My Trust in Guns

My trust in guns

Originally published January 28, 2011 in The Frederick News-Post

By Steven R. Berryman

All politics aside, it would also be useful to consider aspects of firearms ownership in America from a layman's perspective; this, despite Sarah Palin's cross hairs, and the Brady anti-gun group.

That we have politicized guns was inevitable, as our Founding Fathers deemed it necessary to write them into our Second Amendment to the Constitution, just after your freedom of speech!

Many Constitutionalists consider that this confers a "right to carry" as well as to own.
"Shall issue" indicates that formal state posture on ownership as an automatic right, barring reasonable disqualification due to criminal record or history of relevant mental health issues. Virginia trusts its citizens.

The obverse of this is that a granting institution must show a specific cause if they choose not to issue a permit of any sort.

"May issue" indicates that it is the arbitrary choice of a state to authorize your right to own or carry a firearm, specifically when requesting a concealed-carry permit, or CCW, as in the case of Maryland. This interpretation results in an automatic no almost every time, based upon data from the Maryland State Police, who are the gatekeepers of this regulation.

Only a handful of permits are assigned each year in Maryland out of thousands of requests.

One hurdle: Can you document two threats to your life?

Ask Frederick Police Chief Kim Dine about "shall vs. may issue" and he will certainly defer to his years policing in Washington and lean toward "may" based upon witnessing thousands of murders in that city.

I'm certainly willing to take population density into consideration, but then again it can be argued that there are more "bad guys" per square foot in cities, based on published crime statistics.

Here, the classic case can be made: If the potential perpetrator believes that a city law would make it unlikely for a mugger to run into an armed citizen, it then makes him feel safer and more likely to strike. Criminals are chicken by definition, if you have not figured that out already!

On the other hand, if a residence has a sign stating: "Don't worry about the dog; this house protected by Smith & Wesson," it's his neighbors that need to be most concerned as the next closest target.

Now ask the sheriff of Frederick County, Chuck Jenkins, about "shall vs. may issue" and first I will bet you that he would find agreement with Dine in that all police/sheriff forces are too limited to protect all the people all the time. Jenkins is a gun-possession advocate, siding with trust in citizens.

Trusting in people who trust guns is a basic National Rifle Association tenet, and you know that "gun folks" learn use and teach a fundamental respect for firearms, safety, marksmanship, and proper use and storage.

Here you can insert an argument that a certification process including actually shooting with proficiency, control, gun maintenance and storage should be included in our laws.

Despite my ribbing, Jenkins is seriously vying for his right to grant handgun carry permits instead of the state police. He says "the sheriff knows the people best, as he's the closest to them."

The problem is that not all sheriffs are of equal competency across Maryland, and not all have patrol divisions and run a detention center. It would be hard to craft a law for just one county sheriff at the state level.

But me, I trust our sheriff, and I trust "gun people."

Steven R. Berryman
writes from Frederick.

(srbmgr@comcast.net)

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Please send comments to webmaster or contact us at 301-662-1177.Copyright 1997-11 Randall Family, LLC. All rights reserved. Do not duplicate or redistribute in any form.The Frederick News-Post Privacy Policy. Use of this site indicates your agreement to our Terms of Service.

Is America "coarsening?"

http://www.regularfolksunited.com/index.php?tab=article_view&article_id=5155

New column; first for "TheTentacle" in a year!

Is America "coarsening?"

By Steven R. Berryman

[from The Tentacle of January 17, 2011]

There are currently more dead via gun play than the total days elapsed in the year for Prince George’s County, MD. An Asian man in the Wellington Trace subdivision of Frederick County shot members of his family before killing himself.

These headlines occurred in the shadow of the Arizona shooter of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords; his Glock held a magazine of 17 rounds of 9mm ammo in a single clip, plus another single bullet in the chamber if he so chose. Just for the record, this is the same weapon favored by the Virginia Tech shooter.

Ironically, the manufacturer calls this special type of semi-automatic pistol a “safe action,” referring to the reduced possibility of accidental discharge.

With so much breaking – and tragic – news, who could blame local newspapers for looking like police blotter reprints? And they do.

But…Is America itself “coarsening,” and if so why? And coarsening compared to what?

Another’s column reminded me that unresolved conflict had – relatively recently – been routinely handled by pistol duel; just ask Aaron Burr about Alexander Hamilton! This, the gentlemen’s choice of the elite.... [ctd below]

.....for the rest, please click:

http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4171

srbmgr@gmail.com

Comments

Post Your Comment