On Friday, April 5, 2013 8:09:52 AM UTC-5, F.O.A.D. wrote:
Senate gives final approval to gun control bill

Legislation goes to O'Malley for signature

April 04, 2013|By Erin Cox, The Baltimore Sun



The Maryland Senate gave final approval to Gov. Martin O'Malley's

sweeping gun control bill Thursday night, sending the legislation to the

governor for his promised signature.



O'Malley said in a statement that the bill strikes "a balance between

protecting the safety of law enforcement and our children, and

respecting the traditions of hunters and law-abiding citizens to

purchase handguns for self-protection."



The legislation bans the sale of assault-style weapons, requires

fingerprints and a license to buy a handgun, and limits magazines to 10

bullets, among other provisions, giving Maryland one of the strictest

gun laws in the nation.



The Senate voted 28-19 Thursday to accept House amendments to the

legislation, which also requires gun owners to report lost or stolen

firearms to police, empowers state police to audit gun dealers and bars

more people with mental illnesses from buying guns.



The bill, introduced by O'Malley, contains some of the most far-reaching

changes any state has approved in the aftermath of the December shooting

deaths of 20 schoolchildren and six educators in Newtown, Conn.



The bill would also increase the amount of information about people with

mental illnesses sent to a national database for background checks, as

well as bar gun ownership for people convicted of certain violent crimes

but given probation before judgment.



Gun control advocates, Democrats who supported the measure and O'Malley

have called the provision to license the sale of handguns the most

effective way to curb the flow of guns to criminals. Giving fingerprints

to state police, they said, creates a deterrent to "straw purchasers"

who would otherwise buy a gun on behalf of someone disqualified from

doing so.



"This bill will do something very important. This bill will save lives,"

said Sen. Brian Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat who shepherded the

bill through his chamber. "It will stop criminals from getting guns."



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Hey Krausie, jus'wondering. In all your getting about with presidents, kings, queens and movie stars, have any of them told you that they thought you were a ****ing liar?