Control

"We think it's reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere for anyone. " - National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, in testimony before the House Judiciary Committee, May 27, 1999. Let's get one thing straight about the Senate's failure Wednesday to support a too-modest extension of the national background check system for gun buyers to cover sales at gun shows and over the Internet.

Opponents of Maryland's tough new gun-control law said Wednesday that they will not seek to petition it to referendum and instead will back a lawsuit planned by the National Rifle Association. "This is a constitutional right that should not go to the citizens to vote on," said Republican Del. Neil Parrott of Western Maryland, founder of the mdpetitions.com group that has successfully petitioned three other laws to referendum in the past two years. Flanked by representatives of the NRA, Maryland-based gun-rights groups, and other Republican lawmakers, Parrott announced the plans to a crowd of 70 at a Jessup fundraising event for mdpetitions.com.

Vice President Joe Biden, speaking Tuesday at an event in Baltimore, said he was unsure whether there is enough support in the Senate for what would be the biggest change to federal gun laws in decades. "We may not get it this week, but we will prevail," Biden said of the bill, which senators will vote on Wednesday. Sixty votes are needed to pass the measure. Police closed city streets and increased security at nearby Penn Station in anticipation of Biden's arrival at an event to preview the University of Baltimore's new law center.

Now that the way has been cleared for the U.S. Senate to vote on a bipartisan bill to toughen federal gun controls, Americans should remember that the effectiveness of government regulations has limits. Ultimately, new laws will give Americans a false sense of security and further delay efforts to address cultural dysfunctions that give rise to so much violence. The Senate bill would require near-universal background checks, comprehensive federal regulations for gun transactions and tighter school security.

Gov. Martin O'Malley told The Sun on Wednesday that he would be open to political accountability for the state of city schools, according to our Statehouse Reporter Erin Cox.  In an interview with Sun editors, the governor said that he would back a measure similar to one lawmakers voted in for Prince George's County giving the county's executive an unprecedented level of authority over the long-troubled (though the district outperformed Baltimore...

With Gov. Martin O'Malley's landmark gun control bill given final approval by the Senate on Friday and waiting only the governor's signature to be enacted into law, Democrats in Annapolis are likely hoping that the next step will be talk of the "R" word. And we don't mean Ruger, Remington, revolvers or repeating rifles. Would you believe referendum? Oh, gun control advocates won't necessarily be happy about the prospect of seeing the gun legislation taken to referendum - it would, after all, delay the effective date for at least 18 months while the matter is decided by voters in November 2014 - but you can bet a lot of people on the Democratic side of the aisle would be ecstatic.

Why does it comes at no surprise that not a single Republican voted for stricter gun control in Maryland ("House passes gun control," April 4)? In 2014, we need to vote out Republicans across the nation so we can get some work done in this country. The Republicans have proven that they are not flexible at all. Joseph Kortash, Catonsville Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

It seems that everyone has an opinion regarding having armed personnel at schools, whether or not to ban certain weapons and magazines, requiring licensing for possessing a hand gun along with finger printing of the purchasers ("Gun advocates detail plan to arm teachers," April 3). I have no agendas, so these views are based on common sense. As a grandparent, I would love to see an armed person at my grandchildren's schools. I don't necessarily think it should be an educator but maybe someone that has experience in protecting such as veteran who has served and protected a nation.

This time last year, the Maryland General Assembly was mired in anger and confusion. The House and Senate were feuding over taxes and casino gambling. Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller and House Speaker Michael E. Busch were butting heads. Lawmakers were heading into the final day without even having passed the budget - the one task with which they are charged in the state constitution. It took two special sessions to clean up the mess. This year, legislators will begin the session's final day Monday having already passed an array of landmark legislation - repealing Maryland's death penalty, adopting one of the nation's toughest gun laws, raising the gas tax for the first time in two decades and signing off on a $1 billion plan to rebuild Baltimore's crumbling schools.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced Friday afternoon that it will delay the closure of all 149 federal contract air traffic control towers - including five in Maryland - until June 15. The announcement came just two days before the first of the towers was scheduled to be shuttered as part of across-the-board federal budget cuts approved by Congress. The FAA is required to cut $637 million from its $16 billion budget by the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. The extension will allow the agency to deal with multiple lawsuits, continue consulting with airports and review safety issues, the FAA said in its statement.