The Free State could soon be anything but for those looking to exercise their Second Amendment right as leftists cooked up a new gun-grabbing regulatory scheme.
Efforts to infringe on the Constitution are never-ending and the latest move from Maryland Democrats was geared directly at citizens firearms and their wallets. Introduced by Howard County Delegate Terri Hill (D), state lawmakers have sought to mandate six-figure liability insurance simply to “wear or carry” a gun.
Referred to committee after its first reading, House Bill 430, “Firearms — Liability Insurance — Public Wearing and Carrying,” specifically called for a requirement of “up to $300,000” in coverage that could only be obtained through an authorized insurer.
“A person may not wear or carry a firearm unless the person has obtained and is covered by liability insurance issued by an insurer authorized to do business in the State under the Insurance Article,” read the text of the bill, “to cover claims for property damage, bodily injury, or death arising from an accident resulting from the person’s use or storage of a firearm or up to $300,000 for damages arising from the same incident, in addition to interest and costs.”
Co-sponsored by more than a dozen delegates, the majority party appeared all too willing to ignore, not only the inherent violation of the rights of the people of Maryland but the danger this would pose to those who would be unable to afford the coverage were it to pass.
As comedian Dave Chappelle had quipped about the state’s most populous city and its deadly reputation in his latest Netflix special, late rapper Tupac Shakur “and his mother moved from Baltimore to Oakland for a better life.”
Dave Chappelle on Baltimore#davechappelle #thedreamer #Oakland #Baltimore #tupac pic.twitter.com/lhMTmMJRHD
— Jester King (@Jester_King_C) January 6, 2024
While Hill attempted to defend the coverage requirement as “another effort at common sense gun legislation,” WBFF reported that Baltimore County Del. Ryan Nawrocki (R) slammed the proposal.
“The constitution doesn’t say that you know, that poor people can’t own a firearm because they can’t afford that insurance,” the lawmaker remarked. He also said, “This bill places an unconstitutional burden on citizens to own a firearm.”
Second Amendment advocate Frank Duffy, co-owner and vice president of Spartan Firearms Training Group, told the outlet, “It’s another effort by the state to throw an obstacle in front of people trying to get their concealed carry permits. The Supreme Court made a decision that said Maryland and other states could not require a good or substantial reason to get a permit.”
An attempt to pass a handgun qualification licensing regulation was struck down by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in November citing an “undue burden” on the ability to have a firearm.
Speaking to her own unfamiliarity with what the eight-page legislation entailed, when asked about an exemption for local and state law enforcement, Hill had said, “Oh, that’s a good suggestion. I think we will take that, and we will probably add an amendment to exempt local law enforcement as well. It should have been all law enforcement.”
Baltimore County Del. Cheryl Pasteur (D), a co-sponsor, corrected the record to WBFF that the exemption was already in the bill, as well as for “members of the military or federal law enforcement officers” and for unloaded firearms.
Adding to the criticism, the outlet cited law enforcement expert Joe Ested who said, “Whoever thought of this idea doesn’t understand the criminal element on the street. These guys don’t do it the right way.”
“The guys on the street don’t buy guns the legal way, they do it illegally. So, we need to target them,” he said, not have the citizens, law-abiding citizen hurting to try to buy a gun.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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