Speaker Taylor voted for assault weapons ban because the police wanted it? Read his own rationalizations.

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: Taylor aims to set the record straight on gun vote : The following was written by Cas Taylor : By Sunday - October 29, 2000 : I am writing to correct the record, my record, on gun rights. At a gun association rally recently at the LaVale firehouse, my 25-year record in Annapolis on gun safety legislation was misconstrued and attacked. Let's set the record straight. : : First, I have always supported the constitutional right of my constituents and all law-abiding citizens to bear arms. Second, I have also always supported gun safety, which I believe is in line with the majority of my constituents, both those who own guns and those who don't. : : In my 25 years in the legislature representing this region where I grew up and lived all my life, I have always supported my constituents' constitutional right to bear arms and have voted against efforts to eliminate that right. : : I did vote for the assault weapons ban years ago, which was a bill that was strongly supported by law enforcement officers and which I still believe was a vote that was consistent with the beliefs of the overwhelming majority of my constituents, including hunters and gun owners. I have consistently opposed other restrictions on gun ownership by law-abiding adults. : : I have consistently voted for gun safety and supported firearms training programs. I have supported those programs in the past and I intend to champion them in the future. This coming session, I intend to introduce legislation to make firearms safety training programs more available to help eliminate the accidental shootings that tear our families apart. : : Hopefully these education programs can also help alleviate some of the misconceptions that many people have about guns. I believe the NRA is supportive of the types of programs I am talking about. : : But the NRA, which many of my constituents contribute to, has recently begun a letter-writing campaign attacking me about the "trigger lock bill" passed in the last session of the Maryland General Assembly. : : This past session, I voted for a bill that provides for the distribution of trigger locks with new guns sold in the state of Maryland. In fact, Texas Gov. George Bush, who is strongly supported by the NRA in his presidential race, and Vice President Al Gore both agree on at least one issue - they both support gun trigger locks because it increases safety. : : In the second presidential debate, Gov. Bush said, "In Texas, I tried to do something innovatively, which is, that there is a lot of talk about trigger locks in the future. I support that." Those are not my words as Casper Taylor, delegate from Western Maryland, those are the words of Republican Presidential candidate George Bush who I believe is right on this issue. : : I think trigger locks on handguns are a safety issue that will keep kids from accidentally killing themselves and their friends. I don't think that is "anti-gun" any more than I think George Bush is "anti-gun." It is simply an issue of safety. : : The NRA strongly opposed Gov. Parris Glendening's original gun proposal. So did I. In fact, a group of my constituents who are hunters and gun owners came to see me early last session and I pledged to them that I would not support the governor's "smart gun" proposal, which required a finger print-controlled gun lock mechanism. That proposal relied on technology that has not yet been invented. If that bill had passed as the governor proposed it, it would have been in reality a gun prohibition. I told my constituents I opposed that and I do. : : The governor's "smart gun" proposal was changed to take out the governor's so-called "smart technology" requirement. The bill that I voted for does not prohibit guns. The bill that passed requires new guns to have safety trigger locks. : : The bill also included a "tough on crime" provision that was modeled on the very successful Richmond program called "Project Exile," a program the NRA strongly supports. The Project Exile program imposes severe mandatory sentences, five years and more, for the commission of a crime while in possession of a gun. That is a law that sticks the penalty to the criminals, not one that tries to solve a criminal problem by restricting the activities of law abiding gun owners. : : Those are the provisions I voted for. Not the Governor's "smart gun" proposal. For someone to say that "I lied to my constituents," or that I voted against their right to own guns is just not true. : : Did the governor claim victory for "his" gun bill? Yes, he did. But the bill that passed did not include the smart gun technology provisions that he was seeking. What passed, and what I voted for, was a gun safety bill, not a gun prohibition bill or a "smart gun" bill. The provisions I pledged to oppose, which would have made it nearly impossible to buy or own guns in Maryland, were removed from the bill. I will continue to oppose those kinds of restrictions. : : At the rally last week in LaVale, the national NRA lobbyist said the NRA wants to "work with me." I have shared their goal in the past of protecting the constitutional right to bear arms and I intend to continue to work to protect the Second Amendment. : : I will also continue to support gun safety and I hope they will work with me on that. I was encouraged by Gov. George Bush's support of my position on trigger locks last week. I hope the NRA representatives will reach the same conclusion and continue to work with me to promote responsible, safe, gun ownership while ensuring that our laws preserve the constitutional rights of our citizens. :

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