Licenses

Welsh Construction Remodeling, an award-winning Baltimore home improvement company that has renovated kitchens and bathrooms for decades, no longer has a license to take on new projects in Maryland, state regulators said. Alexander Barabash turned in the license on Thursday, saying he had cut ties to Welsh and would no longer serve as its individual license holder, according to Steven Smitson, executive director of the Maryland Home Improvement Commission. Barabash did not tell regulators why he ended his relationship with the company.

The House of Delegates voted Wednesday to give Maryland one of the toughest gun laws in the nation, passing a bill that would ban the sale of assault-type weapons, set a 10-bullet limit on magazines and require fingerprints and a license to buy a handgun. Delegates altered the Senate's bill during more than 10 hours of emotional floor debate that lasted over two days. Key lawmakers said they expect the differences to be resolved quickly and the legislation sent to Gov. Martin O'Malley for his promised signature.

A neighborhood organization is protesting the liquor-license renewal of The Museum, the establishment now occupying what was once the Brass Elephant in Mount Vernon . According to Baltimore City Liquor License Board documents, the Mount Vernon Belvedere Improvement Association is asking the board not to renew the property's Class B restaurant license for the following reasons: 1) licensees leasing their license or otherwise permitting a non-licensee, Walter Webb, to operate an establishment primarily promoting and serving alcoholic beverages; 2)

I consider it a privilege and a deep honor to have been born a United States citizen. As I see it, the figurative line of demarcation, if you will, between a legal citizen and an illegal one has been blurred so much, it's tough to discern the rights of one from another. And that's not only wrong, it is inexcusable. I am all for the "melting pot" concept as we forge ahead as a nation rife with illegal immigrant problems. We welcome people from all cultures, religions and social status, as long as those people are willing to become citizens.

I was always led to believe that Maryland's elected officials, prior to assuming their duties, were required to take an oath, swearing and affirming to uphold all of the laws in effect at the time they take office. By whose authority do they get to pick and choose which laws they will enforce and which laws they will blatantly ignore? If there are laws currently on the books whose purpose it is to prevent or discourage illegal immigration, then these laws need to be strictly enforced, as written, unless and until the time these laws are changed through due process.

Before lawmakers in Annapolis propose legislation, they should know what they are talking about ("Senate approves two-tier licenses," March 26). Prince George's County Democrat Del. Jolene Ivey introduced the House version of a bill that would allow illegal immigrants to obtain Maryland driver's licenses by calling it a "safety issue. " "I want to know they have car insurance, that they know not to flee when they're getting pulled over or in an accident," she said. First, car insurance is not required to get a license.

In Annapolis, some conservative Republicans - having apparently not taken notice of the 2012 election and the conundrum facing their party over its hard-line immigration stance at the national level - are lambasting a proposal to expand and make permanent a two-tier driver's license system in Maryland. One even warned that Maryland could soon become a "Disneyland" for illegal immigrants. But it is opponents who are living in a Disney-like fantasy land if they can't see who the chief beneficiary would be of any system that seeks to ensure all Maryland drivers meet minimum standards of knowledge and competency and are eligible for insurance.

In the great state of Maryland, the word "illegal" seems to mean "worthy of special treatment" ("Senate approves two-tier licenses," March 27). Otherwise, illegal immigrants would have three choices: Get legal, get out or go to jail. I love Maryland and have never wanted to live anywhere else. But I think everyone should have to play by same set of rules. If we don't, we will be come a society where "illegal" becomes the norm and laws are irrelevant because everyone will know that they only apply to "legal citizens.

A joint session of two key House committees tweaked parts of Gov. Martin O'Malley's sweeping gun bill during the first five hours of a debate expected to last into the evening. The changes - which left intact the central provisions of handgun licensing and a ban on the sale of assault weapons - were made in the first public action since February on the legislation. The bill also limits magazines to ten bullets and addresses when people with mental illness can buy guns. Over the past month since the Senate passed the bill, lawmakers have been debating behind-the-scenes whether to scale back the ban on assault rifles to exclude some models, including the AR-15.

Exactly what makes Del. Jolene Ivey believe that issuing a license to illegal immigrants in Maryland will guarantee that "they have car insurance" or that "they know not to flee when they're getting pulled over or in an accident?" ("Senate approves two-tier licenses," March 26). Certainly it won't. They don't even have to be able to read, speak or write English. The state must provide an interpreter to enable them to pass the license test. Is that interpreter going to ride with them forever to interpret signs or a law enforcement officer's direction?