Governor Hogan disregarded our veto requests and has signed the Handun Permit Review Board Bill (HB 819) , and the “red flag” bill (HB 1302). As detailed in our veto letters to the Governor (the letter on HB 819 can be found HERE, and HB 1302 letter can be found HERE), both bills were bad, but the HB 1302 “red flag” bill was the worst.
Dear Mr. Shank:
This letter is submitted on behalf of Maryland Shall Issue, its officers and Board and all its members, to request that Governor Hogan veto HB 819, as enacted by the General Assembly. As you may know, Maryland Shall Issue is an all-volunteer, non-partisan organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of gun owners’ rights in Maryland. The undersigned President of Maryland Shall Issue is an attorney and an active member of the Bar of the District of Columbia, having recently retired from the United States Department of Justice, after 33 years of practicing before the federal Courts of Appeals and the Supreme Court of the United States. For the reasons set forth below, HB 819 is an unfounded attack on the Handgun Permit Review Board whose members are appointed by you. It deserves to be vetoed.
Dear Mr. Shank:
This letter is submitted on behalf of Maryland Shall Issue, its officers and Board and all its members, to request that Governor Hogan veto HB-1302, as enacted by the General Assembly on April 9, 2018.
UPDATED:
Well, HB 1302, the so-called Extreme Risk Protection Orders bill, has emerged from the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee and quickly passed the Senate. The vote in the Senate was 31-13. Up front, we wish to thank the tireless efforts of Senator Hough, Senator Ready, Senator Cassilly and Chairman Zirkin in the Committee to remake this bill from the House version. And because of their efforts, the resulting bill is certainly a big improvement over the bill that was passed by the House. To their great credit, Senators Hough, Ready, Cassilly and Senator Linda Norman (who is new to the Committee, having just been appointed to the seat filled by her late husband) voted against this bill in Committee. That is because these Senators realized that the bill is still a legal abomination. Even under the JPR amendments, the bill still makes gun owners a unique class in the law, e.g., a person who can be proceeded against and whose property can be seized simply because of his or her status as a gun owner.
The Opposition is playing games with SB 27, which is the preliminary approval bill for a carry permit. This bill passed the Senate 44-1 this year and was approved by the House Judiciary Committee 18-0. It passed the House last year. The opposition wants to tack on amendments to make it hard on republicans. We need, however, something to pass in the House for it to get to a conference with the Senate. PLEASE, call and write your representative ASAP to urge them to stand firm and get this bill through the House in accordance with what passed the Senate and what the House did last year.
You can find your representatives HERE
SB27 can be found HERE
Legislative Alert: "Rapid Fire Trigger Activator" Ban Bills Hearing - Joint Hearing Room (Department of Legislative Services Building, 90 State Circle, Annapolis) 2/28 1:00pm.
MSI is urging our members and all who care about firearms rights to come out to Annapolis on Tuesday, March 6, 2018! This is gun bill day in the House of Delegates. No rally or formal hosted event is planned. So far 38 bills are scheduled for this day.
Well, it is starting to get exciting in Annapolis. We are tracking legislation and updating it often on our website with links to the bills and our testimony. We do want to highlight here a few of these bills and encourage our members (and other supporters of the Second Amendment) to contact their legislators and come out and testify. MSI needs your support.
With the 2018 Maryland General Assembly underway, it's a good time to brush up on how things work in Annapolis and how to let your voice be heard.
As always, Maryland Shall Issue will be tracking all of the gun bills that come along this session. Below is a list of all of the current gun bill information, as well as MSI's positions and applicable testimonies. This table will be kept up to date during this session.
