Maryland House Passes Two Gun Control Bills

The state of Maryland has plenty of gun control. It also has plenty of violence in Baltimore despite all that gun control. Or should I say because of it?

Either way, the state doesn’t seem interested in trying something different. Nope, it’s going to double down on the gun control path.

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The Maryland House of Delegates gave final approval Monday to bills that would ban 3D printed guns and require background checks for all sales of long guns, such as shotguns and rifles.

The bills are among the priorities of gun-control advocates, but just as strongly opposed by gun-rights supporters.

After the background-check bill was approved on a 90-49 vote, a couple of observers on the House balcony shouted: “We will not comply! We will not comply!” — a slogan favored by gun rights supporters, indicating they won’t follow the bill if it becomes law.

Under current law, background checks are required for long guns only when purchased at licensed dealers.

Supporters argue that long guns are just as dangerous as handguns, and that background checks should be required for all sales of long guns. They note that a shotgun was used by a man who burst into The Capital newspaper office in Annapolis last June, killing five employees.

And yet, since the vast majority of crimes are committed with handguns, how have those universal background checks curbed violence in Baltimore?

Hmm?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Look, I get the desire to do something, but anti-gunners never take a step back and wonder if they’re doing anything useful. They simply go full-bore into whatever the latest popular measure among their crowd is and start to ram it down people’s throats.

Meanwhile, the only people impacted by this are the law-abiding citizens who are getting good and fed up with this crap.

People are saying they won’t comply because they’re being ignored completely throughout the process. We’re telling them where people buy guns. We’ve got the Department of Justice telling us where criminal buy them, too. Lawmakers are being told how this doesn’t stop the bad people from doing bad things.

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That doesn’t stop legislators from doing whatever the hell they want despite the plain, clear reality right in front of them. The only possible takeaway is that they don’t care.

So people are not going to comply with the law. They’re going to hoist their middle fingers and do what they want.

You can only push a law-abiding man so far before he’s had enough. When that happens, their only option is to spit on the hands, hoist the black flag, and to go to town.

No one wants that, but what else can you do when the people who make the laws also make it clear that they don’t give a damn about you and yours? What are you supposed to do when the laws of your state are working against you in every conceivable way?

Moving is an easy option, but it’s not an option for many people. They have jobs, family, obligations. They have things locking them to that state, which means they’re stuck.

I don’t blame the “We will not comply” crowd. Not these days. I can’t anymore.

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