It was good to meet you too.
I noticed a rather interesting change in the tone of the people testifying today, compared to the last 2 years.
In 2010 at the "Reciprocity" hearing, everyone testifying "for" the bill was painfully polite--cow-towing to the Chairman and the Committee, and being almost apologetic in their delivery (I'll admit, me too, since it was my first time there).
Last year, I could not attend, but watched it via the live stream. It seemed like two or three people came with a bit of an attitude, and their frustration with the Committee's "desk-drawer veto" strategy was starting to show. A few even mentioned it, I think...
This year, I'd estimate that a good 25 or 30% of the people brought a serious attitude to the table--and all I can say is that IT IS ABOUT TIME! Chairman Vallerio runs these hearings in the most rude, disrepsectful manner I think I've ever seen in a legislative setting. He naps during testimonies, he gets up and leaves when women testify, he cuts people off when they say things he doesn't like, and he ignores the "pro-bill" delegates requests to ask questions of the people testifying.
Vallario cut me off PRECISELY at 3:00 minutes. Perhaps it was because I stated that anyone who would value a Krugerrand, a bottle fo prescription drugs,or a diamond necklace more than my 2-year-old granddaughter is a sociopath (which is EXACTLY what the MSP does in practice and implementation of "good and substantial reason")
Or it may have been when I accuse the Committee of being "duplicitous, racist, classist oligarchs" for their treatment of pro-gun bills in the legislature in the past.
But I was glad that Delegate Alston directed her Q&A question to me, to let me show sone of the graphics I made to the panel, to illustrate just how "good and substantial reason" works in implementation by MSP.
Although I didn't get to finish my presentation, I DID give copies of it to Del. Alston and Del. Smigiel. I also gave copies of all my graphics (including the "MD LEO Bad Boy list, which was 5 tabloid-sized sheets of paper, taped end to end) to Smigiel.
I was THRILLED when "Delegate Mike" started his line of questioning with the MSP reps on whether they thought that average, law-abiding citizens had a greater propensity toward violence than LEOs. The rep from MSP sort of hemmed and hawed over his answer, saying something about the difficulty to predict the future behavior of people, to which Del. Mike unfolded (with a dramatic flourish) my "Bad Boys" list, and asked him what he thought about these LEOs. He then launched into what amounted to a word-for-word repeat of the paragraph from my testimony (that I was unable to deliver, because I was cut off by Vallerio) and stated the fact that EVERY violent crime committed in MD in the last 3 years by someone authorised to carry concealed was committed by an LEO, an officer of the Court, or an elected official.
The MSP rep responded to that by saying something like "well, anyone can make up a list of names" (implying that it was made-up or fabricated), so Smigiel started reading them off, and reading their violations, asking the MSP officer if he had heard of this one or that one. Of course, the three or four he read were all VERY high-profile cases, that EVERYONE in the DC-Metro area has heard of, and MSP DEFINITELY has heard of (because they were involved in the cases).
I actually got a few pats on the back in the gallery because of that...
And when we took a break, Del. Alston saw me in the lobby, and came over to thank me for my testimony, and told me that she had made copies of my testimony and distributed them to all the members of the Committee. That made me feel REALLY good too.
And afterwards, I had probably half a dozen people come up to me and thank me for my testimony. One woman said "that guy from NC really stole the show". Several people expressed their relief that someone finally started standing up to the Committee, and speaking the Truth about this matter.
So I didn't get to PERSONALLY deliver my entire presentation, but between Del. Alston's Q&A and Del. Smigiel's sampling of the part of my testimony that wasn't allowed to be delivered, I came away from the day pretty satisfied.
The only drawback is that I'll probably be jacked by some MD LEO on some dark stretch of highway by summer. But I've got the video cams, and I'm not afraid to use them...