Last Update: April 24, 2018
Approved by the Governor
|
Bill Number |
Bill Title |
MSI Position |
MSI Testimony |
Primary Sponsor |
Status |
|
Calvert County – Hunting – Deer Management Permits |
No Position |
|
|
(SB0545) |
Public Safety - Grant Programs and Funding (Public Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2018) |
No Position |
|
|
(SB0741) |
Public Safety - Handgun Permit Review Board - Repeal |
Oppose |
Approved by the Governor |
|
(SB0707) |
Criminal Law – Firearm Crimes – Rapid Fire Trigger Activator |
Oppose |
|
Criminal Law - Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Handgun - Subsequent Offender |
|
|
|
Public Safety - Extreme Risk Prevention Orders |
Oppose | Approved by the Governor |
|
(SB1036) |
Criminal Procedure - Firearms - Transfer |
Information Only |
All legislation
|
Bill Number |
Bill Title |
MSI Position |
MSI Testimony |
Primary Sponsor |
Status |
|
Baltimore County - Public Schools - Active Assailant Event Training and Drills |
No Position |
|
|||
|
(SB0027) |
Firearms - Handgun Permit - Preliminary Approval |
Support |
|||
|
(SB0197) |
Crimes - Firearms - Penalties |
No Position |
|
||
|
Calvert County – Hunting – Deer Management Permits |
No Position |
|
|||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Applicant Qualifications |
Support |
|
|||
|
(SB0448) |
Public Safety – Firearms Disqualifications – Antique Firearm (Shadé’s Law) |
Oppose |
|||
|
(SB0545) |
Public Safety - Grant Programs and Funding (Public Safety and Violence Prevention Act of 2018) |
No Position |
|
||
|
Baltimore City - Micro Stamping, Ammunition Sales - Record Keeping |
Oppose |
||||
|
Firearms - Right to Purchase, Own, Possess, and Carry - Medical Cannabis (Patients' Rights Act) |
No Position |
||||
|
Bow Hunting - Possession of Handguns for Protection |
Support |
Delegate Vogt |
|||
|
Public Safety - Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun - Qualifications |
Support |
|
|||
|
Criminal Procedure - Right of Appeal - Unlawful Possession of Firearm |
Information Only |
||||
|
(SB0604) |
Criminal Procedure - Forfeiture of Firearms - Sale to Dealer |
No Position |
|
||
|
Public Safety - Transfer of Handguns |
Oppose |
||||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Application Fee Exemption |
Support |
|
|||
|
Public Safety - Handguns - Trace Information Database |
|
|
|||
|
Public Safety - Handguns Used in Crime - Trace Request |
|
|
|||
|
Public Safety – Handgun Permit – Church or Religious Organization Property |
Support |
|
|||
|
Handguns - School Employees - Handgun Permits and Carrying Weapons on School Property |
Support |
||||
|
Firearms - Permit to Wear, Carry, or Transport a Handgun - Expiration and Renewal |
Support |
||||
|
Public Safety - Community Program Fund - Firearm Laws |
|
|
|||
|
(SB0741) |
Public Safety - Handgun Permit Review Board - Repeal |
Oppose |
PASSED ENROLLED | ||
|
Public Safety - Disqualifying Crime |
Support |
||||
|
(SB0707) |
Criminal Law – Firearm Crimes – Rapid Fire Trigger Activator |
Oppose |
Returned Passed |
||
|
Correctional Services - Parole Eligibility - Violent Crime Involving a Firearm |
|
|
|||
|
Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones |
Oppose |
|
Passed House - In the Senate - First Reading Senate Rules |
||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Renewal |
Support |
|
In the House - Unfavorable Report by Judiciary; Withdrawn |
||
|
(SB1062) |
Weapon Crimes – Detachable Magazines and Regulated Firearms – Possession |
Oppose |
In the House - Unfavorable Report by Judiciary; Withdrawn |
||
|
Criminal Law - Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting Handgun - Subsequent Offender |
|
|
RETURNED PASSED |
||
|
(SB0860) |
Public Safety - Regulated Firearms - Transfer |
Oppose |
|
||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Issuance and Appeal |
Support |
||||
|
Criminal Law - Theft of a Firearm - Penalty |
|||||
|
(SB0497) |
Public Safety - Handgun Permits - Protective Order and Peace Order |
Support | |||
|
Public Safety - Extreme Risk Prevention Orders |
Oppose |
Passed Enrolled |
|||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permits - Active, Reserve, or Retired Military |
|||||
|
Handgun Permits - Firearms Training Courses |
Support | Testimony | |||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Applicant Qualifications |
Support | ||||
|
Natural Resources - Hunter Safety Instructors - State Park Entrance Fee |
Support | ||||
|
Firearms - Right to Purcase, Possess, and Carry - Use of Medical Cannabis |
Information Only | Testimony | |||
|
Driver's Licenses - Revocation for Firearms on School Property |
