By: Ted Patterson

Yes, it’s true. In one of the most anti-gun states in the country, we now have a candidate signaling that he wants to pass new restrictions on shotguns.

Ben Jealous, outspoken supporter of presidential candidate Bernie Sanders, is the Democratic nominee for governor in blue state Maryland, and in a recent interview with MSNBC said gun laws need to go “much further.” Watch here:

The implications of what Ben Jealous is saying are huge. Maryland already has an assault weapons ban, a magazine ban, background checks, and other anti-gun restrictions. To say we need to “finish the job” on the assault weapons ban, and then to mention how the gunman who carried out the Capital Gazette shooting (in which five staff members were killed in the newspaper’s Annapolis office) used a shotgun, has to be making the Gun Control Lobby quite giddy.

Radical gun control schemes passed in deep blue states set new standards gun control activists will use in other states.

Maryland gun rights activists are rightly concerned about this new wave of proposed restrictions, since the ink is barely dry on new sweeping gun control laws passed in the 2018 Maryland General Assembly.

Despite the fact that a new, so-called “red flag” gun confiscation law (read more about why red flag laws are bad here) and a bump stock ban haven’t even taken effect yet, political opportunists in Maryland are not deterred from making calls for even more gun control.

Much of the recent gun control talk has been spurred on by the tragic Capital Gazette shooting. News outlets have speculated on whether the newly passed red flag gun confiscation law would have made a difference in that case.

The Capital Gazette shooter, however, lawfully purchased the shotgun he used and even passed background checks.

NRA TV’s Dan Bongino covered this latest development:

Incumbent Republican Governor Larry Hogan, who is Ben Jealous’ opponent in the Maryland general election, supported the gun laws passed in 2018 and recently met with students from Great Mills High School, the sight of a March shooting that left one student and the gunman dead.

If Larry Hogan is re-elected governor of Maryland, can gun owners expect a shotgun ban to be off the table? Don’t bet on it. Hogan, as a Republican running in Democratic Maryland, has shown a definite openness to more gun control, and given his track record, we believe him.

No matter which way the governor’s election goes in Maryland – I think it is safe to say a major gun control fight is brewing in Maryland for 2019.

I wonder if Ben Jealous and former Vice President Joe Biden have discussed this issue? You might remember Biden’s now infamous statement in an interview in which he was asked about gun control:

“You don’t need 30 rounds to protect yourself. Buy a shotgun,” Biden said.

Do you think Biden will take issue with what Jealous is proposing?
Nope. Biden just visited Maryland to endorse Jealous.

UPDATE: Now Jealous is under fire for an outburst yesterday when a reporter asked him if he was a socialist, he replied "Are you fcking kidding me?" — watch the clip here, Jealous makes the remark at 2:04:

Ted Patterson is pro-freedom political activist and consultant writing from Maryland. Contact him at [email protected].

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