SHELL COLLECTION SERVICE OVER NOW THAT LEGISLATIVE FIXES ARE OUT OF THE QUESTION

(April 1, 2002) MSP's program of firing guns for dealers in order to collect a shell case for ballistic fingerprinting is now over. (Remember, as a result of the so-called Gun Safety Act of 2000, no handgun can be sold in Maryland unless its manufacturer supplies a shell case fired from it for Maryland State Police to include in its evidence databases. It was Speaker Cas Taylor who, facing a revolt in his district last session, negotiated the stopgap measure to bleed pressure for an outright repeal of the mandate.) The timing of this news is no surprise: the program ceased shortly after any legislation could have been filed in Annapolis to repair the now de facto ban on sale of certain handguns.

A quick check of area dealers confirms the sort of handguns you will no longer be able to buy in Maryland: Anything made by Colt. Anything by Browning. (Kiss goodbye one of the classic, long-time defense handguns, the 9mm Hipower.) Only certain models made by SIG are available - uncommon configurations aren't provided with shell cases. Some models of Beretta handguns are difficult to come by as well, ironic for an in-state company but not surprising given the deals they cut with leadership in order to maintain a focus on out of state business.

And don't forget: the Gun Safety Act's farthest reaching measure has yet to take effect. This is the outright ban on sale of any new handgun which does not contain an "integrated mechanical safety device." Anti-gun bureaucrats have yet to say what that means. In fact, they don't have to until the ban takes effect, because the shoddy language of the law (drafted by gun control advocates, not lawyers) doesn't require the state to publish any regulations to clear the matter up. But proponents assure us these devices are 'anything which is not widely available today.' No surprise there, nor with the timing: the ban takes effect 56 days after the election. That way gun owners who don't pay attention until its too late have the greatest amount of time before the next election in order to forget.