Posted by Phil Lee (208.19.133.132) on January 12, 2001 at 16:30:
House of Delegates
Annapolis, Maryland 21401-1991
February 22, 1989
Dear Colleague:
Thank you for your interest in House Bill 1118 which was designed
to restrict future sales of assault weapons in Maryland. We
discovered in our research and throughout the Judiciary Committee
hearing that the bill, in its original form, was too broad.
Therefore, under the guidance of the law enforcement community, we
drafted amendments that would narrow the legislation.
Specifically, the proposed amendments listed actual assault
weapons which would be restricted and deleted the generic definition.
Further, the amendments explicitly stated that all present gun owners'
weapons would be "grandfathered" so that anyone already owning an
assault weapon at the time this law was enacted would be able to keep
their weapon. We have attached a copy of these amendments for yourfiles.
Unfortunately, these amendments - and, therefore, the bill - were
defeated in the House Judiciary Committee this morning by a vote of 10to 11.
However, the problem still needs to be solved. These weapons are
proliferating at an alarming rate. For example, in 1986,
approximately 8,100 AK-47's were imported into the United States. In
1988, that number exploded to over 80,000 and, by next session, twice
that many more will have been imported.
Presently, there is a similar bill in the Senate that is
scheduled to have a hearing in the Judicial Proceedings Committee on
March 9, and the House Judiciary Committee has already committed to a
summer study of this legislation. We are confident we will have
action on these terrible weapons within a year, and hope you will
support this effort.
Sincerely,
John Gary Peter Franchot