I understand what you are saying but look at it some other way. The press is spinning the shit out of this move as if it is the result of MD's new gun control laws. If this gives some state legislator sitting on the fence a push in our favor, mission accomplished.
Having lived in Washington, Kansas, and Ohio over the last 22 years, I'd pick Kansas (Wichita area/south central).
Oklahoma is a very, very close second.
None of that USMC stuff means much to me since I was in the Navy. But under "qualifications" I see some fluffed up stuff that would have me asking some pretty probing questions during the interview.
The biggest red flag, for me, is the large discrepancy between the length of military service...
Since both are the product of your state's political climate, it ultimately makes no difference which of the two made Beretta leave. You get what you get.
A) He was working as a contractor in Lybia when he was imprisoned. So his Navy service was presumably over for quite a while.
B) He is a world class dumbass for crossing the border into a foreign country with firearms but without doing due diligence (which is easy as fuck for Canada)
Savages also scream "cheap" but at least they are consistently accurate and Savage puts money into the things that matter (like barrels and triggers). The Ruger Model 77 is anything but a cheap rifle. It is different, but not cheap.
In retrospect, I'd rather have the low cost Japanese or...