Sunday, April 10, 2011

Scarlet Letter G

So it looks like gun-offenders won't be put in a sex-offender style registry in MD.  Apparently NOT because it's a bad idea to make modern day Hester Prynnes where red 'A's or 'G's or what have you, but because the system to hand out such was flawed.   Too vague and broad.  Too much power to the police, not to the courts, so the courts smacked it down.

The fear was bad guys that failed to comply with the complicated registry, but otherwise keeping their nose clean, could be swept up and thrown in the Tanty.  Then the cops could sprain their shoulders patting themselves on the backs in congratulations over the 'arrests' after an incident.  It looks like the registry was something to do instead of something effective.

So, sort of a gun rights victory, but not really?  It's a rollback of an onerous unworkable law in the city that when in place was contrary to the rest of the state.  All sorts of reasons for everyone on all sides to hate it.

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