Five years and 2.5 Million dollars later, the Maryland ballistic fingerprint experiment has yet to solve a single crime. Even then, the gun grabbers are saying that the database needs more time and of course, more money.

Del. Neil F. Quinter, D-Howard, said the program needs to be given more time to fully develop.

It is still too early to see if the system that began operating in 2000 is effective, Quinter said, because there is a lag between a gun's purchase and when it is used in a crime -- 3 to 6.1 years. [...]

The state's ballistic database system has 43,729 casings and has had only 208 queries to date. Just six successful identifications have been made -- a reason opponents cite for dropping the program.

Supporters of the ballistic money pit also point to the state's DNA database, which took a few years to pay dividends. But then bullets are nothing like DNA. The markings change over time, or can be deliberately altered with a file. And of course there is the inconvenient fact that criminals rarely obtain their firearms through legal means. Even if the bullet can be traced back to the gun, and even if the gun can be traced back to the purchaser, you quickly reach a dead end when it turns out the gun was stolen or resold.

The money would be better spent on proven law enforcement methods.