Washington) said that Democrats were willing to trample on a constitutional right that they didn’t like. “Can you imagine the outcry if we were forcing people to be fingerprinted to vote?”
Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who led proponents’ efforts to pass the bill, declined to make a final argument before the vote. Earlier in the morning, he said the bill would “save lives, period.”
In a rare bipartisan move before Thursday’s theatrics, the Senate voted late Wednesday to go beyond O’Malley’s plan to limit gun purchases by residents committed against their will for mental-health treatment. The Senate chose to do that, as well as ban future gun sales to some Marylanders who undergo voluntary admissions, a threshold that mental-health professionals have opposed.
Senate Democrats, however, protected the core of O’Malley’s plan. Over nine hours of debate, they fought off scores of attempts by Republicans and rural Democrats to weaken the bill.
Democrats held firm in requiring gun buyers to submit fingerprints, complete safety training and undergo stronger background checks to obtain a license to purchase firearms. They also passed the bulk of O’Malley’s proposed ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines containing more than 10 bullets.
Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, said the vote well positioned the General Assembly to ultimately pass the governor’s bill, which he characterized as a “life-saving measure.”
“The Senate recognized that fingerprint-based licensing of handgun purchasers is the best way for states to reduce gun violence.”
Senate Republicans successfully tacked on several measures giving gun purchasers more leeway in registering assault weapons, lengthening a year-end grace period to do so. They also reduced financial and criminal penalties for failing to register firearms and slightly narrowed the definition of assault weapons that Maryland would ban.
The mental-health change to O’Malley’s bill, authored by Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), would ban future gun purchases by patients who are admitted to a hospital for an emergency mental-health evaluation on the recommendation of a doctor, and who then agree to direct admission to a mental-health facility.
Zirkin said a broader but “more targeted” group of mental health patients could face more gun restrictions than under O’Malley’s plan. “These are people who are presenting as a danger to themselves or others and have a mental disorder,” he said. “That’s the group we need to target.”
===========================
Md. Senate passes gun control bill
Assault weapons ban, licensing requirement now head to House
- See more at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-senate-passes-gun-bill-20130228,0,7962023.story#sthash.raE0rnt0.dpuf
The Maryland Senate on Thursday approved a sweeping gun control bill that would give the state one of the strictest gun laws in the country.
In a 28-19 vote, senators approved a plan to require a license to buy a handgun, limit magazines to 10 bullets and ban the sale of assault-style weapons. Maryland State Police would be empowered to audit gun dealers, and state rules limiting gun ownership for people with mental illnesses would be expanded. Other provisions increase the information sent to databases used for background checks.
The measure goes now to the House of Delegates, which is holding a hearing Friday on the issue that is expected to bring thousands of people to Annapolis.
Despite some concessions to Republicans and some conservative Democrats, the key provisions of Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill remained intact. Opponents attempted a filibuster Thursday morning, telling childhood stories about shooting rats or trash and reading aloud letters from constituents as debate went on for about four hours before gun control supporters shut down debate.
Baltimore Sen. Nathaniel McFadden said the need for stricter gun laws transcends the Newtown shooting massacre, which killed 26 people and sparked national calls for more gun control.
"We don't have our Newtowns or Columbines in our neighborhood," McFadden said, adding that Baltimore instead lives with gun violence every day. "You can get a gun quicker than you can get an apple or an orange in my community. It's outrage, and we need to do something about it."
Sen. Brian Frosh, who lead the floor effort to pass the legislation, called it ""a life saving bill."
:mad:
-t
Gun rights advocates rally Feb. 6 in opposition to Gov. Martin O’Malley’s (D) gun control measure. (4,000+ ppl)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/md-senate-passes-sweeping-gun-control-bill/2013/02/28/c5d38772-81b6-11e2-8074-b26a871b165a_story.html
Maryland Senate Democrats passed sweeping gun-control legislation proposed by Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley on Thursday, with tighter firearm restrictions on the mentally ill and token concessions on a new licensing requirement that will force most gun buyers to be fingerprinted.
Before Thursday’s 28 to 19 vote, Republicans attempted a filibuster, railing against the plan for more than four hours and warning that the bill proposed by O’Malley (D) would put Maryland in the untenable position of requiring fingerprints of residents to exercise a constitutional right.
