Gun

Advertisements praising Maryland's new gun control law will appear on Baltimore-area televisions soon after the measure is signed Thursday - the first volley in a two-pronged effort to defend the legislation and the politicians who voted for it. The gun control advocates behind the ads want to bolster support among Maryland voters in case there's a referendum next year. But they also want to counter a campaign to oust lawmakers who backed the bill in the General Assembly. "We know that the other side will be attacking the legislators who voted for it, and we want people to know those legislators were doing the right thing to save lives in Maryland," said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence.

Of the four teams left in the NCAA tournament semifinals, it is top-seeded Syracuse - the architect of a Division I-best 10 national championships - that is bringing up the rear in the offense department. The Orange are averaging 11.7 goals this season, which ranks 13th in the country - a still healthy number that many other programs would love to boast. But unlike previous Syracuse incarnations that dared opponents to keep up with them as they galloped up and down the field like a pack of unbridled thoroughbreds, this year's current squad is viewed as a more patient outfit, a group that prides itself on locking down opponents on defense and exhibiting patience on offense.

It will become a lot easier to obtain permits to conceal and carry guns in Maryland as of Aug. 7 under a court order filed Tuesday by a federal district judge. The order signed Monday by Judge Benson E. Legg gives state officials two weeks to implement his March ruling striking down a requirement that concealed carry applicants show a "good and substantial reason" to transport a firearm. The requirement prevented many from applying for permits, according to gun proponents who expect tens of thousands of state residents to seek — and be granted — such licenses.

In the days and weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, the National Rifle Association has repeatedly stated that many Bostonians who did not possess guns probably wished that they had them in their homes during the tense "shelter in place" manhunt. That statement is in large part a straw-man argument. Much of what occurred during those unfortunate days disproves the NRA's usual narrative about guns and public safety. Let's begin with the obvious: Had everyone in Boston been armed the day of the bombings, the bombings would have still occurred.

I am a hardworking, tax-paying, upstanding resident of Cecil County with grave concerns about the direction of our great state. The anti-gun legislation currently making its way through our state government is truly scary ("Md. gun laws set sights on the long term," April 2). Not only is it an extreme overreach of state authority and a violation of our constitutional rights as American citizens, it flies in the face of what was intended by the founders of our great nation. The tragedy of all this is the fact that no life will be saved by this legislation (statistics will and have proven this)

I've faced tough tests in discharging my journalistic duties, and truth be told, I've withstood them all. Fearless is not too strong a word to characterize my efforts on behalf of you, the noble reader. Why, just the other day, I found myself staring down the barrel of a gun. Sure, at the time, I was sitting on a couch watching TV. Yes, no actual threat ever emerged to me, personally, um, ever. But it's a breathtaking tale nonetheless, one defined by tragedy off camera and melodrama on it: In the early morning hours on March 19, according to police, two brothers shot three men who broke into their twice-burglarized concrete plant in Reisterstown.

National Rifle Association President David Keene said Tuesday that the organization intends to challenge the constitutionality of Maryland's newly passed gun law, as a conservative group readied plans to try to overturn the law through voter referendum. Keene said during a radio interview the group will “absolutely” go to the courts. “We are already in court in New York and we will be in court and aiding those in Maryland - and I am myself a Maryland resident - who want to challenge the constitutionality of this and other provisions here in Maryland,” Keene said to the Washington, D.C., station WTOP.

Everyone who drives is required to have a driver's license, so why shouldn't a similar law apply to those who sell guns ("A voice of reason," Feb. 4)? Can you imagine what the roads would be like if only 60 percent of drivers were licensed? That is what is now happening with guns - and these horrible gun disasters are the consequence. Anne Hackney, Parkton Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

I seldom feel compelled to write a letter to the editor, but Dan Rodricks column on gun control was spot on ("A move toward reason on gun control?" Feb. 14). I am a registered nurse practitioner, and for the past 10 years or so, in New Hampshire and Maryland, I have been required to have digital fingerprinting and national background checks done before I could renew my nursing license. I am also required to maintain current medical knowledge through continuing education - at my own expense, generally.

A second-grade student at an Anne Arundel County elementary school was suspended for two days Friday after school officials said he chewed a breakfast pastry into the shape of a gun, an incident that has drawn widespread national media attention. The school, Park Elementary in Brooklyn Park, sent a letter home to parents regarding the incident. The child's father, William "B.J. " Welch, alerted local media to the incident, and Welch and his son Josh, 7, soon found themselves on CNN and Fox News, while conservative bloggers across the country opined on the matter.

