One of the authors of the original story in the Baltimore Sun is a family friend. I wish she's consulted me before she posted her story--I could have given her some pointers to spin this one in a more favorable light for lawful gun owners...
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/ma...-ci-shooting-hopkins-20100916,0,1885569.story
Anyway, the shooter, Paul Warren Pardus, was a VA resident and lived in Arlington. He was (unfortunately for us) a VA PCCH holder. He was, by all accounts, a sweet, thoughtful, and law-abiding fellow, but apparently his mother's failing health pushed him over the edge.
Unfortunately, we can rest assured that the MD government and MSP are going to use this horribly tragic incident to "prove" that other state's permitting processes are not trustworthy to deny reciprocity in the future. This case is going to become the "poster child" for denial of carry permits from other states for sure, and I imagine it will even be used to deny their OWN citizens a "shall issue" policy in the SAF/Gura case.
The fact that the shooter, Pardis, is black, will most likely come into play too. He's EXACTLY the "wrong kinds of people" that Annapolis and Pikesville don't want getting guns, and his race WILL become an issue in the future, because the government leadership of MD will MAKE it an issue. These anti-human-rights sociopaths in Pikesville and Annapolis are willing to stoop to ANY depth to "prove" their point, and will delve into the deepest pits of propaganda and disinformation to continue their oppressive regime of subjugating the good people of MD.
The Governor and MSP take great delight in dancing in the blood of victims when they can use it as an excuse to deny fundamental human rights to their citizens, and people from other states. It is reprehensible that they will use this tragedy to try and bolster their oppressive, anti-human-rights agenda of disarmament, but it is pretty much a guarantee that they will do just that.
We should all be prepared for the tsunami of anti-rights propaganda that is about to begin spewing forth from Annapolis and Pikesville related to this case. It will be disgusting. It will be irrational and illogical. They are going to attempt to use this one isolated, unpredictable tragedy to punish and oppress the MAJORITY of law-abiding permit holders in the region by denying reciprocity, and their own Citizens in MD by denying MD permits to "regular people". Be prepared for it folks. They've tasted innocent blood in Annapolis and Pikesville, and they're not going to let go of this one for a LONG time...
All that said, I agree with GWBiker. This story can't possibly be true. The shooter was a VA resident, and MD and VA don't have Reciprocity. Plus, Johns Hopkins is posted (however, in MD, there is no specific statute prohibiting the carrying of a firearm in hospitals). Plus transporting a firearm in MD is illegal unless you're going to an "approved location" and hospitals are not on the MD list of "approved locations". There is NO POSSIBLE WAY that someone could take a gun into MD from Arlington VA, go into a posted building, and shoot someone with a non-permitted concealed weapon, because there are a myriad of laws and signs that prohibit such things.
And we all know that criminals, the insane, and the irrational ALWAYS obey the law and pay attention to signs...
</sarcasm>
The blood of Jean Davis and Dr. David B. Cohen is on the hands of MD Gov. Martin O'Malley, MD
Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler, and MSP Superintendent Col. Terrance Sheridan. I hope they are continually haunted by the memories of these innocent victims...