(2008-03-28) MSP has drafted and is promulgating new regulations on ‘ballistic fingerprinting’ which appear to be another administrative overreach. Ballistic fingerprinting of course refers to the ban on sale of new handguns for which a shell case fired from the gun is not given to police for inclusion in a crime evidence database. This mandate has been in place since 2000, has cost millions of dollars and has yet to have solved a crime in any way related to the way it was proposed years ago. While appearing only as a few minor edits to the existing regs, the effect of MSP’s proposal would be sweeping: they remove a requirement that any evidence they collect be used only for investigating crimes, they officially attach the gun buyer’s personal information to the shell case records and they authorize giving these shell “profiles” to the BATFE.
MSP has done this without other fanfare or announcement, so to date their true intentions are anyone’s guess, but a combination of these regulatory edits would seem to authorize the O’Malley administration to give the militantly anti-gun Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives their records (personal information, details of each gun and, perhaps as afterthought, the shell case information) for all newly purchased handguns since 2000. Who knows what rogue operation BATFE will launch using this information? Sadly, Marylanders may find out.
The period for public comment on MSP’s proposal goes through April 28. As with the still unchallenged over-reach on mental health records, no public hearing is scheduled. Someone in the administration wants to drive this through.