ANNAPOLIS, Md., March 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. notes that this Friday at noon, dozens of women are expected to show up for the Lawyers Mall press conference and then hearing on HB 228, a bill to make the process of granting concealed carry permits non-discretionary.
Maryland's system for concealed carry permits is so cryptic and discretionary that no one can guess who will be considered qualified for a permit and who will not. The result is that people who are qualified won't bother to apply for fear of being turned down and losing their $117 application fee. Very few people fall into the category Maryland considers 'qualified' anyway. Soldiers who carried guns to protect our country cannot get permits to protect themselves and their loved ones here at home. Even the security guards that wear guns to protect the legislators in Annapolis cannot get permits to protect themselves. Maryland has about 11,000 active concealed carry permits compared to about 200,000 permits in 'anti-gun' Massachusetts.
In addition to the typical FBI and local background checks required in most all of the 40 non-discretionary states, Maryland requires that the applicant show an undefined 'good and substantial' reason to carry a weapon for self-defense -- as if Maryland's ranking #1 for robbery rates and now tied for #1 in murder rates is not 'good and substantial' enough. These women want to have the means to defend themselves from being robbed, raped, carjacked, or murdered rather than simply being on the phone to 911 while that happens.
The bill's lead sponsor, Democrat Delegate Dan Riley of Aberdeen will introduce former Texas legislator, and survivor of the Luby's Massacre, Suzanna Gratia-Hupp. Ms. Hupp, following Texas law at the time, left her gun in her vehicle while eating lunch with her parents. As a result, she was unable to defend herself or her parents and both her parents were killed along with 20 other patrons.
Guns in the hands of the law-abiding citizen have been shown to be the best deterrent to rape, robbery, carjacking, murder, and any crime of violence where the victim is outweighed and/or outnumbered by the perpetrators.
For more info Contact: Henry Heymering, President of Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. 240-446-6782
Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.
