Baltimore is undoubtedly one of the nastiest cities in the country as has been noted here before. So it should come as no surprise that Baltimore City Mayor, Stephanie Rawlings-Blake wants to make carrying a gun even more illegal than it currently is. While no one wants to see criminals with firearms, are we sure that this will even begin to deter the would-be thug from carrying a firearm without a permit? The whole definition of criminal is "does not follow the law, in letter or in spirit."
As Sebastian over at Snow Flakes In Hell noted, it would be nice to see reform to our handgun permit to wear or carry be enacted first rather than a token law change in an effort to put more criminals behind bars. Do not get me wrong, I think the idea is admirable, but those who know this state know that we should not hold our breaths for the MD legislature to change our carry laws until forced to do so. Additionally, I realize that Mayor Rawlings-Blake's "get tougher on criminals with stiffer penalities" is a good course of action, but it certainly is not an idea that will deter the worst of the harden criminals.
As I steal from fellow MD Shooters board member Patrick, we really need the SAF suit to play out in the courts. Through that arena, there will be lasting impact that politicians can't mess with, or at least that's the hope. Either way, just goes to show, that when there aren't enough criminals in the system, the police state will simply enact legislation to make more criminals.
This will ensnare lots of people caught up in the hyped anti-gun crusade in MD and Baltimore in particular.
ReplyDeleteNot sure this will hold up against preemption laws. But then again, little else makes sense in MD when it comes to guns.
Good catch.
- Patrick
Patrick,
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that this will be JUST for Baltimore, since it seems they are pushing it at the state level. Knowing the anti-gun zealots that run the show in Annapolis, my guess is they won't just apply this to B-more.