Posted by Phil Lee (216.250.238.49) on October 01, 2000 at 20:55:
During the year 2000 session, Del. Cryor was a sponsor for HB 1139 which provided that it is the misdemeanor of reckless endangerment if a person uses a handgun to place the person's spouse, parent, or child in fear of death or serious physical injury. This bill ignored placing person's spouse, parent, or child in fear of death or serious physical injury by knife, baseball bat, pipe, shotgun, rifle and many other weapons. It ignored placing aunts, uncles, grandparents, nieces, nephews, and the average person on the street. It ignored so much that it is clear this bill has no purpose other than make it appear that the delegate is doing something about violence.
Del. Cyror sponsored HB 595 to permit courts to order "ex parte" (i.e., without hearing from both sides) gun owners to the immediate surrender to law enforcement authorities any firearm in the their possession for the duration of the order. If you are a gun owner, you become guilty without trial and are subject to state seizure or property as a penalty. Moreover the bill provides: "An officer shall arrest with or without a warrant and take into custody a person whom the officer has probable cause to believe is in violation of an ex parte order or protective order in effect at the time of the violation." Ordinarily, police can arrest only with warrents issued by judges or when they have witnessed a crime. To permit arrest on "probable cause" would permit great abuse by authorities.