For the whole article:

[url]www.washtimes.com/metro/20020123-98527400.htm[/url]

ANNAPOLIS — Handgun buyers in Maryland would have to be licensed, much like automobile drivers, under legislation proposed by state gun-control advocates.  Sponsors of the Handgun Accountability Act, which was introduced on Monday, said the measure would make gun owners more accountable for their weapons and help police keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
                         
Maryland Attorney General J. Joseph Curran Jr. endorsed the measure, as did such gun-control groups as the Million Mom March, Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse and the Educational Fund
to Stop Gun Violence.
                         
"We have long understood the common sense behind licensing drivers in our state," Mr. Curran said. "Why would we do any less for those who operate deadly weapons?"
                         
But gun rights activists say the legislation stands no chance of passage because of conflicts with the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms.
                         
A licensing requirement "affirms their worst fears of government control," by making gun owners ask permission from the government to own a gun, said Sen. Timothy R. Ferguson, Carroll Republican.
                         
"You've got a lot of legal gun owners who feel that's an encroachment [on their rights] or a slippery slope," said Mr. Ferguson, who calls himself a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association.
                         
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, Montgomery Democrat, said the proposal is modest and "doesn't prohibit anyone from getting a gun, unless they're a criminal."
                       
"The legislation will limit the number of handguns that getin the hands of criminals, reduce gun violence and save lives," he said.
                         
Delegate Carmen Amedori, Carroll County Republican, contends that the measure won't keep guns out of the hands of criminals, and that if it would, gun-control activists should drop their opposition to some pro-gun measures.
                         
"Perhaps if they truly feel this is the way to combat criminals, they should have no hesitancy to give anyone who gets a license a carry permit [for a concealed weapon]," said
                     
Mrs. Amedori, who believes the state refuses permits too often. Gov. Parris N. Glendening, a Democrat, promised two years ago that he would not support more gun laws after winning legislation that required handguns to be sold with safety locks and gun buyers to take safety training courses.
                         
To become licensed under the new proposal, anyone who wants to buy handguns or assault-style rifles first would provide fingerprint identification and then demonstrate competency in handgun safety. Supporters say these steps would deter illegal gun buyers and cut down on the number of fraudulent and straw
purchases — in which someone who can pass a background check to buy a gun purchases one for someone who cannot.
                         

Much like rust, the socialists never sleep...

Freedom is a only a few miles south.

Where can I get my Freedom of Speech license? How about my permit to practice the religion of my choosing? Do they have any applications to fill out for my Right to a Fair Trial certificate?

Doesn't everything else that is a "privilege" require a license?? C'mon people, only some wacko "conspiracy theorist" would think gun registration will lead to confiscation. This would NEVER happen in the "home of the free".
Why, folks like George Bush and John Ashcroft would NEVER allow that!  [rolleyes]

i never knew freedom until i moved out of MD. no more dyno emission tests, i can buy guns, i dont get taxed to high heaven, i dont have zoning boards trying to screw me, i can buy a hand gun, MD is out of control. the Glendenning/Kenedy team have set that state back 30yrs.

Maybe we should have fought vehicle registration and driver licensing back in the day.

Starting in 2003 in California. Anyone who wishes to BUY or Inherit or receive as a gift or as a loan: a handgun. Will have to have a Handgun Buyers License.

A move is now being made to expand this piece of California legislation to include rifles and shotguns as well, and to limit Ammo sales.

MD, CA, NJ, NY, MA, DC, you can blow me.

There seems to be a line forming.

[}:D]

It seems to me that the states that REFUSE to adopt a "shall Issue" CCW type of law and adopt "registration" are the ones that have problems. In all the states that have "shall issue" the crime rates have dropped more than in non issue states. What is so hard to figure out??
Oh.. they are liberals. Can't argue with common sense. Kinda like a battle of wits. They are unarmed.

[smoke]

Eventually we'll ban firearms just like we banned alcohol during prohibition.  Then when the crime rate rises and people see that firearms are even easier to acquire we'll ban the bans.  Until that time we just have to fight tooth and nail against the pollyanna idots.

Might as well add NC to your list.  "Progressives" (read Jacobin socialists) are steadily ruining this state as well.  The CHL is weak (and expensive), prosecutors go after many clear self-defense cases, cops and feds get off scott-free on all kinds of unethical doings, taxes are high and getting higher, we have all kinds of silly fees and surcharges (i.e. hidden taxes), Mike Easly is the socialist trash governor and also John Edwards, the Kennedy-wannabe Senator.  Helms (Senator for life, wtf) isn't much better, actually.  Oh, and Libby (Southern Shumer) Dole wants to replace him.  Carpetbagger, you're no better than Hillary!    

I'm thinking of getting out before the iron curtain really comes down. I might see a few good years in another state before it happens there, too.

Doesn't NC have "police recording" of hanguns purchases?  That's how is started in MD in 1996.  Before then, this state pretty much average when it came to gun laws.