What’s this? Criminals are choosing not to obey Maryland’s gun laws?! Ya don’t say…

Back in 2013, Maryland passed tougher restrictions on gun sales when Governor Martin O’Malley approved requiring fingerprinting for handgun sales, a ban on 45 types of ‘assault weapons’ and limiting magazines to 10 bullets. Gun control advocates claimed the fingerprinting requirement would help keep guns away from criminals by making people ‘reluctant to buy firearms for those who are not allowed to have them’.

“Together, with a strong coalition of advocates, and the people of Maryland who overwhelmingly support policies to reduce gun violence, we’ve chosen to take action by advancing strategies that work to save lives,” O’Malley said at the time.

But in the four years since implementing the expanded gun laws, Baltimore police continue to see an uptick in criminals carrying the banned magazines.

“We’re dealing with absolute criminals who want as much weaponry as possible when they’re going after their targets,” T.J. Smith, a Baltimore police spokesperson told The Trace. “They’re not carrying .22s. They’re carrying the big guns that have these high capacities.”

Baltimore police confiscated nearly 450 guns last year with enough room in the magazine to carry at least 11 rounds — high-capacity, as defined by the state — more than during any period in at least the last seven years.

Twenty-two percent of all recovered firearms were equipped with a high-capacity magazine, a 4 percentage point increase over 2013, the year the ban was adopted.

Criminals don’t obey the laws? Wow, it’s almost as if that’s what makes them… criminals.

Stupid is as stupid does.