Seven conservative Democrats joined Republicans in opposition, but the motion to cut off debate passed by one vote. The Senate later approved the governor’s plan by the same margin: 28 to 19.
O’Malley’s bill now heads to the House of Delegates, where lawmakers are expected to make several changes. But with the legislature just past the halfway point of its session Friday, the bill has powerful momentum with weeks to work out a final agreement.
That was little consolation to opponents.
“You’re chipping away and chipping away at a constitutional right,” said Sen. Thomas M. Middleton (D-Charles), who voted against the measure.
Sen. Christopher B. Shank (R-Washington) said that Democrats were willing to trample on a constitutional right that they didn’t like. “Can you imagine the outcry if we were forcing people to be fingerprinted to vote?”
Sen. Brian E. Frosh (D-Montgomery), the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman who led proponents’ efforts to pass the bill, declined to make a final argument before the vote. Earlier in the morning, he said the bill would “save lives, period.”
In a rare bipartisan move before Thursday’s theatrics, the Senate voted late Wednesday to go beyond O’Malley’s plan to limit gun purchases by residents committed against their will for mental-health treatment. The Senate chose to do that, as well as ban future gun sales to some Marylanders who undergo voluntary admissions, a threshold that mental-health professionals have opposed.
Senate Democrats, however, protected the core of O’Malley’s plan. Over nine hours of debate, they fought off scores of attempts by Republicans and rural Democrats to weaken the bill.
Democrats held firm in requiring gun buyers to submit fingerprints, complete safety training and undergo stronger background checks to obtain a license to purchase firearms. They also passed the bulk of O’Malley’s proposed ban on assault weapons and ammunition magazines containing more than 10 bullets.
Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, said the vote well positioned the General Assembly to ultimately pass the governor’s bill, which he characterized as a “life-saving measure.”
“The Senate recognized that fingerprint-based licensing of handgun purchasers is the best way for states to reduce gun violence.”
Senate Republicans successfully tacked on several measures giving gun purchasers more leeway in registering assault weapons, lengthening a year-end grace period to do so. They also reduced financial and criminal penalties for failing to register firearms and slightly narrowed the definition of assault weapons that Maryland would ban.
The mental-health change to O’Malley’s bill, authored by Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County), would ban future gun purchases by patients who are admitted to a hospital for an emergency mental-health evaluation on the recommendation of a doctor, and who then agree to direct admission to a mental-health facility.
Zirkin said a broader but “more targeted” group of mental health patients could face more gun restrictions than under O’Malley’s plan. “These are people who are presenting as a danger to themselves or others and have a mental disorder,” he said. “That’s the group we need to target.”
===========================
Md. Senate passes gun control bill
Assault weapons ban, licensing requirement now head to House
- See more at: http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-senate-passes-gun-bill-20130228,0,7962023.story#sthash.raE0rnt0.dpuf
The Maryland Senate on Thursday approved a sweeping gun control bill that would give the state one of the strictest gun laws in the country.
In a 28-19 vote, senators approved a plan to require a license to buy a handgun, limit magazines to 10 bullets and ban the sale of assault-style weapons. Maryland State Police would be empowered to audit gun dealers, and state rules limiting gun ownership for people with mental illnesses would be expanded. Other provisions increase the information sent to databases used for background checks.
The measure goes now to the House of Delegates, which is holding a hearing Friday on the issue that is expected to bring thousands of people to Annapolis.
Despite some concessions to Republicans and some conservative Democrats, the key provisions of Gov. Martin O'Malley's bill remained intact. Opponents attempted a filibuster Thursday morning, telling childhood stories about shooting rats or trash and reading aloud letters from constituents as debate went on for about four hours before gun control supporters shut down debate.
Baltimore Sen. Nathaniel McFadden said the need for stricter gun laws transcends the Newtown shooting massacre, which killed 26 people and sparked national calls for more gun control.
"We don't have our Newtowns or Columbines in our neighborhood," McFadden said, adding that Baltimore instead lives with gun violence every day. "You can get a gun quicker than you can get an apple or an orange in my community. It's outrage, and we need to do something about it."
Sen. Brian Frosh, who lead the floor effort to pass the legislation, called it ""a life saving bill."
:mad:
-t