As you know if you’ve been following my series that gives Anne Arundel County voters reasons not to vote for Steve Schuh, I live in another Maryland county. In today’s mail, I received a mailer “By Authority: Maryland Democratic Senatorial Committee Slate” that is in opposition to Republican Gail Bates, a long-term Delegate who is running for state Senate.

It’s an expensive, professionally produced two-page – opens up like a book – mailer with a very compelling message. The link below will show you the the mailer.  Pages 2 and 3 have  a banner that stretches across the both of them. It’s simple, highly visual and, my experience and wife both tell me, it works.

Gail Bates Mailer – October 16, 2014

Inside, on page 3 of the mailer, under a picture of Gail Bates, it says the following:

…Gail Bates has proven that she cares more about her Tea Party Caucus than she cares about you or me. She even voted against removing guns from men who abuse their wives or domestic partners.

The bill this mailer is (or should be) talking about is HB302 which passed the House of Delegates on March 17, 2009 by a vote of 92 to 45. The purpose of the bill was to allow the courts to order persons accused of abuse by their spouses or domestic partners to surrender their firearms (guns) and to not obtain any firearms until the alleged domestic dispute has been resolved to the court’s satisfaction.

Who would vote against this bill? Well, 45 Delegates did, including Gail Bates. HB302 passed 31 to 15 in the Senate, so 15 Senators voted against it there. More to the point of this series, Tea Party Republican Steve Schuh, currently running for Anne Arundel County Executive, also voted against it.

Will someone please ask Steve Schuh why he voted against HB302?

Steve and other Tea Party Republicans have a right to their points of view. Of course they do. It’s a free country – and that’s a good thing. It’s a good thing because it also gives you the right not to vote for Steve if you’d prefer not to have a County Executive who is willing to put his strict constructionist interpretation of the Second Amendment ahead of the safety of your children on public school property (SB281) and in situations of domestic abuse (HB302).

At least he’s consistent and that tells you something about Tea Party Republic Steve Schuh – and gives you yet another reason not to vote for him.