Letter to the Governor

Governor Martin O'Malley wants to further restrict guns in Maryland. He wants to pass more legislation to tighten gun control even farther and as even gone as for to say he would be okay with infringing on peoples Second Amendment rights.

Governor Martin O’Malley

100 Sate Circle

Annapolis, MD 21401 

Dear Governor O’Malley;

Due to events in the past decades regarding gun violence and mass shootings it is no wonder that the public is crying out for tougher gun control.  With all of these fears and misconceptions about guns in the publics mind it is clear to everyone why the government is trying to put more rules and regulations on who can and can not own a gun and what they can and can not do with it. While the regulations continue to become tighter and tighter on handguns the rules for rifles and shotguns should remain where they are. The two main reasons why they should stay the same are people use them mainly for sport and collection and they are too large in size to be able to conceal on someone’s person.

Rifles and shot guns have a long line of history associated with both weapons, that being said they are very sentimental and collectable to certain members of Maryland’s population. While collecting is one main aspect of these guns sport is another. In a poll conduced 52% of people who owned rifles and shotguns used them for sport. With such a high portion of the population using these guns for things other then violence there is no need to make tighter regulations on such weapons. Most of the fear that comes along with guns in the publics eye is they someone around them could have one on their person and open fire at any time. That same fear is not true for a rifle or a shotgun. The average length for a shotgun is 3.96 feet and the average length for a rifle is 3.67 feet. With guns that long it is physically impossible to conceal one on your person and enter into a crowded area without anyone seeing you. With this being said there is no need to tighten regulations that have been placed on such weapons already since there is not the same danger associated with these types of weapons compared to a handgun.

While the issue of gun control is large and very debated in the state at the moment and there is much pressure to pass legislation to tighten the laws second consideration should be taken into the issues associated with rifles and shotguns. The obvious dangers associated with handguns should continue to be addressed and legislation should be passed to increase the amount of background checks and regulations regarding that type of weapon. Rifles and shotguns should be left alone considering their uses and size.