On May 10, 2013, Aegis Managing Editor Allan Vought disagreed with my belief that expanding concealed carry permits is a viable defense to gun violence worth public debate. Although I respect Mr. Vought's opinion, "more guns won't do anything - but kill more people," I stand by my support that the best defense for a criminal armed with a gun is a police officer or a law abiding citizen with a firearm prepared to take appropriate action to protect life. In Newtown, Ct., we witnessed bravery beyond comprehension as teachers defended children with their own lives.

Despite Beretta's threats that the company would leave Maryland if new gun laws were passed and signed by Gov. Martin O'Malley, Beretta USA has no current plans to abandon its headquarters in Prince George's County.  In a statement sent to The Baltimore Sun Monday, Beretta USA board member and general counsel Jeffrey K. Reh said the company would not let the new law interfere with completing its contract to supply the U.S. Army with pistols....

A hunter, a mother and a minister are featured in new advertisements touting Maryland's new gun law, which was signed last week and represents one of the nation's most sweeping pieces of gun-control legislation passed this year. The ads, released in advance, will begin airing on Baltimore-area television stations this week. Produced by proponents of the new gun law, the ads are intended to educate residents about the new law and protect lawmakers who voted for it.  The version to be broadcast nixes lines from earlier scripts that criticized Washington for inaction on gun-control.

I understand that there are about 310 million people living in the United States, and private citizens here own about 300 million firearms. If these figures are even roughly correct, then the gun industry faces the challenge of selling into a saturated market. They clearly have a motive for promoting repeat and multiple sales while repressing any regulations that would slow down the process or discourage the buyer. In November of 2012, a barbaric mass human sacrifice was performed in Newtown, Conn.

Two guns and cash were stolen in a weekend burglary at the Reisterstown home of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, Baltimore County police confirmed. Police said surveillance video showed that a man entered through a rear window at Rice's home in the northwestern Baltimore suburbs and made off with two guns and $2,000 in cash after ransacking the home. Cpl. Cathleen Batton, a police spokeswoman, said the break-in occurred some time between 8:30 p.m. Friday and 12:50 a.m. Saturday, and was reported to police about 1:20 a.m. Rice was not home at the time, Batton said.

Maryland passes the strictest gun control laws in the country on its law abiding citizens ("The Maryland model for gun control," May 16), yet it does nothing about those who get caught with illegal guns. Why? If you really want to cut the crime in Baltimore City, slam those who are caught with illegal guns with automatic jail sentences. Don't force restrictive gun laws on law abiding citizens without first slamming criminals caught with illegal guns. John Jackson, Baltimore

Contrast the following two quotations regarding gun control. Which is emotional feel-good dribble and which is logical? Gov. Martin O'Malley: "All of these reforms just might save the lives of little boys and little girls, of moms and dads, of sisters and brothers. ... We must do more. " The National Rifle Association's Sharon Alford: "A criminal does not ask permission before attacking your family. " Duh! Lee Rudolph, Bel Air Text NEWS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun local news text alerts

When reporters asked Baltimore police and state agencies where the guns used in city crimes came from, no one could provide specific information. "I can tell you that the vast majority, 95 percent plus, are committed with illegal guns," Baltimore police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. But he didn't use data to support that widely held assumption. Local law enforcement agencies don't have that information because of a federal blockage of gun tracing data. Police also can't reveal what gun tracing data they do have because a federal law passed a decade ago shields most firearm tracking information from the public.

In reference to "Harford County Council passes resolution condemning state gun law" (May 15), the article quotes a Harford County councilman who questioned the objectivity of gun policy research at Johns Hopkins University because New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is a major benefactor. I direct the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research and have been conducting research on gun policy for the past 23 years. Over this time, I have led numerous studies related to gun violence and published the results in 78 articles in scientific journals.

The new gun bill will be the first of hundreds Gov. Martin O'Malley plans to sign at a ceremony Thursday. Key provisions of the 62-page law include:   A ban on the sale of 45 types of assault weapons and their copycats.   A ban on sales of magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.   A fingerprinting and licensing requirement for handgun buyers.   A 4-hour training requirement for first-time handgun buyers.   A ban on gun ownership for anyone involuntarily committed to a mental heath facility, as well as those voluntarily committed for more than 30 days.