9/5/10
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In this issue:

1.  2010 Primary Election Candidate Recommendations
2.  Specifics of selected races
 

 1.  2010 Primary Election Candidate Recommendations

The 2010 Candidate Recommendations for the primary election are done and can be found here.

These recommendations represent a collaborative effort between Maryland Shall Issue, The Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore, The Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association and The Washington County Federation of Sportsmen.

Rather than cluttering the field with several independent surveys and recommendations, the four major Maryland pro-gun constituencies elected to work on one comprehensive plan for this year in order to give you what we feel is the best available resource for deciding how to cast your valuable vote.

We thank John Josselyn of AGC, Ray Givens of the Washington County Federation and Dan Green of MSRPA for the many hours that they devoted to this project.  It's good to know that the spirit of cooperation is alive in the RKBA movement in Maryland.

Some notes on these recommendations are in order.  

These recommendations are based solely on our assessment of the candidates' positions on the 2nd Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms.  While we know that most of you are not single issue voters, we hold the belief that you depend on us to give you the best information possible with regards to gun issues without them being distorted by other aspects of the candidates' platform.  With all four groups working together, you can be assured that there are no personal beefs being taken out on candidates and that there's no agenda at work here except to give you the tools to make an informed decision.

All registered candidates were mailed a survey in early August with a requested return date of August 19th.  Those candidates that returned their surveys were evaluated based on their responses to the questionnaire.  Incumbents who did not return a survey but had a verifiable track record on our issues were evaluated on the best information we had for them.

Challengers who did not return their surveys could not, in most cases, be evaluated.  Thus, if your favorite challenger did not receive a recommendation from us, it is likely that they neglected to return the survey.

We made every attempt to provide you with choices in both the Democratic and Republican races where there were legitimate candidates to be had in both races.  In many districts, there simply were no pro-gun Democrats to recommend.

Once the primary results are available, we'll go back and sort out the contenders for the November General Election and once again give you our view on things.


2.  More on the races

Please see the complete list of recommendations for all candidate information.
  
What follows are simply annotations to amplify some notable races.

Districts 1-7 - Vote the recommendations as noted.  Gunowners that are voting in the Democratic primary have some choices in some of these that we'll reevaluate after the primary. Delegate Kevin Kelly in 01B has been a valuable member of the House Judiciary Committee and deserves our support and demonstrates that there are some pro-gun Democrats out there.

Districts 8-12 - Vote the recommendations as provided, though we take note that challenger Republican candidate Rani Merryman in District 08 has demonstrated to us a firm commitment to our issues.  She made a point of coming to Annapolis for the last Open Holster Rally and was one of the first to request a speaking spot at the August 8th candidates' forum.  A video of her presentation can be found here.  

District 13 - Not much going on in the primaries in the Senate race as we know that the Democratic incumbent is no friend of ours.  There are no choices in the Democratic House of Delegates race but Republican Ed Priola made the point to give a presentation at the August 8th meeting.

Districts 14-16 - Pretty much a wasteland for pro-gun candidates.  The best we can do is vote anti-incumbent and hope to upset the apple cart a little by putting in new people.

District 17 - A person of note here is Republican challenger Adol Theo Owen-Williams II.  His testimony before the House Judiciary Committee about surviving an attempted car jacking by virtue of his possession of a rare Maryland permit to carry a firearm and subsequent arrest and near prosecution at the hands of an overzealous Montgomery County jurisdiction was one of the most gripping stories we've witnessed in the General Assembly.

Districts 18-26 - We don't have much of a chance of making an impact here either.  Vote anti-incumbent and follow the very few recommendations we have for you.

District 27A - Chairman Joseph Vallario does at least as much good for us as not and he is a powerful stabilizing force as head of the House Judiciary Committee.  We know him and he knows us and we can at least work together. We have some other choices for you to look at in the House races in this split district.

Districts 28-30 - Not much to get excited about.  Vote the recommendations as applicable.  District 30 will be in play come the General election and we'll have more to say as that approaches.

District 31 - We strongly recommend that the incumbent team of Dwyer, Kipke, Schuh and Simonaire be returned on the Republican side.  This is one of the strongest overall pro-gun delegations in the entire General Assembly and they've consistently done right by us.  We know we can especially count on Delegate Dwyer to support us in his position on the House Judiciary Committee.

Districts 32-33 - Vote the recommendations as noted.  District 32 will bear some more scrutiny after the dust settles from the primary.

District 34 - Incumbent Senator Nancy Jacobs has been a long time friend to us and deserves to continue to represent our issues in Annapolis.  In the 34A House of Delegates races, we have nothing but good things to say about incumbent Dan Riley who has consistently shown that you can genuinely be a pro-gun Democrat and has been our lead sponsor on the shall issue bills for several years.  In the other races for the House in 34, vote the recommendations.

Districts 35 and 36 - Vote the recommendations as noted.  We take note of incumbent Delegate Michael Smigiel who has been another consistent advocate for us and has earned our support based on his actions.

Districts 37-41 - Again, there's not a lot to get excited about in these races.  We're going with the incumbent team in District 37 and recommend that you do the same.  Go with the recommendations as applicable in other races.

District 42 - Incumbent Senator Jim Brochin has been a sound and reasoned supporter of us and has weathered the storm from his Democratic colleagues because he actually listens to the facts on our issues and not just the hysteria of the anti-gun wing of his party.  Based on his actions, he deserves our continued support.  Incumbent Delegate William Frank carried the load on the Civil Immunity bill for some time and has consistently worked with us and supported our issues.

Districts 43-47 - Sorry folks, but the choices are slim pickings here.  You can vote anti-incumbent in the hopes of rattling some cages, but that's about it.  There are a few recommendations for you in these races, but they are all long shots.

 

Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.
P.O. Box 314
Libertytown, MD 21762-0314
240-446-6782

Mission Statement:
Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime.

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