Maryland Petition to submit Gun-Control Law for Referendum Not Supported

[cclaxton]

Okay, what gives?
Seems to me that the NRA and gun-rights organizations must have looked at polling that would not have the gun control law. The reason give is pretty lame: "The 2nd amendment rights are not subject to a referendum."

If polling showed that it had a chance of being rejected by voters, the NRA and gun rights groups would have supported it.

Newspaper polling said 71% of Marylanders supported restrictions on assault-type weapons and magazines over 10 rounds.

I personally would like to have see the referendum go forward because that allows the public to be involved in making the decision, resulting in better understanding of the issues and a winner and a loser. As it is now, a bunch of politicians made the decision FOR Marylanders....not a good idea.

Does anyone know the inside scoop?

CC

[MikeyC]

Pro-gun referendum in Maryland is considered to be a losing battle. The hard line liberal voters are assured to vote following party lines, and the number of pro-gun people in Maryland who haven't even bothered to become registered voters is mind scrambling.

Last I looked, and it could have changed since, is the general consensus it that we have a better chance in court under a constitutional challenge, but we lose momentum in the courts if the referendum goes against us. The anti-gun groups here have done such a thorough job of convincing people that the AWB will make them safe there's no way to make inroads otherwise. I know a ton of people that support the AWB, and don't even understand what they're supporting. Voting on referendum is voting for or against mis-education depending on your perspective.

[archangel]

I'm on the board of one of the organizations that chose not to pursue a referendum. Reasons were:

1. Based on historic turnout and voting on referendums, even given a best-case scenario we were still pretty well shy of what we needed to win.

2. We don't get to write the question. So, "A) I'm am in favor of arming criminals with evil baby-killing machine guns, or B) No, I'm not Hitler."... Not likely to do well with the fence sitters.

3. The amount of money required to run a referendum campaign is at least an order of magnitude more than what we're able to shell out.

4. The manpower required to run a referendum campaign would preclude us from doing ANYTHING else for the next 18 months.

5. We have a good chance at fighting this thing in the courts, but that fight gets harder if we lose a referendum.

[cclaxton]

I'm on the board of one of the organizations that chose not to pursue a referendum. Reasons were:

1. Based on historic turnout and voting on referendums, even given a best-case scenario we were still pretty well shy of what we needed to win.

2. We don't get to write the question. So, "A) I'm am in favor of arming criminals with evil baby-killing machine guns, or B) No, I'm not Hitler."... Not likely to do well with the fence sitters.

3. The amount of money required to run a referendum campaign is at least an order of magnitude more than what we're able to shell out.

4. The manpower required to run a referendum campaign would preclude us from doing ANYTHING else for the next 18 months.

5. We have a good chance at fighting this thing in the courts, but that fight gets harder if we lose a referendum.

OK.
What kind of polling did you use to get the projection on the referendum?

Is there a org to send donations?
Thanks,
CC

[archangel]

I don't know that there was actual polling done on it. I think it was just a study of historical results, vs polling to try to predict future results. Don't have access to go back and check at the moment.

MarylandShallIssue.org

[RoyGBiv]

The reason give is pretty lame: "The 2nd amendment rights are not subject to a referendum."

Why is this a lame reason?

“A democracy is nothing more than mob rule, where fifty-one percent of the people may take away the rights of the other forty-nine.”
― Thomas Jefferson

“It had been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience had proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.”
Alexander Hamilton June 21, 1788

“It is indeed difficult to imagine how men who have entirely renounced the habit of managing their own affairs could be successful in choosing those who ought to lead them. It is impossible to believe that a liberal, energetic, and wise government can ever emerge from the ballots of a nation of servants.”
― Alexis de Tocqueville