Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr. form letter to constituent, March 10, 1994

March 10, 1994 Thank you for contacting my office concerning one or more of the gun control bills pending in the House Judiciary Committee . As many of you know, this is my eighth and last year in Annapolis. Accordingly, I have communicated my views re¬ garding gun control initiatives on numerous occasions over my two terms in the General Assembly. My general observations with respect to this emotional issue have remained consistent. To wit, I continue to reject the notion (apparently accepted by Governor Schaefer and other gun control supporters) that gun control legislation somehow acts to control criminals and criminal behavior. I have also observed that most of the bills I have voted on in the past (and which have been resubmitted this year) would serve to penalize or criminalize law-abiding people - precisely the wrong approach to our increasingly out-of-control crime problem. Please rest assured I will continue to reject bills that have no discernable impact on the bottom line of "controlling" those who misuse firearms. On the other hand, I continue to sponsor and support bills that expand criminal sanctions for those who use fire¬ arms in the commission of violent crimes. I am co-sponsoring a number of these bills during the current session, and will c