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FYI on Tuesday I took off work in order to testify in front of the Maryland House of Delegates Judiciary Committee for HB-9, which proposes to add a reciprocity agreement between Maryland and its border states for carrying concealed weapons. Unfortunately this would not help with my non-resident Florida CCW permit, but you have to start somewhere.
Anyway, if interested, the testimony was recorded and streamed live, and is also archived here: http://mgahouse.maryland.gov/House/S...ee2855221ae51d That link requires the Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in to play. To get my "window" within the window larger, also click on the double arrows icon along the right hand side of the main window.
FYI the camera cut off the first 1/3 of my testimony, as well as the two speakers who preceded me (one of whom was the bill sponsor). If interested the written testimony I had prepared and submitted to the committee, upon which my verbal testimony was based, is reproduced below.
Our side had a couple of dozen folks who testified. The other side had only two groups: someone representing a particularly liberal religious institution and the Maryland State Police. You'd think the MDSP would be neutral. Wrongo. The head of the MDSP is a political position and so they took the party line. However when questioned by the bill's sponsor, suddenly they adopted a line like: well we don't write the laws, we don't interpret the laws, we just enforce the laws, so we can't answer your questions because we can't take a position on the issues you raised. Nice dodge & nice attempt to have it both ways.
Anyway, if interested, the testimony was recorded and streamed live, and is also archived here: http://mgahouse.maryland.gov/House/S...ee2855221ae51d That link requires the Microsoft Silverlight browser plug-in to play. To get my "window" within the window larger, also click on the double arrows icon along the right hand side of the main window.
FYI the camera cut off the first 1/3 of my testimony, as well as the two speakers who preceded me (one of whom was the bill sponsor). If interested the written testimony I had prepared and submitted to the committee, upon which my verbal testimony was based, is reproduced below.
My name is Dr. Ray ***. I have been a resident of Maryland since I graduated with my Ph.D. in 1987 and moved here for my job. I am here today to speak in favor of HB-9.
For the last year I’ve also been the owner of a concealed weapons permit in another state. In order to obtain this permit I had to submit to a criminal and mental background investigation; be fingerprinted; photographed; and take a firearms, safety, and legal training class that included live fire of a weapon. This non-resident permit allows me to lawfully carry a concealed regulated firearm in 32 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. If I were an actual resident of that state I could carry in 4 more (Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Carolina) for a total of 36 states. An overwhelming majority of the states in this country correctly believe me to be a responsible, law abiding citizen, and capable of executing common sense and good judgment. These states also believe that in a life and death situation imposed upon me by others, that I have a right to self-defense for myself and for my family.
But not in the state of Maryland.
I’d like to give an illustration of the difference this permit means to families in Maryland vs. other states. Approximately 7 years ago, while on vacation visiting my parents in Central Florida, my wife, 5 year-old daughter, and I went to Orlando late at night to see the illuminated fountain in the middle of Lake Eola. For those of you not familiar with Lake Eola, it is in the very heart of downtown Orlando. The scenic walking trail around the circumference is almost one mile in length, and other than occasional streetlights and a park with a small playground on one side, it is isolated and dark at night for virtually the entire length.
We were having so much fun that we lost track of time and before we realized it, it was well after midnight. And yet we felt perfectly safe, despite the fact that I was completely unarmed, and 6 years away from obtaining my own concealed weapons permit. Why did I feel that way? Because since 1987 Florida has led the nation in allowing its citizens to protect themselves with concealed firearms. The year that legislation was enacted, violent crime dropped dramatically in Florida and has continued falling ever since. From 1987 to 1992 Florida’s murder rate dropped by 23% while the national average rose by 9% over the same period of time. The reason is that criminals have no way of knowing who is armed and who is not. Virtually the entire state has the legal right to self-defense, and hence criminals find ways other than face-to-face encounters to pursue their selfish ends. Unlike Maryland, criminals take their lives into their own hands whenever they foolishly try to mug, rob, or rape Florida citizens.
Contrast that with Maryland. While the Inner Harbor is safe enough when there are lots of people milling around, there is no way that I would walk with my family west from the Inner Harbor to the Light Rail system after midnight if no one else were around or within shouting distance. How much less would I walk one mile due north of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore? Criminals know with certainty that they are likely the only ones armed. They know tourists are easy prey, and ripe for the harvest. It’s open season on the innocent in the state of Maryland.
So we stay at home, as do thousands of other Maryland citizens, as do tourists who curtail what might otherwise be more extended visits. People aren’t stupid: they are not going to needlessly put themselves or their families at risk for the sake of a little entertainment. Each of us has a threshold of danger and in this state and in this environment, current self defense laws represent a drag on the economy of restaurants, theaters, and other entertainment establishments, especially in the urban areas that are most in need of the disposable income tourists represent.
