Maryland Blogger alliance
The Maryland Blogger Alliance
Annapolis: tyranny or mere incompetence?
RKBA activist Don Pollock observes thus:
Maryland's Constitution, Article 13, states: …every man hath a right
to petition the Legislature for the redress of grievances… .
Inherent in that declaration is an expectation that such a petition
will receive a proper hearing.
Such is not the case regarding the people's plea for relief from the
State's discriminatory handgun permit law.
Every year a bill is introduced which guarantees the people's right of
self-protection. Every year such bills are ignored by the judiciary
committee chairmen.
No committee vote, no floor debate. No floor debate, no proper hearing.
House Bill 2 is in committee now. Even though hundreds of folks
showed up to support it, HB2 still sits in Chairman Vallario's desk
drawer (the Assembly adjourns April 7th).
One person should not be able to stymie the people's will. Chairman
Vallario should call for an up or down vote and report HB2 out
(favorably or unfavorably) for a House floor debate.
What good is representative government if representatives don't
represent us?
If you are among those who think Maryland's current policy on concealed -carry permits needs no revision, may I suggest that you read this account of a well-trained applicant's travails in getting a permit, and take a look at the Maryland Shall Issue web site.
To keep yourself current on HB2, here's the state's information page. As you will see, Don Pollock is right: the bill has been languishing for two months now, and there is no sign of any change.
Suggested action: look up the members of the judiciary committee (see the link above) and contact every last one of them. Fax, telephone calls and snail-mail letters have a greater impact than emails, as all those modes of communication require staff time and create office clutter for the representatives' staff, whereas emails are readily deleted unread.
