From: purtilo@cs.umd.edu (Jim Purtilo)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: speaking of shopping sprees ...
Date: 25 Jul 92 00:29:40 GMT


Interesting education today dealing with some red tape at a local shop ....

In MD we have a required background check and pistol registration on new
purchases.  This is supposed to be a max of a week for the state to do their
thing with paperwork, and in theory if a dealer doesn't hear back that you
are a bad guy then you can take your purchase.  Of course, theory does not
match practice, and the state police assure dealers that they'll never have
another purchase from their store approved should they deliver without the
state response, no matter how long it takes.  My latest purchase took about
three weeks to come back, which is said to be shorter than current average.

So far this is all known.  But here was where my education started today.
My purchase was for more than one firearm, one of which was not in the store
(the dealer had ordered one for me, but he discovered after I telephoned
that the wrong model showed up .... meanwhile, I've already cut out of the
office early ... well, you know the feeling...)  The correct model will be
in late next week probably.  BUT ... MD law is worded so that any handguns
sold based upon a given background check MUST be delivered all at the same
time.   So my option was to take delivery of NONE of the firearms until 
all are in (bleck ... I wanted one of these for my wife as a gift, needed
soon), OR taking what came in but starting a brand new background check
from scratch in order to get the S&W 41 that should be sitting there for
me next week.  I chose the latter ... alas ... so a month from now I can
get reapproved from MD (one hopes), but at least I have the other.  The extra
down side is that there is a new tax this year on the paperwork, so yet 
another $10 donation to the gov's anti-gun coalition is paid. :-(  (Okay,
okay, so there is an up side ... with an approved background check back in
the dealer's hands, he is free to sell you the store so long as you take
delivery on the spot.... so, umm, we did pick up an extra toy NOT originally
waited for as a consolation for not getting the Smith.... :-)

Fortunately, I learned something sufficiently absurd as to brighten my 
afternoon and make it worth the drive out there.  On a friday afternoon,
the owner and I were joshing about how crazy the rush hour was, etc, and
he made an offhand comment about at least I haven't had to verify that I
had spent time in a mental institution.  Say what?  He referred to the MD
paperwork sent to the state police....

For two years, and up until about January of 1992, the fine print on our
background check application said the following:
	``MARYLAND LAW:  PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BEFORE SIGNING THIS FORM.
	The Annotated Code of Maryland, Article 27, sections .... prohibts
	the purchase of a Pistol, Revolver or Assault Weapon ... by anyone
	who: 1. Has been convicted of a crime of violence ... [lots of cases
	omitted here] ... 6. Has NEVER [sic] spent more than 30 consecutive
	days in any medical institution for treatment of a mental disorder
	or disorders, unless there is attached to the application a physician's
	certificate, issued within 30 days prior to the date of the 
	application, certifying that the applicant is capable of possessing a 
	pistol or revolver without undue danger to himself or herself, or to
	others. ... [lots more cases omitted] ...

	I CERTIFY THAT I am not prohibited by law from purchasing or possessing
	a pistol or revolver or ASSAULT WEAPON.''

[All caps reproduced as on the form.]  I couldn't believe when the guy told me,
so he produced a copy of his own paperwork on purchases he made from the last
year.  I photocopied it, and, no surprize, a check of paperwork I filed before
shows this too.  (Tells you how much we really do understand what we certify
we read, doesn't it?)

So there it is.... for years the politicians have bleated that only crazy
people own guns, and now it turns out this is true since Maryland legislated
it that way!  Moreover, thousands of Maryland residents now give truth to the
old canard "... only criminals will have guns" since we spent years claiming
on an affidavit that we had not been institutionalized.  Since most of us
really haven't (we presume ...) we are all now liable to criminal prosecution
under the clause from this same form which points out we could get a fine
of $10,000 and 3 years as guests of the governor.

In the interests of making this an informational post in r.g., ``go check
the fine print on all that paperwork!'' :-)

Cheers,

Jim