Thursday, April 4, 2013
The 28-19 vote helps Gov. Martin O'Malley's top legislative priority avoid a conference committee some believed would kill the legislation.
Maryland senators voted Thursday night to approve an amended gun control bill rather than send the legislation to conference committee. Senators approved the bill by a vote of 28-19 just one day after the House debated the bill for 10 hours over two-days and added 17 amendments to a bill previously approved by the Senate. The bill was a major component of Gov. Martin O’Malley’s legislative priorities for the 90-day legislative session. “The fact is, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 provides no safety,” said Sen. EJ Pipkin, Senate Minority Leader. The concurrence means that the bill goes to Gov. Martin O’Malley for his signature rather than to a conference committee with just four days left in the session. Sen. Brian Frosh, a Montgomery …
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The amended bill, passed by a 78-61 vote, will go back to the Senate and possibly a conference committee.
The Maryland House of Delegates Wednesday passed gun control legislation proposed by Gov. Martin O'Malley by a vote of 78-61. The amended bill bans 40 kinds of rifles including the AR15, requires fingerprinting and licensing of all purchasers of new guns and broadens the law prohibiting firearms purchases by anyone who is involuntarily committed because of mental illness. The bill was a major component of O'Malley's legislative package announced at the beginning of the 90-day session. The House of Delegates debated the bill for nearly 10 hours over two days. The amended bill will return to the Senate. The bill could go to a conference committee if the Senate does not accept the changes made by the House. Both the House and Senate must …
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
Bill would force gun owners to carry a minimum of $250,000 of coverage.
A number of gun control measures recently have been introduced into the Maryland Legislature, including one that would require anyone who owns a firearm to have a minimum of $250,000 liability insurance. Sens. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery County) and Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) are the sponsors of Senate Bill 577, which would require anyone who owns a firearm to have a minimum of $250,000 of liability insurance. The bill is similar to legislation being proposed in Pennsylvania, California and Massachusetts. The Baltimore Sun views the legislation as being “designed to harness market forces to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people the same way the cost of car insurance can keep bad drivers off the road.” How the mandated …
Thursday, February 7, 2013
A state senator wants a new state bird; one man's technolgical fortress is his castle; and the Senate president feels snubbed by Obama.
It's not a statue in front of the office building that bares his name but Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller did receive a bust of himself this week courtesy of the Regional Manufacturing Institute. Sen. Kathy Klausmeier, a Perry Hall Democrat, gave a sneak preview of the small, light-weight bust of Miller moments before presenting it to the Senate's top dog. "You can't have too much Mike Miller," Klausmeier said. The technology is similar to what was used in a scene of Jurassic Park 3 where a copy of a velociraptor's larynx was recreated. The institute offered legislators in Annapolis the opportunity to have themselves scanned into a computer and get busts of themselves. Miller seemed impressed with the petite bust but joked that it …
Hundreds head to Annapolis to testify for and against a package of bills that would tighten gun regulations in Maryland.
Gun control supporters and opponents descended on a hearing room in Annapolis to debate a package of bills that is likely to be as divisive as any issue during the 90-day General Assembly session. Gov. Martin O'Malley said his legislation was driven by the shootings in Newtown, CT. and more than 500 shooting deaths in Maryland last year. "We are still losing too many of our citizens to gun violence," O'Malley said. "There's no such thing in our state as a spare American." Hundreds gathered outside the State House Wednesday morning, hours before O'Malley was to testify, to rally against the proposed laws. A line of people waiting to testify stretched outside the Senate office building. More than 500 people signed up to testify even though …
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Hundreds gather on the day Gov. Martin O'Malley testifies in favor of gun legislation he proposed earlier this year.
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Wednesday, February 6
By Rashee Raj Kumar Capital News Service Hundreds of gun rights advocates rallied outside the State House Wednesday in opposition to new gun control measures proposed by Gov. Martin O’Malley. As O’Malley testified in favor of new gun restrictions before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, protesters outside said his proposals to ban assault weapons, limit magazine sizes and strengthen licensing measures would erode their rights. Jay Hanlon, a retiree from Silver Spring, held a sign arguing that the Second Amendment protected gun ownership, including assault weapons, as a check against “Domestic Enemies.” “That’s the weapon we need to defend ourselves against a government gone bad—against our oppressors,” said Hanlon, 65. Kerry …
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
The governor's seventh State of the State address is seen by many as a prelude to an expected run for president in 2016.
Gov. Martin O'Malley Wednesday urged lawmakers to pass his offshore wind bill and find more money for transportation projects—though he offered no details on a gas tax initiative. In his seventh State of the State speech, the Democratic governor also used his 35-minute address to remind legislators of what he sees as his major accomplishments since taking office in 2007. In many ways, the speech seemed to lay the groundwork for what many expect will be a run for President in 2016. Choice was a major theme in O'Malley's speech. "Better choices. Better results. The proof is in our progress," O'Malley said. [Read O'Malley's speech as prepared or watch it.] O'Malley's Legislative Wish List On the top of O'Malley's wish list are the passage of …
Monday, January 28, 2013
It's taking three times longer for background checks.
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Monday, January 28
By Rashee Raj Kumar, Capital News Service Want to buy a gun? Get in line. Maryland State Police are taking three times longer than usual to finish background checks on new gun purchases, Maryland gun dealers said in interviews. The process usually takes seven days, but several Maryland gun dealers said it was taking three weeks or more for the agency to complete the checks. They blamed the delay on a surge in gun sales sparked by debate over new gun control regulations proposed by President Barack Obama and Gov. Martin O’Malley. “Right now a standard background check is running about three weeks and MSP is being more and more restrictive,” said Andrew Raymond, co-owner of Engage Armament in Rockville. “That’s making things much more …
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
A new poll by Annapolis-Based Gonzales Research shows support for banning assault weapons while only 25 percent of those polled want to see Gov. Martin O'Malley run for President.
Nearly two-thirds of Marylanders surveyed say a sentence of life without parole is an acceptable alternative to the death penalty. The results are part of a survey released early Wednesday morning by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research. The poll 801 state residents found that support for the death penalty in the state has slipped to 49 percent. In 2011, that same poll found that 56 percent of those polled favored the death penalty. Opposition to the death penalty comes from Democrats and blacks at nearly 60 percent each. Republicans, independents and whites all favor the retention of capital punishment, according to the poll. Gov. Martin O'Malley has made the repeal of the death penalty one of his legislative priorities for the 2013 Maryland…
Monday, January 21, 2013
After the Newtown, CT school shooting, Maryland legislators are looking at a number of ways to make schools safer.
According to Annapolis Patch, delegates from Anne Arundel County are introducing legislation on Tuesday, Jan. 22 in hopes of increasing security and mental health services at public schools across the state. The proposed bill would also pay for an armed resource officer at each school. "If you really understand public schools in Maryland, you know this: They are becoming increasingly more difficult for classroom teachers because discipline is lacking at home and teachers are spending an increasing amount of time maintaining discipline in the classroom," said Del. Nic Kipke (R-Pasadena). In Montgomery County, Councilman Craig Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown, a vocal advocate of school resource officers stationed in schools, told a room full …
Deborah A Cox
3:32 pm on Sunday, April 14, 2013
In the end the only ones that will have guns are bad guys cause they already break the law. The good people of this state will not be able to protect themselves police cannot live in our home and go every where with us. So I remain scared to death. more ›