Citizen Davis Opposes Maryland Safety Act of 2013 SB281

Editors Note: Reader Jason Davis has sent us a copy of his written testimony for the Maryland Senate hearing on ‘Safety’ Act of 2013: SB 281.

Letters to the AmmoLand Editor
Letters to the AmmoLand Editor: Got something on your mind? Let us know and you can see it here.

Maryland –-(Ammoland.com)- To: Senate Committee on SB281

From: Jason Davis

Re: Bill SB281 FIREARM SAFETY ACT OF 2013

Dear elected officials:

I oppose Bill SB281 for the following reasons…

Bill SB281 is an absolute assault on freedom and liberty of the People of Maryland. Bill SB281 is an insult not only to the People of Maryland, but to all the American people, to our soldiers past and present who have died protecting those freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States, and to the Founders of this country who fought and freed us from British tyranny, that text from this bill is even being considered for legislation.

Bill SB281 in it’s entirety disregards the United States Constitution, that the People have a right to own and bear arms.

Bill SB281 in it’s entirety needs to be stripped from the Senate. Bill SB281 blatantly disregards a ruling made by Maryland U.S. District Court Judge Legg in 2012 that stated the People need not provide proof of a threat to be able to conceal carry, and declared that the Second Amendment was enough reason to be able to do so. Yet here it appears, disrespectfully, after many failed arguments (see SB281, part 5.306, A., [6], ii).

Bill SB281 disregards liberty and the Maryland Constitution. By making this bill retroactive, it ignores Article 17, stated that retrospective laws are oppressive, unjust, and incompatible with liberty.

Bill SB281 disregards all evidence that crime, especially violent and gun crime, has been going down for decades. The DOJ, the Office of Justice Programs (OJP), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS) website states, “Firearm-related crime has plummeted since 1993….Nonfatal firearm crime rates have declined since 1994…. After 1996, less than 10% of nonfatal violent crimes involved firearms” (https://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/guns.cfm). According to the FBI, violent crime rates are at historic lows (https://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/11/12170947-fbi-violent-crime-rates-in-the-us-drop-approach-historic-lows?lite). In Maryland for 2011, rifles, not assault weapons, were used to commit murder twice (https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/table-20). Compare that to 75 murders by knife.

In the 1999 FBI report THE SCHOOL SHOOTER: A THREAT ASSESSMENT PERSPECTIVE, The opening statement is, “Adolescent violence in general, and homicides in particular, have decreased since l993, but that hopeful trend has been somewhat obscured in the nationwide wave of concern over school shootings of the type examined in the National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime study. This recent form of adolescent violence is in fact quite rare. But the sudden, senseless deaths of teenagers and teachers in the middle of a school day, for no comprehensible reason, is far more shocking and gets far more attention than the less extreme acts of violence that happen in schools every week.

“Under the intense spotlight of national media coverage, a tragedy such as the Columbine High School shooting spreads horror, shock, and fear to every corner of the country. Educators, mental health professionals, legislators, law enforcement officers, parents, students, and the rest of the public all share a sense of frustration and helplessness and a compulsion to take some quick action that can prevent similar incidents in the future. Though understandable, this impulse can lead communities to forget the wisdom of H. L. Mencken’s aphorism: “For every problem, there is a solution which is simple, neat, and wrong.” In a knee-jerk reaction, communities may resort to inflexible, one-size-fits-all policies on preventing or reacting to violence..”

Their conclusions were, and I quote, “Overall, the level of violence in American schools is falling, not rising. But the shock and fear generated by the recent succession of school shootings and other violent acts in schools — and by violence in society at large — have led to intense public concern about the danger of school violence.”

