Steve Dirlik Testimony At Council Meeting
This is a copy of my testimony given at the Council gun show hearing.
Gun Show Prohibition Infringes upon the First Amendment
Bill 1-02 infringes upon the First amendment as well as the Second. Gun sales at gun shows must follow the same rules as gun sales ANYWHERE in Maryland. So why ban gun shows? Will it take guns off our streets? Will it make us safer? I don't think so, and neither does the Council. This is not a safety issue. It's public policy. And that policy is to discourage lawful and responsible gun ownership by demonizing gun owners.
I don't mind different opinions in public policy. Nothing is more American than a healthy policy debate. But the Council's agenda attacks the very free speech we all cherish. That should scare everyone in this room, including the Million Moms. Here are some examples.
Recently, the County attorney bullied the BCC Fire Department into canceling the 9th Annual Friends of the NRA Banquet. Why? Because the NRA was going to continue their annual gun raffle there. The attorney suddenly announced that this is a "gun free zone," and that it MAY be against the law. Was this an issue of public safety, or public policy? Does anyone here seriously believe that a gun raffle threatens public safety? Do criminals get their guns from raffles?
This was an attempt by our local government to prevent the peaceful assembly of a group of citizens simply because they disagree with them. That's scary. But it gets worse.
Now that the Banquet has fled to the Potomac Izaak Walton League, the Council is trying to add day care centers to its "gun free zones." Coincidentally, the Potomac Ike league is next to a day care center, so the raffle would be banned there also. Do we see a pattern here?
Let's look at what happens at gun shows. Other than gun sales, there are books for sale, people to meet, groups to join, such as the NRA, and petitions to sign. Is that what really scares the Council? That people would meet and discuss ideas they don't agree with, and that they would join groups which peacefully and lawfully oppose them? This is bigotry plain and simple.
Incidentally, criminals don't get their guns at Maryland gun shows. Buying a handgun at a gun show is more complicated and more scrutinized than at a gun store. In addition to following the same rules, including background checks, and waiting periods, the buyer must arrange to pick up the handgun a week later. Suppose a bad guy wanted to buy a gun illegally at a gun show. He would have to approach a licensed salesman, in front of many, many witnesses, and ask him to "bend the rules." Wouldn't it be easier to try a gun store?
So why not ban gun stores? We can't because we don't have the support yet. Ban gun shows now. We'll ban gun stores later. Most of us gun owners see right through this. Thanks to the audacity of this gun show ban, maybe other gun owners will see through it also and realize that no, their hunting rifle is not safe after all. (By the way, criminals don't get guns from gun stores either. They get them from the same people who sell them drugs: other criminals.)
There is an important civil rights lesson here. In Montgomery County, gun owners are in the minority. How do we treat our minorities? Do we prevent them from gathering peacefully? Do we harass them and deny them their civil rights even when they are lawful and decent citizens? Do we tell their children that what Daddy does is wrong?
Governor Glendenning says he hopes someday our children will look upon guns "as relics of a past, unenlightened age." As I stand here before you today, I wonder if my kids will even have the right to debate the issue. Does the Council think free speech and the right to assemble peacefully are also "relics of a past, unenlightened age?"
Freedom is never free, and free speech is not free. We must keep a watchful eye on those who would deny us our rights. We had better keep an eye on the Montgomery County Council.
Steve Dirlik
10219 Day Ave.
Silver Spring, MD. 20910
This Information Is From Steve Dirlik & MCSM
In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message
is distributed under fair use without profit or payment for non-profit research and educational purposes only. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml
|