By Dave Workman
Senior Editor
A full-court press on the right to keep and bear arms was announced by Democrat president wannabe Martin O’Malley recently, and it brought immediate backlash from gun owners and the head of one of the largest gun rights groups in the country.
CCRKBA’s Alan Gottlieb
O’Malley, the former governor of Maryland who pushed through gun restrictions in his state, would take his campaign against the Second Amendment nationwide if elected. His gun control manifesto includes provisions for fingerprint licensing, national registration, mandatory “safe storage,” microstamping and a ban on so-called “assault weapons.”
There is also a provision for prohibiting handgun ownership for anyone under age 21, which does not appear to exempt anyone who is or has served in the armed forces, and he would have a waiting period on all firearms transactions. Further, there would be no exemption from background checks for people who have concealed carry permits or licenses, even though they must go through a background check to get licensed.
The proposal drew fire from Alan Gottlieb, chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms. In a press release, Gottlieb said the O’Malley plan reads “like a gun prohibitionist’s wish list.” He further accused the former governor of “treating the right to keep and bear arms like a disease he’s trying to eradicate.”
“Governor O’Malley’s proposal would not reduce violent crime,” Gottlieb asserted. “He’s putting forth an agenda that would ultimately destroy the Second Amendment.”
The O’Malley platform on guns “reads like a blueprint for government demagoguery,” he added, calling it “a disturbing document for any number of reasons.”
While the package may appeal to liberals, it was declared politically toxic by gun rights activists. Some used social media to declare O’Malley’s hopes to become the Democratic nominee dead in the water because of the gun control manifesto.
Declaring in his introduction that “unlicensed sellers…account for roughly 40 percent of all firearm sales,” O’Malley was quickly criticized for using an estimate that has been debunked by the Washington Post Fact Checker, and it now enjoys the status of urban legend.
“As president,” his presentation begins, “Governor O’Malley will…require a background check for every gun sale, end unregulated internet gun sales, strengthen background check protections…enact comprehensive requirements for gun purchases, including fingerprint licensing (and)establish a national firearms registry.”
O’Malley is also trying to sell his package by asserting that it builds on “successful reform efforts in Maryland.” However, it doesn’t mention that those gun control efforts haven’t slowed down the homicide count in Baltimore, where more than 215 people have been slain this year.
Lamenting that current federal law prohibits gun registration, O’Malley’s document argues: “This makes tracing guns back to their sale a slow, cumbersome, or even impossible process. O’Malley will push to revise federal law to establish a comprehensive, centralized firearm registration system, where records would be maintained electronically and indefinitely. All firearms purchases would be recorded and registered at sale, and re-registered when they are resold or transferred.”
