MSI and Candidate/Governor Ehrlich

Like most CCW restrictive regions, we have an organization in Maryland devoted to a remedy. It’s called Maryland Shall Issue (we’d have decent regs if they just changed the word “May” to “Shall” and take the discretion away from the State Police).

We also have an election coming up here. (You do TOO? What a coincidence.) And Maryland Shall Issue, MSI, reported on a gun rights interview of the former governor, current candidate, and maybe-future governor Bob Ehrlich.

Governor Ehrlich was not a favorite of gun-rights folks last term. He hadn’t DONE anything to help us!!! (they complain) And you know how we like to eat our own, turning on folks, often to our issue's detriment? I’ve heard LOTS of vitriol leveled at Ehrlich on the gun issue from lots of folks. Foolish. I don’t know why our side does that. “If he isn’t for making Maryland like Alaska and shouting about until that happens, that politician is DEAD to me!”

Hopefully the Q&A session with Ehrlich will help educate and even out the man’s pluses and minuses.

Ehrlich claims to be for Shall Issue CCW. But the state legislature simply will not be sending any liberalization bills. They are VERY Democrat laden. He can’t ram a pro-2A anything through them. He is/will-be the Governor. He needs the voters to “ram through a more receptive set of lawmakers.” Pro CCW still hammered at him, saying he could order the State Police to just pencil whip all the CCW applications through without the ‘current threat’ requirement that makes them may-issue. He agreed with this line of strategy and claims to have already discussed such a tactic with his candidate for head of the State Police.

He pointed out that during his previous term, Heller hadn’t happened yet. The ground for change is more fertile NOW. Maryland, even, is a whole different place with regard to gun rights compared to his previous administration, he said.

He also said he was proud of how he blunted the dangers that the handgun roster represented. The intent of the Roster was to make Maryland like Massachusetts, where only approved guns can be sold, and approvals never happen. Ehrlich moved that process along so models are routinely approved, and quickly. He packed the panel with pro-gun members. Without Ehrlich, this panel would have rejected all guns that didn’t have a built in integral locking mechanism, like the zit on new S&W revolvers. So there would be NO Springfield XDs (and others) in this state. He’s have like to rescind the law, but he was only the governor.

Ehrlich also didn’t like our state’s Integrated Ballistic Identification System, or IBIS. What IBIS is is the State Police collect a fired shell casing of every handgun sold in the state. This adds $25 to cost of a pistol, and the idea is they’ll catch more criminals by tracing spent casings found at crime scenes. No crimes have been solved with this system. Traces on spent casings that were KNOWN to be in the system found at crime scenes do not even return as a match. It’s a boondoggle, and he did what he could to defund the flawed system. But he was only the governor. The legislature has to do the repeal. (seeing a trend, here?)

If elected again he would continue to exempt gun ranges from noise ordinances in the state, as he did before.

The man is a pro-rights politician.

Why isn’t he running on a more full-throated gun rights advocacy? Because this is Maryland, the ‘most Democrat state in the union’. Gun rights might not be a net vote loser anymore, here, but it is not yet a net vote gainer. Not like in West Virginia, where even the Democrat is shooting a rifle at mock up of Cap and Trade Senate legislation.

Oh, NRA rates Ehrlich a B. Most every other Dem running in Maryland, and certainly O'Malley and any I can vote for are rated F. If you want to even FIND a conservative Republican likely to win an election in Maryland you are not in a suburb. It's the same place where you find Dem candidates that the NRA rates higher than F.