Bill SB281 disregards the People’s right to self defense by restricting their access to do so competently. To deny the People the means of self-defense, you deny the People the right to self-defense. The US Bureau of Justice Statistics show that guns are the safest and most effective means of defense. Using a gun for protection results in fewer injuries to the defender than using any other means of defense and is safer than not resisting at all (Kleck G. Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America. New York: Aldine de Gruyter. 1991). By restricting magazine size, the People’s right to self defense is limited again. The police nationwide routinely discharge more than 10 rounds at their suspects (https://jjchronicles.com/2013/01/partial-list-of-police-involved-shooting-involving-more-than-10-rounds-fired/). Recently in Mt. Airy Maryland, 2 police officers used 18 rounds to subdue a man with a shotgun (https://www.gazette.net/article/20130110/NEWS/130119926/1016/mount-airy-man-killed-in-shootout-with-deputies&template=gazette). If the People are limited to 10 rounds, will they be safe? Will be they safe against multiple intruders? The answer is a resounding no. Just ask Melinda Herman of Georgia if 6 rounds would have been enough to stop multiple home intruders (https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-mom-hiding-kids-shoots-intruder/story?id=18164812). Ask NYPD Sgt. Alexander Mesa who fired 39 shots, and Officer Joseph Robinson who fired 45 rounds at Steven Murray, an alleged criminal, who was hit only 14 times. Did the officers have enough ammunition to defend themselves and the public? (https://www.policemag.com/channel/patrol/news/2012/04/26/nypd-cops-fire-84-rounds-at-murder-suspect.aspx).

Bill SB281 will do little to keep the People safe. Denver Senate President John Morse (D. Colo. Springs) even stated that additional background checks and a ban on high capacity magazines would do little to limit gun violence (https://thecoloradoobserver.com/2013/01/senate-president-morse-steps-on-democrats-gun-control-message/).

The President of the United States acknowledges that new gun laws would do little to limit gun violence by stating, “If there is even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, we’ve got an obligation to try.” What about the lives being saved everyday by People who defend themselves legally with a firearm against attackers?

Compared to about 35,000 gun deaths every year, 2.5 million good Americans use guns to protect themselves, their families, and their livelihoods – there are 65 lives protected by guns for every life lost to a gun – five lives are protected per minute – and, of those 2.5 million protective uses of guns, about 1/2 million are believed to have saved lives. (Suter E. “Guns in the Medical Literature – A Failure of Peer Review.” Journal of the Medical Association of Georgia. March 1994; 83: 133-48).

There is plenty of evidence that gun control only hurts the law abiding citizens. Existent gun laws impact only those willing to comply with such laws, good people who already honor the laws of common decency. Placing further impediments in the path of good citizens will further disproportionately disarm those good people – especially disarming good, poor people, the people who live in the areas of highest risk.

It has become apparent that Bill SB281 has nothing to do with keeping the People safe or reducing crime at all. Bill SB281 needs to be removed. The tragedies of mass gun violence is downright despicable. But why punish the law abiding? Mark Mattioli, whose 6-year-old son James was killed at Sandy Hook, told the Connecticut Senate that the legislative task force should focus its attention on enforcing gun laws already on the books rather than creating new ones.

There was another world leader who used children to prop up his radical gun-control agenda.

“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.” Mein Kampf, p. 403. Adolf Hitle

Jason Davis
6540 Twin Lake Drive
New Market, MD 21774
5 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
DALE BOWMAN

PLEASE VOTE AGAINST TIS BILL WILL ONLY HERT THE GOOD GUN OWNER OF MARYLAND.WILL NOT STOP ANYGRIME OR SHOOTING

Ron K

Great writing………….make sure every person on the Maryland Senate Judical Proceedings Committee gets a copy of this NOW…before the vote!

Shawn Grammont

The only way to stop these anti-gun is blow up their inbox and continue to get of hold of them. They can't pass the bill without the support of the people.

Buck

The " DEMONRATS " are unfazed by facts regardless of what state they are in , or even the nations capital for that matter . Their goal is citizen disarmament by any means possible , but especially by deception .

Gene Major

AMEN Mr. Davis, I totally agree with you 100%. We The People have your back and this Virginian stands with you also. We must FIGHT this attack on our Constitutional Rights and WE MUST NOT let these Elitis Tyranny assholes rule us any more. I hope and pray that people will not shake in fear when they get shook down and bullyed when the Law come and tries. I truly fear that is some mighty BIG talk on the Internet and we will see how much this will holed up when the lead starts flying. May we pray to the… Read more »