From Del. Glen Glass:
Dear Constituent,
Tonight, the gun bill passed through committee without substantial changes.
I do respect the views of other people, and that some of us think this makes us safer. I personally believe that we do not have to sacrifice our rights for safety. This county is founded on principles that are enduring, as enduring as this great county.
That is why I participated in the Democratic process tonight, with my colleagues, both Democrat and Republican to submit amendments for 8 hours in order to fix the bill. Some minor ones were accepted but not enough to change my view on the bill. All Republicans voted NO and some Democratic did as well.
I cannot vote for this bill because it affects law abiding gun owners and doesn’t touch crime. It makes the law-abiding citizens jump through hoops to protect their families.
It would be better to make the criminals learn how to make little rocks out of big rocks for a long time instead of punishing law-abiding Maryland citizens for exercising their right to bear arms.
Senate Bill 281 will go on the floor early next week where both Republican and Democrats will add amendments and try to take out the worst parts of this bill.
I also want to thank you all who took the precious time out of your day to contact me and the other Delegates and Senators. You came down to Annapolis, losing a day’s pay, to participate in the Democratic process. Thank you for standing for freedom, and know that I will always stand with you.
Your Delegate and Servant,
Glen
Thank you Del. Glass and the other patriots who fought at the side of you, Del Smiegel and the other Delegates tonight. You all made us proud.
Chairman Vallerio showed hs true colors when the vet didn’t go the way he wanted, he just held another vote. Violate his own committee rules? No problem when you’re a Dem with a gavel.
They think they can just vote to take away our Constitutinal rights. Their day is coming. We will only take so much more.
BFM
Ellicott City
Thanks you Glen for standing for what is right. Protecting the criminals while disarming the patriots is ungodly! Leave it to O’Malley and the Democrats, and that is exactly what they are prone to do. Read the results of gun control from around the world and you can plainly see what is and isn’t accomplished. The criminals do not need to have the upper hand. We are also dealing with our Constitutional Rights. Continue to protect them!
You just gotta love the Dems. In DC. they vote to arm every so called rebel in the entire world using our tax money but vote to disarm their own law-abiding citizens. O’Malley and probably Busch and Miller have their own armed security 24/7 or else they can get a carry permit for themselves very easily. As for the rest of us, well, we’re at the mercy of the thugs. Go figure.
O’Malley is as hell-bent on ruining our state, as Obama is on ruining our country. Neither of them have a soul. They are two rotten peas in a pod. Between gun control, outrageous taxes, and being a come-to state for illegal aliens – it’s time to move to another state. Maybe O’Malley will be happy when he is the only Maryland citizen left. Let HIM sleep in the sewer-bed he has created, all by himself. What a disgusting excuse for a human being.
Seems to me that I remember an old saying that goes something like “once they outlaw guns, only the criminals will have guns”.
North Korea threatens war. China grows its military every day. Russia’s bravado is ignited by anti americanism, Al-qaeda attacks every where, the border with Mexico is aflame with drug violence and these idiots want to disarm US. Brilliant.
Please be standing in the front row, as you hold your semi-automatic assault style rifle, as the waves of well trained, heavily armed J-20 and Su-35 Fighters roll through your neighborhood. Your bravery will finally earn you that statue you have been angling for since you started posting criticisms of others on the Dagger.
Brave Americans toe that line everyday, fighting for the very freedom that you cast aside.
-Because
Please be kneeling before your masters during every power grab and understand that they don’t care about you but just want you to be quiet.
-Because
Your criticism is as rampant as anyone elses.
Why don’t you take a break, isn’t there a welfare queen you’re supposed to be chasing?
You will be happy to know the IRS is after her for failing to disclose the money she defrauded from the State of Maryland for Unemployment benefits she was not entitled to. She is now everyone’s problem… and that includes you too.
-Because
Her on welfare and you on the goverment rolls makes both of you my problem.
You’re both on welfare but from different ends of the spectrum.
Glass can’t vote for the bill because ‘it affects law-abiding gun owners and doesn’t touch crime.’
Del. Glass, the purpose of the bill is to make our leaders in Annapolis look good and their followers feel better. And if our rights get in the way too bad.
Its so O’Malley has anti-gun credentials when he goes toe-to-toe with Cuomo in the 2016 primary. Cuomo passed the Safe Act, O’Malley needs to sign SB281 so he can catch up, regardless of their constitutionality (by the time either gets to the Supreme Court, the general election will be over). One problem for O’Malley is that MD’s legislative session runs January-April, while NY’s runs January-June, so Cuomo has more time to push through resume-enhancing legislation.
Can you imagine the damage these legislators and governor could do in Maryland if they were in session for 6 months like they are in New York?
If these elected fools have sworn to uphold the Constitution of the US, and they do not do their job, there are two choices – 1. fire them (which Marylanders seem incapable of doing), and 2. disobey them. Their “laws” are unconstitutional – plain as the nose on your face. Read the document, read the Supreme Court rulings. They will not, should not, cannot succeed.
These fools are not elected Persuant to the US constitution but the MD Constitution.
Correct, and there is no right to bear arms in the maryland declaration of rights, however article 28 is pretty clear in the importance of a militia.
correct a militia is impoortant but it also says standing armies are bad and any army should be subordinate to the civil authorities. No where does it bestow an individual right to gun ownership.
how do you have a militia without private gun ownership?
