(April 15, 2001) Governor Glendening backed a state ban on private ownership of bullet proof vests. In arguing for it, State Police claimed body armor is an "offensive weapon" that should not be in civilian hands. Party officials ought to get their stories straight. AP Wire reports that Hillary Clinton is raising funds for a project to buy body armor for donation to civilians in Israel. Unprotected citizens walking the street late at night in Baltimore's Druid Hill area will surely be comforted to know leadership is doing everything possible to protect workers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Maryland will now have a state cat. Calicos will join such official symbols as astrodon johnstoni (state dinosaur) and diamondback terrapins (the state reptile.) This legislation was the idea of a group of school children, who got a sponsor then worked the issue hard. (I say we pass the hat and hire these kids to work 'right to carry' for us.)

The proposal to tax ammunition at a rate of $5 per round of "antipersonnel" ammo or $0.50 per round of any other cartridge was panned in committee. If any one proposal generated more public outcry, I don't know what it was. Thanks to all who helped dump on this notion, you made a difference. Legislators now know they can expect their phones to be tied up for a long time after trying to sneak little gems like this through a tax committee.

The ban of gun shows on certain public property languished in committee. It wasn't voted down as we might have hoped, but it died, and that's what counts. Expect the Prince George's and Montgomery County delegations to be back shopping for this one again next year.

The hearty perennial, a bill to allow people to be totally disarmed in an ex parte domestic proceeding, failed again, as it should. It's embarrassing this is proposed in the first place. It's a Constitution thing, I guess they don't get it.

Delegate Kevin Kelly's proposed repeal of ballistic fingerprinting failed in committee. This bill will resurface, as the reality of MSP's mandate sets in. More information is emerging on this technology and program every day, as we will report in upcoming issues. The chief blow to this bill's prospect for success this session was Speaker Cas Taylor's negotiated six month grace period for shell cases to be harvested in-state. This bled off any pressure we'd built towards fixing the problem, and moved debate back until after the legislature was in session (and so could do anything about it.) Good Readers, this bill can come back and stronger if we do the right things before next year!

Delegate Tim Hutchin's bill to give let you take an income tax deduction for the cost of buying a gun safe got high marks in the House, but languished in a Senate committee whose co-chair was sponsor of MAHA's Price bill. The Senator nixed Hutchin's bill because Tim wouldn't give her his vote on the MAHA bill. Such is the way of life in Annapolis, where leadership wants to make us comply with their demands not with the carrot but only the whip.

The NRA succeeded in getting through a small change to existing range protection law, expanding its coverage to include two additional ranges on Eastern shore. This was small victory but an important one nonetheless for those shotgunners who enjoy use of the facilities that were looking at closing had not this gone through.

In my January issue I published a Top Ten list of ways that legislators could make a real difference on behalf of integrity in government, for example, put some teeth into the Public Information Act, which requires officials to make available to us the information we as citizens own. I had privately bet a friend that none would get action, but I was wrong! Exactly one of the areas was opened for consideration! Of course, it was a proposal submitted by Del. John Hurson to add loop holes to the PIA and give officials immunity from liability if they stonewall the public release of information. (The bill failed.) Now I have to figure out if this means I won or lost the bet.