MoCo JuiceBlender: County Officials Push Gun Control, Robin Ficker Defeats MoCo Speed Camera, Towson's Bethesda Crush?

UPDATE: County Exec Ike Leggett's office has provided a clarification about the impact of Robin Ficker's court victory over a MoCo speed camera. They note that the Judge's decision in the case "does not establish a precedent that will be binding in other cases presented in court, and the decision in this case does not require a modification of Department policy.  The Department will not be reviewing other cases in which citations were issued by this speed camera."

On another note, gun control activists have created a new organization in Maryland called, Marylanders Against Gun Violence. Their mission states, "MDAGV is a grassroots organization advocating for sensible gun control legislation in the Maryland General Assembly and in Congress." You can find them on Facebook for more information. Additionally, given the surge in interest in gun control from Montgomery County residents, you can watch Ike Leggett discuss Maryland's gun control efforts in a recent News Channel 8 interview:

JUICE #1: MONTGOMERY COUNTY OFFICIALS PUSHING FOR GUN CONTROL IN MARYLAND - With the recent surge in support for gun control measures, Montgomery County politicians are moving quickly to take advantage of the moment. The latest email newsletter from MoCo Council President Nancy Navarro announced a few efforts from MoCo officials relating to gun control efforts (excerpt below):

Council works with Board of Education to accelerate placing new security measures in all county schools: Four years ago, the Council provided funding for MCPS to install access control systems, camera systems, and visitor management systems in County schools.... On Monday, January 7th, Council Education Committee Chair Valerie Ervin and myself sent a letter to Board of Education President Chris Barclay asking MCPS to speed up implementation of new these security measures at schools across the county. The next day, the Board of Education voted to act on our recommendation, and requested that we release about $365,000 earlier than planned so that they can finish installing these systems by the end of the school year....

Message to state and federal lawmakers: we need better gun control laws: On Tuesday, January 22nd, the Council passed a resolution to send a clear message to our representatives in the state legislature and in Congress that Montgomery County wants action on gun control. The resolution calls for the Governor and state legislature to consider and implement the recently released recommendations of the Maryland Task Force to Study Access of Individuals with Mental Illness to Regulated Firearms, and for state and federal officials to take a number of other common sense steps to reduce the number of dangerous guns in the hands of criminals or mentally ill individuals who may harm themselves or others....

Baltimore County Overruled in Denying Benefits for Same Sex Police Spouses // County Attorneys to Review Decision

Maryland Juice recently reported that Baltimore County was facing attacks from the ACLU and Baltimore Sun over its decision to deny benefits to the spouses of LGBT police officers. Yesterday, an arbitrator ruled against the County, and their lawyers are now reviewing the decision. The Metro Weekly last night announced:

Even as two Baltimore County police officers became the latest to win equal employment benefits for their same-sex spouses last week, Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler (D) warned that similar legal fights are in store for other same-sex couples until the state's General Assembly or Court of Appeals take action to clarify how the state recognizes same-sex marriage.

The Baltimore County decision, issued by binding arbitration, to grant the two couples spousal benefits came as a result of grievances filed by Lambda Legal, a legal organization focusing on the civil rights of LGBT people, and the county police union on behalf of Officers Margaret Selby and Juanika Ballard, who had been refused benefits for their spouses....

Ellen Kobler, a spokeswoman for Baltimore County, said the county was still reviewing the arbitrator's decision and declined to comment further.

We previously mentioned that the ACLU of Maryland weighed in on this issue with a call-to-action on their Facebook page:

Baltimore County Denies Benefits to Police Officers' Same-Sex Spouses // ACLU & Baltimore Sun Cry Foul

The Baltimore Sun recently published an editorial calling on Baltimore County to provide benefits to police officers' same-sex spouses. They included this history of the controversy for readers:

County residents may recall that it was nearly two years ago that Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler issued a letter stating that Maryland should recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states. Yet, six months after the opinion was made public, the two officers had to file grievances through the police union because the county (which had at first deducted spousal premiums from their paychecks) decided to deny coverage altogether.

Perhaps the Gansler letter never made it to Towson because the county's lawyers decided to interpret Maryland law differently, arguing that the state's definition of marriage is "between a man and a woman" only. That's true, but as the attorney general pointed out, that provision does not address out-of-state marriages any more than other restrictions the state puts on wedlock (the age of the couple, for instance) affect the recognition of out-of-state unions.

But even if the legal point is arguable, why do it? 

The Sun's editorial board called on B'more County to do the right thing and provide the benefits:

Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz shouldn't require more than a nanosecond to dismiss any notion of appealing an independent arbitrator's ruling that two Baltimore County police officers should not be denied health benefits for their same-sex spouses.

The ACLU of Maryland piggy-backed on the Baltimore Sun editorial with a call-to-action on their Facebook page: