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Letter in Support of Senate Bill 288 Cross-linked to HB 1298 |
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Senator
Brian Frosh, Chairman Senate
Judicial Proceedings Committee 2
East, Re:
Support for Senate Bill 288 Dear
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: The
Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, Inc. is a non-profit education and advocacy
organization that promotes equity and fairness in the consumer marketplace.
We advocate for the regulation of consumer products to promote safety
and reliability in the marketplace. Today,
however, we speak for the total ban of an inherently dangerous consumer
product: the assault weapon. We
urge you to support the enactment of Senate Bill 288 – The Maryland Assault
Weapons Ban of 2004. Assault weapons are military-styled weapons designed
for one purpose: to kill and maim people efficiently and effectively.
They have no place in the marketplace and, certainly, no place on our
streets. They are the weapons of
choice for drug dealers and mass murderers and, chillingly, 1 out of 5 police
officers killed in the line of duty were found to be killed by assault weapons
in a recent study done by the Congress enacted a 10-year ban of these weapons in
1994 with the substantial help of law enforcement.
The intent of the law was to protect citizens and those who protect us
by removing these dangerous weapons from our communities.
The gun industry, however, an unregulated industry with a need for
expanding markets like any industry, quickly found ways to modify their
products to circumvent the intent of the ban.
Marketing these weapons as “post-ban” weapons, the industry has
effectively demonstrated the need for a strong ban such as Senate Bill 288.
Like any regulatory bill, the federal assault weapons ban has shown what
modifications are needed to fulfill the intent of the law.
Senate Bill 288 makes those modifications by employing straightforward
criteria for defining what an assault weapon is and, therefore, its efficacy is
assured. The Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition joins forces
with other groups concerned with safety and health to urge the members of this
Committee to support Senate Bill 288. As
you have heard, the public health costs and societal costs associated with
assault weapons are costs that Marylanders cannot afford.
The gun industry has shown itself incapable of self-regulation or
restraint. Should Congress fail to
renew the federal assault weapons ban, the industry stands ready to capitalize
on the opportunity and aggressively market these weapons along with
high-capacity magazines capable of killing on a massive scale.
The prospect of a society under siege and an outgunned police force is
not the vision we see for our country or state.
You can insure that, at least in
Very truly yours,
Cheryl L. Hystad
Executive Director
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