(February 27, 2001) The string of revelations on this topic seem to be almost routine: Prosecutors in Baltimore simply don't follow the law. Articles on this in the Sun described examples of prosecutors hiding evidence, submitting false evidence and a host of other violations of basic civil rights. In one case reported a judge chastised a state's attorney who did not disclose to defense attorneys a statement by the victim that would have supported the defendant's case. In denying this was a big deal, state's attorney Patricia Jessamy defended the actions, saying this was really not "bad faith."

And how else do gunowners know Jessamy? Following the judge's public rebuke in the above case, Gov. Parris Glendening announced her appointment to the new Ceasefire Council, a state commission created by SB 211 last year with the mission - and funding - to identify and promote new gun control measures in Maryland.

Gunowners who back new "get tough on crime" legislation as if it is any distraction from the erosion of our rights should wake up and ask themselves: Why should anyone believe the likes of Jessamy - who was held as a public example of systemic flaws in the legal system and who now has a mission to ban private ownership of firearms - are handling gun laws with any greater integrity than legal rules of evidence? And more to the point: Why would anyone in our community want to arm such people with bigger legal clubs that they intend only to hold over us?

Glendening's message with Jessamy's appointment is crystal clear: If you don't let pesky laws about civil rights get in the way of your mission, then you're made of the Right Stuff to play on Glendening/Kennedy Team.