Let me boil this down to one question that I have often pondered as I have traveled down I-95 to Florida, with each and every one of the states in-between possessing concealed carry permit laws. As a criminal would you rather hold up a convenience store where you are the only one holding a gun? Or would you rather hold up a store where the clerk might have a gun, the guy behind you in line might have a gun, the guy one aisle over looking at the Twinkies might have a gun, the guy coming in the front door might have a gun, and the guy in the parking lot just getting out of his car might have a gun?
I know which store I would rather shop in. And I have absolutely no doubt which store a bad guy would rather “shop” in.
Please vote for HB-9. Please vote for the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families. Please join the almost 40 states across the nation that offer some form of concealed carry reciprocity.
Sincerely,
Dr. A. Ray ***
For the last year I’ve also been the owner of a concealed weapons permit in another state. In order to obtain this permit I had to submit to a criminal and mental background investigation; be fingerprinted; photographed; and take a firearms, safety, and legal training class that included live fire of a weapon. This non-resident permit allows me to lawfully carry a concealed regulated firearm in 32 states: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. If I were an actual resident of that state I could carry in 4 more (Colorado, Michigan, New Hampshire, and South Carolina) for a total of 36 states. An overwhelming majority of the states in this country correctly believe me to be a responsible, law abiding citizen, and capable of executing common sense and good judgment. These states also believe that in a life and death situation imposed upon me by others, that I have a right to self-defense for myself and for my family.
But not in the state of Maryland.
I’d like to give an illustration of the difference this permit means to families in Maryland vs. other states. Approximately 7 years ago, while on vacation visiting my parents in Central Florida, my wife, 5 year-old daughter, and I went to Orlando late at night to see the illuminated fountain in the middle of Lake Eola. For those of you not familiar with Lake Eola, it is in the very heart of downtown Orlando. The scenic walking trail around the circumference is almost one mile in length, and other than occasional streetlights and a park with a small playground on one side, it is isolated and dark at night for virtually the entire length.
We were having so much fun that we lost track of time and before we realized it, it was well after midnight. And yet we felt perfectly safe, despite the fact that I was completely unarmed, and 6 years away from obtaining my own concealed weapons permit. Why did I feel that way? Because since 1987 Florida has led the nation in allowing its citizens to protect themselves with concealed firearms. The year that legislation was enacted, violent crime dropped dramatically in Florida and has continued falling ever since. From 1987 to 1992 Florida’s murder rate dropped by 23% while the national average rose by 9% over the same period of time. The reason is that criminals have no way of knowing who is armed and who is not. Virtually the entire state has the legal right to self-defense, and hence criminals find ways other than face-to-face encounters to pursue their selfish ends. Unlike Maryland, criminals take their lives into their own hands whenever they foolishly try to mug, rob, or rape Florida citizens.
Contrast that with Maryland. While the Inner Harbor is safe enough when there are lots of people milling around, there is no way that I would walk with my family west from the Inner Harbor to the Light Rail system after midnight if no one else were around or within shouting distance. How much less would I walk one mile due north of the Inner Harbor in Baltimore? Criminals know with certainty that they are likely the only ones armed. They know tourists are easy prey, and ripe for the harvest. It’s open season on the innocent in the state of Maryland.
So we stay at home, as do thousands of other Maryland citizens, as do tourists who curtail what might otherwise be more extended visits. People aren’t stupid: they are not going to needlessly put themselves or their families at risk for the sake of a little entertainment. Each of us has a threshold of danger and in this state and in this environment, current self defense laws represent a drag on the economy of restaurants, theaters, and other entertainment establishments, especially in the urban areas that are most in need of the disposable income tourists represent.
Let me boil this down to one question that I have often pondered as I have traveled down I-95 to Florida, with each and every one of the states in-between possessing concealed carry permit laws. As a criminal would you rather hold up a convenience store where you are the only one holding a gun? Or would you rather hold up a store where the clerk might have a gun, the guy behind you in line might have a gun, the guy one aisle over looking at the Twinkies might have a gun, the guy coming in the front door might have a gun, and the guy in the parking lot just getting out of his car might have a gun?
I know which store I would rather shop in. And I have absolutely no doubt which store a bad guy would rather “shop” in.
Please vote for HB-9. Please vote for the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves and their families. Please join the almost 40 states across the nation that offer some form of concealed carry reciprocity.
Sincerely,
Dr. A. Ray ***
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