Rage and resignation at the gun control town hall

"You don't know how many bullets you need in your gun until it's over."

"Five-hundred and eighty-three dead? That's not a huge public health crisis."

"Why don't we have background checks on elected officials?"

Susan Reimer
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  The Sun loves the First Amendment but not the Second Maryland's model for gun regulation Gun advocates should take aim at real scandals After stun guns, legalized bazookas?Ignoring the real while fighting the imaginary Gun control opponents will face voters' wrath NRA should accept universal background checks Whose side is the NRA on?When 5-year-olds are shooting 2-year-olds…Who cares if Germans have to register their guns? This is America A phobia for firearms?The Bavarian case for registering guns Vietnam veteran deeply concerned by inaction of Congress on gun control The myths of background checks Law-abiding gun owners aren't the problem The NRA has finally been marginalized Americans have been ill served by the NRA's bullying tactics We accept a surveillance state but not gun control?Filibuster rules at heart of gun bill 'defeat'Swift justice for suspected Boston bomber Gun vote shows politicians have been bought and paid for by the NRA Fight against gun violence must go on despite setback in the Senate Why should gun nuts prevail?Shame on you, senators Foes of expanded checks on gun purchases will have victims' blood on their hands Citizens must unite to stop the senseless slaughter by gun violence Outgunned at the DC Corral Shame on the Senate; send 'em all home In Senate gun control vote, tyranny of the minority Gun control never stops at straw buyers Gun control helpful but misrepresented The hidden agenda of the gun rights lobby Straw purchases already banned The false security of gun-control measures Don't our children deserve armed protectors?Delaying gun legislation will cost lives Stop 'straw buyers' from purchasing guns for criminals How could 31 Senators vote against debating expanded background checks?Arm teachers? No way Petition Maryland's unconstitutional gun bill to referendum The passage of the governor's 'sweeping agenda' shows how out of touch legislators are Keeping guns from mentally ill should be common sense Gun referendum? Go ahead and make our day Maryland gun control legislation Majority likes NRA's school safety plan Arming school employees only raises danger Md. gun restrictions punish law-abiding citizens Republicans united — and wrong — on guns Armed guards makes sense, but not gun control Arming teachers won't solve anything Gun vote showed back-room politics at its worst Let gun owners pay for school security Do the right thing on gun control Gun bill lacks common sense Stop senseless gun control Teachers packing heat NRA proposal for armed school guards Md. gun bill gets stronger Police have nothing to fear from law-abiding citizens with guns Gun owners deserve more respect Don't be fooled by gun control lies Gun control no answer for violent crime Flooding Congress Bitter tears for Easter Guns are not a solution to lawlessness Society's lawlessness is reason enough to carry a gun Changing America's gun laws requires changing its gun culture No to gun control, yes to the death penalty Why we should ban assault weapons Gun control won't accomplish much Obama's anti-gun hate speech Obama settles for half measures on gun control Who's buying all the guns?A test for Md. gun bill Mental illness and guns: the issue is suicide Good riddance, Md. gun manufacturers Christians against gun violence Reducing gun violence requires limits on gun sales as well as help for the mentally ill Gun control is not the answer Stand up for constitutional rights Guns are a public health problem Gun laws won't reduce crime Constitutional rights are not unrestricted Where's the rush for knife control laws?Sensible steps to keep firearms out of the wrong hands O'Malley's fuzzy gun talk Sun shoots blanks in coverage of gun hearing Marylanders reject gun bill Only criminals acquire guns easily A job for Sen. McFadden An immigrant's perspective on the gun control debate O'Malley's stand on guns will end his political career Reduce violence, not guns Gun licensing won't reduce crime More cops in schools isn't the solution On gun control, it's the House's turn Second Amendment is suffering death by a thousand cuts

"You are trying to solve a problem we don't have instead of just taking the guns away from violent offenders."

"Guns aren't the problem. Law-abiding gun owners are not the problem."

No. Silence is the problem.

Susan Reimer's column appears on Mondays and Thursdays. She can be reached at susan.reimer@baltsun.com and @SusanReimer on Twitter.com.

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Comments (412)

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nookly23 at 2:23 PM February 20, 2013

I always love to see thing by liberals who suffer from white guilt, "Angry white men1 African amercans"

The people were mainly 'angry white men" this may be true but the taxpayers in the state are mainly white men. The criminals of commit the most violent crimes are mainly "angry black males' I guess there is no reason to mention that little detail.

Who contributes most to the American society? White people!

Who contributes the least, but takes the most? Yep, black people.

For all you white liberals, take a nice walk through Baltimore or maybe even Chicago at night and see how much black people love you. I am sure I will read about your death in the newpaper. Oh yeag, it is racist to mention all the black on whites crimes in this nation.

IsabellaF at 2:22 PM February 19, 2013

hotdggt at 10:12 PM February 15, 2013

22% came out for primaries.

http://www.examiner.com/article/baltimore-city-election-2011-voter-turnout-winners-losers-and-undecided-races

23% percent voted in general.

http://articles.baltimoresun.com/2011-09-15/news/bs-md-low-voter-turnout-20110913_1_low-turnout-lowest-turnout-voter-turnout

Is it some libby math trick that makes more less?

And keep in mind- those do not have to be same people. And such a small turnout- easily swung.

And your integrity and knowledge- now easliy dismissed.

Please tell me you arent this stupid. Don't you even bother to look into the stuff you post? 72,000 votes were cast in the mayoral primary in 2011 compared to 44,000 in the general election. It's not even close.

Not everyone participating in the either election votes for a mayoral candidate.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2011/11/08/rawlings-blake-wins-race-_n_1083208.html

http://www.baltimorecity.gov/portals/0/agencies/elections%20board/public%20downloads/2011-MAYORAL%20PRIMARY%20%20SOVC%20REPORTS.pdf

IsabellaF at 11:22 PM February 15, 2013

Must be some kind of wingnut math where 44,000>72,000.

This reminds me of your marginal tax rate blunder.

So yes, your integrity and knowledge are easily dismissed.

Hahahahahaha!

Chuck Martel at 2:22 PM February 15, 2013

Reimer well expresses the rage and resignation of sane people who know that our spineless legislators will take no action to prevent rage killers getting access to semi-automatic assault rifles and large capacity mags. Even though there are a lot of these already out there, most rage killers have been young men with recent actions to acquire their weapons. With adequate controls such as fingerprinting of straw-buyers and all buyers of guns, including at gun shows or private sales, with strict penalties for sellers of avoiding this, we should be able to reduce these. It is silly listening to the NRA and gun nuts claim these weapons are rarely used, since they are in the news nearly every day. On the very day of the State of the Union a nut case used a semi-automatic assault rifle to kill his second LEO and wound his second, but the NRA and gun nuts assure us these weapons are not a problem.

Americans love false choices. Tougher MANDATORY sentences for gun use is NOT an alternative to controls on types of weapons and sales. BOTH are absolutely necessary, and everyone sickened by our tens of thousands of gun deaths should support both.

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