Maryland Gun Carnage

More guns means MORE crime in Maryland! Unlike Virginia.  Just look at this article. 

Wait a tic...

Here is a quote: "Some gun dealers have been so eager to move inventory this year that they've sold weapons to people with criminal records." Well, I don't know how that is actually possible, given the lack of inventory. I mean when people without criminal records are clamoring for a pistol and willing to wait 100 days for the background check to clear the State Police why would a gun deal be motivated to sell to prohibitted people? It makes no sense!

Ah, he's reporting on the fact that some dealers are releasing guns to people before the 100 day background check is done. You see, by law, dealers in the state are allowed to do that. Some don't, over an abundance of caution. But it is legal to. And when they release a pistol to someone that the State cops later find shouldn't possess here in the stricter Free State, well... oopsie. (people totally legal to buy a gun in Arizona or Vermont might have issues clearing the higher hurdles here in Maryland)

He goes on to report, "Out of 70,000 applications, only 30 guns went to people with criminal records. That's a .996 batting average." The 100 day delay is because this section of the bureacracy is understaffed and unprepared for the volume of applications.

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Here is another factoid from the article: "Nearly 1,000 guns were reported lost or stolen from federally licensed gun dealers in Maryland last year, the third-highest number of any state in the country, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Another 1,900 were reported lost or stolen from private property." So, 30 from gun dealers releasing, 1000 stolen from gun dealers, almost 2000 stolen from regular folks. Maryland should pass a law prohibitting stealing, it would solve a lot of issues.

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The Bawlmer columinist, of course, is all for gun control, hon: "I believe in the ultimate effectiveness of measures to control and limit guns — especially the ban on semi-automatic rifles that make massacres possible and the new licensure and fingerprint measure that will reduce straw man purchases." Yup. A little gun control could have prevented the Happy Land slaughter.  Only 87 people murdered there.