(January 7, 2002) You already know about MSP's temporary program of ballistically registering handguns. Last year gun companies shunned business here, while prospective gun buyers were ready to march on Annapolis to demand redress. Delegate Kevin Kelly introduced a repeal bill; in response, House Speaker Cas Taylor, intent on keeping the law he helped pass the previous year, blunted the Kelly effort by brokering a deal: if you ordered a gun for which a shell case was not available, MSP would fire the gun and collect the case for a fee. Kelly's bill died.

Taylor's deal only lasted to December 11. At that time only about 1,000 guns were so registered, chiefly expensive guns for which a $20 fee plus shop time would not be a significant percentage of the gun's value.

But wait! Obviously someone is sensitive to the fact that many gun companies still don't do business here; the barrier is not one of getting a shell case, it is one of being terrorized by state policies, as we've reported before. So the blue light special is still on! The program is extended until just after legislative session. Taylor doesn't want the full impact of his ballistic registration law to hit consumers until after his legislature can do anything about it.