Maryland: Please Attend House and Senate Committee Hearings on Gun Bills

The House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee are scheduled to hold hearings on multiple gun bills in the coming days.  Your NRA-ILA previously reported on some of these hearings earlier this month, however more bills are now scheduled to be considered.  NRA members and Second Amendment supporters are encouraged to attend these hearings and voice their strong opposition to the proposed anti-gun legislation.  Also, please contact members of both the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and strongly urge them to OPPOSE the below anti-gun legislation:

Thursday, Feb. 20^th Senate Judicial Proceedings Hearing – Senate Building, Room 2:

Senate Bill 346, sponsored by Senator Bill Ferguson, would define any loan other than a temporary gratuitous exchange of a regulated firearm between two individuals who remain in the same location for the duration of the exchange, as a “transfer” and require background checks and fees to be completed and paid before and after the loan takes place.

Senate Bill 441, sponsored by Senator William Smith, would impose mandatory storage requirements for all firearms where “a child could gain access to it.”  This mandatory storage law would do nothing more than render firearms useless in self-defense situations.  Criminals love this bill as it tips the scales in their favor in self-defense situations.  Further, the bill defines a child as “an individual under 18 years of age.”

Monday, Feb. 25^th House Judiciary Hearing – House Office Building, Room 100:

House Bill 96, sponsored by Delegate Kathleen Dumais, is the cross-filed companion of Senate Bill 346 and intends to redefine certain loans of firearms.

House Bill 468, sponsored by Delegate Dana Stein, is the cross-filed companion of Senate Bill 441 and would impose certain mandatory storage requirements.

House Bill 612, sponsored by Delegate Julian Ivey, would place popular Colt AR-15 H-BAR rifles on the list of “Regulated Firearms” in Maryland.  

House Bill 740, sponsored by Delegate Kathleen Dumais, establishes certain crimes relating to the criminal possession or manufacture of 3D Printed Firearms and “Ghost Guns.”  This legislation essentially bans 3D printing of firearms and prohibits the possession of any firearm without a serial number made after 1968.  There are no reports of criminals using 3D printing to manufacture firearms, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) has never received a trace request for a 3D-printed gun, and there has never been a case of such a firearm being used in a crime.  Furthermore, the 1968 Gun Control Act, the 1988 Undetectable Firearms Act and other federal laws govern firearms produced by a 3D printing process, just as they do to guns manufactured through conventional processes.  

House Bill 786, sponsored by Delegate Vanessa Atterbeary, would create “Long Gun Qualification Licenses (LGQL).” Similar to Handgun Qualification Licenses, HB 786 wants to impose the same unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles on purchasing a long gun that Maryland requires for purchasing a pistol.  Further, those seeking an LGQL would have to attend 4 hours of training and fingerprinting from the State Police and still have to wait 7 days before acquiring a long gun from a dealer. 

Wednesday, Feb. 27^th Senate Judicial Proceedings Hearing – Senate Building, Room 2:

Senate Bill 882, sponsored by Senator William Smith, is the cross-filed companion of House Bill 740 and establishes certain crimes relating to the criminal possession or manufacture of 3-D Printed Firearms and “Ghost Guns.” 

Senate Bill 737, sponsored by Senator Susan Lee, is the cross-filed companion of House Bill 786 and would create “Long Gun Qualification Licenses (LGQL).”

Again, please attend these hearings in opposition to the above anti-gun bills. Also, please contact members of the House Judiciary Committee and the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and urge them to OPPOSE the above anti-gun bills.