Dear Delegate Keam,

I see you every year, and you make the case to me how reasonable you are on firearms legislation and safety. However, you voted against SB948 in the house session for some reason.

What does the bill do?

Ir prevents the sharing of concealed permit data with localities with whom we do not have permit reciprocity. That means, they do not recognize CHP licenses issued by the Commonwealth.

Why is this important?

There have been a number of incidents where this data was used against law-abiding people, by police, merely to harass and intimidate them. The MD AG has explicitly stated that he considers a CHP "flag" on a Virginia DMV record as reasonable, articulable suspicion. This means that the occupants of any automobile from Virginia, whose owner has a CHP license, are free to be detained and the vehicle searched for a "reasonable" amount of time.

Please understand that "detention" means being ordered, at the side of the highway, from the vehicle at gunpoint, being tackled and handcuffed.

And please remember that CHP holders have a the lowest rate of felony conviction of any identifiable segment of the population. That means they're the most law-abiding of the law-abiding.

De-Bunking the Veto Explanation

Sharing data on the Commonwealth's most law-abiding of the law-abiding citizens with states who have an explicit policy of using this data to search and harass these same citizens and their companions has absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement officer safety. To even argue this makes a mockery of the CHP system, for it implies that CHP holders are criminals in waiting, rather than the responsible citizens history has shown them to be.

Instead, it exposes these same, most law-abiding of law-abiding citizens where they are put face-down roadside ad gunpoint, with no recourse, for nothing more than a notice on their vehicle registration. The risk, as has been highlighted in the press with a number of unjustified shootings ending in the deaths of innocent people, to those same law-abiding citizens is incredibly high. They will be embarrassed, made a spectacle of, and publicly demeaned.

Is this really what the governor thinks of the most law abiding of his citizens?

Sincerely,

Senator [senator's name],

SB 948 prevents the sharing of concealed handgun permit data with localities with whom we do not have reciprocity, (those which do not recognize CHP licenses issued by the Commonwealth.)

There have been a number of incidents where this data was used against law-abiding people, by police, merely to harass and intimidate them. The Maryland Attorney General has explicitly stated that he considers a CHP "flag" on a Virginia DMV record as reasonable, articulable suspicion. This means that the occupants of any automobile from Virginia, whose owner has a CHP license, are free to be detained and the vehicle searched for an arbitrary "reasonable" amount of time.

Please understand that in this case "detention" means being ordered from the vehicle at gunpoint, being tackled and handcuffed, right at the side of the highway.

CHP holders have a the lowest rate of felony conviction of any identifiable segment of the population. That means they're the most law-abiding of the law-abiding citizens. We are background checked and licensed individuals, not criminals!

In rebuttal to Governor McAuliffe's veto explanation, sharing data on the Commonwealth's most law-abiding of the law-abiding citizens with states who have an explicit policy of using this data to search and harass these same citizens and their companions has absolutely nothing to do with law enforcement officer safety. To even argue this makes a mockery of the permitting system, for it implies that CHP holders are criminals lying in wait, rather than the responsible citizens history has shown them to be.

Instead, it exposes these same group, the most law-abiding of law-abiding citizens where they are put face-down roadside at gunpoint, with no recourse, for nothing more than a notice on their vehicle registration. Ss has been highlighted in many cases around the country with a number of unjustified shootings ending in the deaths of innocent people, the risk to those same law-abiding citizens is incredibly high.

Is this really what the governor thinks of the most law abiding of his citizens? I ask you to override the veto on SB 948.

Thank you for your time, and I eagerly await a response regarding this bill.

Sincerely,

[name]

Quoted:
Override failed in the Senate today. Needed 27 votes, only got 24.

Quoted:
Override failed in the Senate today. Needed 27 votes, only got 24.