National Gaurd is a Malitia and I am pretty sure they do not all have their own privately owned weapons and such. If they meant you had a right to own a gun…..they would have said it. Clearly the concept was not foriegn to them as the US Constitution contained a provision which did.
The national guard is militia in history, and labeled as such to allow it to function on the mainland, but is paid and funded federally. Not to mention controlled federally to resist rebellion. Doesn’t fit with its charge in the state constitution anymore.
“The militia are turning out with great alacrity both in Maryland and Pennsylvania. They are distressed for want of arms. Many have none, we shall rake and scrape enough to do Howe’s business, by favor of the Heaven.” John Adams
Cdev:
I suggest you read the Supreme Court opinion in McDonald v Chicago, it incorporates the Second Amendment against the states, requiring that they honor the rights of their citizens to keep and bear arms. Regardless of MD’s Constitution, the state must also abide by the incorporated portions of the Bill of Rights.
@CDEV
There is no document anywhere in federal or state constitutional that says that “standing Armies are bad.” You are simply being obtuse. Every anti gun kook wants to dwell on the word militia, even when misspelled. The fact is that the first ten amendments to the Constitution are the bill of rights (as opposed to the bill of wants or bill of needs.) The bill of rights spells out the rights that are endowed by God to each and every citizen of this nation. If the second can be modified or bastardized by some feel good nut, can the first also be so modified? What items of free speech can be ruled to be disallowed? Don’t toss the fire in the theater line here, as that refers to the rights of the theater goers to see and hear a play without some loud outburst. How about the tenth amendment? Should that be interpreted to be for all states except Maryland? Wake up, smell the roses. Now go read the entire constitution and the federalist papers without the rose colored glasses and report back next week,
Arturro Article 29 of The Maryland Declaration of Rights
“That Standing Armies are dangerous to liberty, and ought not to be raised, or kept up, without the consent of the Legislature.”
Kharn I totally agree but Fed Up seemed to forget that the General Assembly and Governor are not sworn to uphold the US Constitution. The better arguement would to have looked at the MD Decleration of rights Article 2!
My point is the state can pass gun regulations. That has always been permissable and still is. They can not prohibit gun ownership! Those that believe the 2nd ammendment is an unrestricted right need to explain how prohibitions on felons owning guns are OK but not a background check to ensure you are not a felon isn’t.
Article 1, Section 9 of the MD Constitution requires elected officials to take an oath of office; in which, the elected official is required to support the constitution of the United States.
To Fed up: A M E N !!!
Molon labe!
In 1886 in Presser v Illinois, the Supreme Court ruled the citizens were members of the federal militia, as were “all citizens capable of bearing arms.” Earlier rulings to disarm citizens were targeted at African-Americans (free slaves) – today it’s pretty clear that those rulings help “keep down” the former slaves. So where do you think our esteemed politicians intentions are today? They could be spending time figuring out how to keep bad guys off the street through enforcement of existing piles of laws, but it feels so much better to meet an idealogical goal and sound tough! Luther L – you are right on the money.
@Kharn – although I’m probably preaching to the choir – it is no different that Federally requiring that States do not undermine any other of the Bill of Rights. For instance, a State cannot impose some sort of “limited servitude” upon its people contrary to the 14th Amendment no matter how popular it may be within their State’s boundaries. What people are also losing sight of is what the settlers came to the New World in search of. Answer that question, then bring yourself up to the 1770s when the framers of the Constitution looked at their progression from apparent freedom of oppression to a new oppression. What was important for all of those people – read the Bill of Rights for the answers. It was obvious to them and it should be obvious to all of us. The laws are about We the People, not about the politicians. The 2nd Amendment is widely misunderstood today – it underpins all of the Bill of Rights, our unalienable, God-given rights. None of us who support and exercise this right want criminals walking around, nor do we support vigilantyism. We do support the enforcement of our existing laws and stop exposing society to bad people who have proven time and again that they belong in prison at best. The MD laws being discussed are contrary to the Bill of Rights. No Marylander should be satisfied with that regardless of your desire to exercise this right.
Someone please answer this question: Regardless or constitutions, state or federal; how are my guns a threat to anyone?
To Brianc: In answer to your question, your guns are a threat to too many control-freak legislators (mostly Democrats, but certainly some Republicans as well, horrifyingly) that unfortunately were voted into office by low-information, constitutionally-ignorant voters. Anyone who wants to control YOU, of course, does not want YOU to have the means to defend and protect yourself from THEIR control over you. These people really are not capable of understanding moral and ethical thinking. They truly think that YOU are not capable of making good decisions, and that THEIR decisions are superior to yours. In that light, they are truly dangerous to our welfare. This elite, tyrannical thinking is precisely what led to a revolution a couple hundred years ago. In my mind, the abuses and crimes of our current electorate have already far surpassed those committed before. They have CLEARLY stepped over the line. It is time for we the people to vote ALL of them out of office – and correct the tragic mistake of letting them get into office in the FIRST place.
Nice response PROPRIV!!! You hit the nail right on the head. Most people are more concerned about posting recipes and cute pics of their kids on FB then what is going on in Annapolis and DC.
A Hitler quote: “How fortunate for governments that the people they administer don’t think.”