Is This Sweet Or What?

[Karl/Pa.]

CeaseFire Maryland, Inc. and Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse, Inc. Reborn Under New Management

On December 20, 2007 at 6:37 PM this Association’s Legislative Vice President John H. Josselyn, became aware that the State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) had forfeited the corporate charters of CeaseFire

Maryland and Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse (MAHA). This action by SDAT not only ended the legal standing of both organizations, but it also made the names available to anyone who wanted to use them.

On December 21, 2007 at 9:31 AM, SDAT granted name reservations for CeaseFire Maryland and Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse to John H. Josselyn. On January 10, 2008 at 1:10 PM, the Department of Assessments and Taxation confirmed acceptance of the corporate charter filings by John H. Josselyn as the Director of the following corporation entities:

Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse, Inc. D12316436

CeaseFire Maryland, Inc. D12316428

This action prevents the anti-gun groups CeaseFire & MAHA from filing the necessary tax forms and reinstating their charters. They can form new groups but they cannot use the names CeaseFire Maryland or Marylanders Against

Handgun Abuse. Also, they cannot legally claim a seat on the Maryland Handgun Roster Board. The first official act of the new Director was to meet with Senate President Mike Miller and formally object to the appointment and confirmation of Leonard Lucchi as a member of the Maryland Handgun Roster Board.

You really can’t make up stuff like this - the truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. What Will the Other Side Do?

While it is difficult to predict the future, there are some

options the other side may pursue:

1. The Governor may decide not to fill the seat allocated by statute to Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse. The “old” CeaseFire & MAHA have placed the Governor in an embarrassing position. The cleanest option is to simply do

nothing and not appoint anyone to the seat on the Roster Board. This option would force us to take the Governor to court in a effort to capture the seat.

2. They might incorporate under a new name and enlist the aid of a gun ban zealot in the General Assembly who would file a bill to change the existing statute that names their new anti-gun organization to hold the Roster Board seat. This option will be politically problematic because the charters were forfeited by the State for failing to comply with the law. While the filing dates for new bill have passed and the bill must first go through the Rules Committee this is not a high hurdle. The main problem is that a new corporate entity must be formed and new legislation drafted. Time is not on their

side and it is uncertain how much political capital the supporters and/or the Governor might be willing to spend to ram it through the General Assembly.

3. The Governor may decide to dig in his heels and attempt to force Leonard Lucchi’s confirmation through the committee despite the fact that he does not represent Marylanders Against Handgun Abuse or CeaseFire Maryland. This will provoke a public political scene that will not benefit the Democrats and “other powers” in the Senate may quietly kill the effort behind the scenes.

4. The Governor may side step the issue and appoint Len Lucchi to a "Citizens” seat which he could do anyway. Time will tell.

http://www.associatedgunclubs.org/leg20 ... dition.pdf