If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you could possibly imagine.

Maryland’s tough new gun control law takes effect next week, banning the sale of assault-style rifles and requiring fingerprints and a license to buy a handgun. This month, a swarm of requests hit the Maryland State Police background check system at a pace roughly seven times that during the same time last year.

State Sen. Nancy Jacobs, a Harford County Republican, has bought two more handguns this year — one with an extended magazine. She said she understands why her constituents are making a last-minute rush to avoid complying with the law’s new requirements.

“It’s going to make it so much more difficult for law-abiding citizens to get firearms without jumping through a million hoops,” Jacobs said. “Everyone’s trying to get their guns.”

Anti-gun Democrats seem incapable of learning. Every time they’ve rammed through a gun ban, they’ve created gun owners out of people who never previously intended to own guns, and many of those people soon become our most passionate activists for freedom.