O’Malley administration: Gun control bill about votes, not policy

By Mark Newgent | WatchdogWire.com

An O’Malley administration official admitted that the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 (SB 281) was not about policy but politics, according to testimony by a retired Maryland State Police commander.

The sweeping gun control law championed by Governor Martin O’Malley requires firearms purchasers to be fingerprinted, bans so called “assault weapons,” limits magazines to clips that hold less than 10 rounds, and restricts purchases by the mentally ill.

In a signed affidavit by Captain, Jack McCauley, submitted on behalf of the plaintiffs in Kolbe V. O’Malley, which seeks to overturn the law, the retired MSP officer stated that Shanetta Paskel, Deputy Legislative Officer for Governor O’Malley ordered him not to answer a question posed to him by legislators, telling him the law was “not about policy; it is just votes.” McCauley was the former commander of Licensing Division, which oversees background checks for firearms.

McCauley testified that on March 28, 2013 he appeared before a hearing of the Maryland House Judiciary Committee to answer questions members of the committee had about the new law.

at WatchdogWire.com