Maryland Bans Sale of Saturday Night Specials

A bill making Maryland the first state to ban the sale of cheap handguns, or Saturday night specials, was signed into law today by Gov. William Donald Schaefer.

Presidential press secretary James Brady and his wife, Sarah, and about 200 uniformed police officers from five states witnessed the signing ceremony.

“This is indeed a great step for public safety,” Sarah Brady said. “I can’t think of a sweeter, more wonderful day.”

She became active in gun-control efforts after her husband was seriously wounded in John Hinckley Jr.’s assassination attempt on President Reagan in 1981.

Her husband, confined to his wheelchair since the shooting, flashed the crowd a thumbs-up gesture during a long ovation that greeted his introduction. He has held the title of his post since the shooting.

‘These Guns Are Wrong’

Schaefer called the bill a major breakthrough in the campaign “to stop the senseless killing on our streets.”

“This is the first time a Legislature has stood up and said, ‘These guns are wrong,’ ” the governor said.

Schaefer aides say the ceremony was not intended as a show of force to pro-gun groups that are collecting signatures on petitions seeking to place the issue on the ballot in November.

Rather, the aides said, the ceremony was a way of sharing the moment with the many people who helped get the bill passed despite fierce opposition from the National Rifle Assn. and Maryland gun groups.

After losing to gun control forces in the Legislature, the NRA and other gun groups began a referendum drive to ask the voters to overturn the handgun measure in November. They say they are confident they can obtain enough signatures to get the measure on the ballot.

State officials say the bill is unique because it creates a board to determine which handguns can be sold in Maryland beginning in 1990.