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To Mr. Senator Roy Dyson,
I am asking you not to support Senate Bill 43. This bill is another attempt to criminalize ordinary gun owners in Maryland. This bill is aimed to put harsher restrictions on ordinary citizens all the while criminals do as they wish regardless of any law or new law, or perhaps this is an attempt to criminlize the legal gun owners. The people who do own firearms in Maryland legally go through the proper processes such as waiting periods as well as background investigations to do so, and further shouldn't be punished by what they can and cannot purchase, own and use.
I would also like to state that the current gun laws haven't been working. Maryland has a very high crime rate and regardless of whether you take the guns away from ordinary law abiding citizens will make no difference to the criminals but rather give them what they want. I notice alot of other states have sensible self defense laws like the "Castle Doctrine" which states that you do not have to retreat in your own home, car etc, and that you have the right to defend yourself and your family. In Maryland there is no such law. I also have noticed that Maryland is not a Shall Issue state as far as Concealed Handgun Permits are concerned. If you look at the US Department of Justice/FBI statistics you will find that the states that are shall issue states have extremely lower crime rate than those which do not (Maryland). You will also find that "Assault Weapons" are not the source of crime in Maryland either. What you will find is that we are #1 in armed robbery, #1 in Carjackings and auto theft out of all 50 states. You will also find that the politicians have done nothing to protect the law abiding citizens. If you read into how you can actually get a concealed carry permit through the state police one of the things you must show is that you have been a victim. I think this is wrong and it must be changed.
Having served in the military and deployed to Hurricane Katrina I can tell you first hand that the guns down there that the ordinary law abiding citizens owned, helped secure the streets, helped the local police departments when some of their officers quit, other citizens stepped up to the plate guarding banks and their own homes without anyone asking to do so. These citizens were armed with everything from pistols to "assault weapons", and it was a great deterrent to the criminals looking to gain something from the already bad situation. This allowed ordinary citizens like you and myself to protect everything they worked for when the government wasn't able to. It enabled them to protect their lives and the lives of others when the local, state and federal government could not. They made the job of the US military easier by allowing us to focus on more important issues and not be stuck with worrying about a bank, casino or any other ordinary business. It allowed us to focus on rescuing stranded citizens rather than worrying about looters and hardened criminals.
I think that the state needs to focus more on crime prevention strategy rather than the failed one that we have already. This strategy that the local police departments have and whatnot, the hire more cops, or build new jails is not working. The whole strategy that plans to criminalize gun owners isn't going to work either. Criminals will continue to do what they do, weasel their way in and out of the legal system, and they will continue to victimize the citizens of maryland on a daily basis knowing in the back of their mind that they are unarmed, knowing that we rely on a 911 system where police response time is slow, knowing that 911 maybe busy. Until lawmakers empower the citizens to defend themselves and their families against the criminal threat in this state will continue to go unchecked. There is a reason that they choose not to rob and rape in Virginia, because they know that the citizens of Virginia are armed and it is one of the best, most cost effective deterrents against crime that any state could ask for. Furthermore, its written in the US. Constitution, the 2nd Amendment is what makes this country great and gives the power to the law abiding citizens, it ensures that we have freedom of speech, and guarantee's the rights and freedoms to all future Americans and Marylanders. I am asking you Mr. Senator not to side with the criminals and take away the rights of the law abiding citizens.
Southern Maryland Voter,
Thomas Lee Wilson, Jr.
