Maryland Shall Issue Calls Governor O'Malley "Arrogant"

On Wednesday, Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.--an organization formed to promote gun rights, including the right for a licensed, law-abiding citizen to carry a concealed weapon for protection--praised the Maryland General Assembly on handing Governor O'Malley his first veto overturn of the year when it passed a bipartisan and overwhelmingly--indeed, unanimously--backed bill to save the state money by permitting police officers to recycle their old handguns.

The Maryland Governor had, according to the organization, decided to promote his agenda for gun rights control by turning a money-saving issue into a gun control issue and calling an emergency session to raise taxes after he had vetoed the bill. This would have resulted in higher costs for the citizens in the form of taxes and for the police by forcing officers to buy brand new handguns instead of getting recycled guns for sometimes no cost at all.

The organization characterizes O'Malley's action as sheer arrogance, and harshly criticized the governor for trying to convince the state Assembly that the biggest tax hike in Maryland state history and the destruction of valuable state property are necessary for the safety of the state.

Maryland Shall Issue has pointed out that the Democratic Party has been shooting itself in the foot with its advocacy of strict gun-control laws and has called upon that party to adopt the same stance as the Republicans on defending the Second Amendment Right to keep and bear arms and acknowledging that law-abiding citizens who are armed are a powerful deterrent to would-be violent criminals.

Maryland has one of the highest rates of violent crime and gun crime in the nation. Maryland Shall Issue cites research to conclude that because the police force simply isn't large enough to prevent most violent crimes, it is up to the citizenry to also defend themselves.

In the May 12, 1999 issue of the "Wall Street Journal", John Lott concluded, "Crimes are stopped with guns about five times as frequently as crimes are committed with guns."