CJ Ciaramella
Washington Free Beacon
Beretta USA, one of the nation’s largest firearms manufacturers, compared a Maryland gun-control bill to a book ban Friday and warned it may consider leaving the state if the legislation passes.
Beretta general counsel Jeffrey Reh said Maryland Democratic Gov. Martin O’Malley’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013 is “tantamount to a legislative effort to ban certain books” during testimony before the Maryland House Judiciary Committee.
“That might seem like a provocative statement but the parallels are apt,” Reh said, according to testimony obtained by the Free Beacon. “The possession and use of firearms and printed materials are both protected by the Constitution. Both rights come from the only legislation in U.S. history that was voted on and approved directly by the citizens of our country.”
“One might suggest that books do not kill and that the current legislation is sought for beneficial reasons,” Reh continued. “In fact, the misuse of books—say, the Bible or the Koran—have led to tragedy, and efforts to ban certain books—for example, Huckleberry Finn—have also come from allegedly ‘beneficial’ intent.”