Oppose |
||||
|
Handgun Permits - Universal Recognition |
Support |
||||
|
(SB1153) |
Handgun Permits - Criminal History Check - Fingerprints |
Support |
|||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permits - Scope |
Support |
Testimony | |||
|
Public Safety - Assault Weapons - Replacements |
Support |
||||
|
Peace Orders and Protective Orders - Surrender of Firearms |
Oppose |
||||
|
(SB1036) |
Criminal Procedure - Firearms - Transfer |
Information Only |
Passed Enrolled |
||
|
(SB0789) |
Public Safety - Rifles and Shotguns - Purchases |
Support | Testimony | ||
|
Gun-Free Higher Education Zones |
Oppose | ||||
|
Task Force to Study the Effectiveness of the Enforcement on the Possession of Regulated Firearms |
|||||
|
(SB1226) |
Primary and Secondary Schools - Armed School Resource officers |
||||
|
Election Law - Fund-Raising and Donations in Connection With a Campaign - Prohibition on Firearms |
|||||
|
(SB1250) |
Criminal Law - Threat of Mass Violence and Deadly Weapons on School Property |
||||
|
(HB0029) |
Firearms - Handgun Permit - Preliminary Approval |
Support |
Passed Senate - In The House - Recommitted to Judiciary (Delegate Vallario) |
||
|
Criminal Law - Firearms Crimes - Bump Stocks |
Oppose |
|
In the Senate - Unfavorable Report by Judicial Proceedings; Withdrawn |
||
|
Public Safety - Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun - Qualifications |
Support |
||||
|
Firearms - Prohibited Possession - Conviction for Harassment |
Oppose |
|
In the Senate - Unfavorable Report by Judicial Proceedings; Withdrawn |
||
|
Criminal Law - Comprehensive Crime Bill of 2018 |
Passed Senate - House Appropriations - Hearing 3/27 at 1:00pm |
||||
|
Courts and Judicial Proceedings - Interception of Communications - Firearms Crimes |
No Position |
|
|||
|
Criminal Procedure - Right of Appeal - Unlawful Possession of Firearm |
Information Only |
||||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Church or Religious Organization Property |
Support |
|
In the Senate - Unfavorable Report by Judicial Proceedings; Withdrawn |
||
|
Public Safety - Handgun Qualification License - Issuance With Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport |
Support |
||||
|
(HB0101) |
Crimes - Firearms - Penalties |
No Position |
|
||
|
(HB0402) |
Public Safety - Firearms Disqualifications - Antique Firearm (Shadé's Law) |
Oppose |
|||
|
Public Safety - Permit to Wear, Carry, or Transport a Handgun - Expiration and Renewal |
Support |
||||
|
(HB1189) |
Public Safety – Handgun Permits – Protective Order and Peace Order |
Support |
|||
|
(HB0432) |
Public Safety - Maryland Violence Intervention and Prevention Program Fund - Establishment |
No Position |
|
||
|
Firearms – Right to Purchase, Possess, and Carry – Use of Medical Cannabis |
No Position |
||||
|
(HB0724) |
Criminal Procedure - Forfeiture of Firearms - Sale to Dealer |
No Position |
|
||
|
(HB0888) |
Criminal Law – Firearm Crimes – Rapid Fire Trigger Activator |
Oppose |
|||
|
(HB0819) |
Public Safety - Handgun Permit Review Board - Repeal |
Oppose |
Senator Madaleno |
RETURNED PASSED | |
|
Wildlife Management - Shooting at Nighttime |
|||||
|
(HB1659) |
Public Safety – Rifles and Shotguns – Purchases |
Support |
|
||
|
Public Safety - Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun - Qualifications |
Support |
|
|||
|
(HB1031) |
Public Safety - Regulated Firearms - Transfer |
Oppose |
|
||
|
Public Safety - Firearms Database |
Support |
|
In the Senate - Unfavorable Report by Judicial Proceedings; Withdrawn |
||
|
Partial Repeal of Firearms Safety Act of 2013 |
Support |
|
|||
|
(HB1646) |
Criminal Procedure - Firearms - Transfer |
Information Only |
|
PASSED SENATE - In the House - Third Reading Passed with Amendments |
|
|
(HB0991) |
Weapon Crimes - Detachable Magazines and Regulated Firearms - Possession |
Oppose |
|||
|
(HB1534) |
Handgun Permits - Criminal History Check - Fingerprint Submission Exception |
Support |
|||
|
(HB1801) |
Primary and Secondary Schools - Armed School Resource Officers |
Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs - Hearing date TBD |
|||
|
(HB1807) |
Criminal Law - Threat of Mass Violence and Deadly Weapons on Public School Property |
||||
|
Public Safety - Background Information for Firearm License Investigations - School Crisis Welfare Officers (School Safety Act 2018: Prevention) |
|||||
|
Public Safety - School Mental Health Services and Mental Disorder Weapon Restraining Order (School Safety Act of 2018: Anticipation) |
|||||
|
Primary and Secondary Schools - Law Enforcement Presence (School Safety Act 2018: Deterrence) |
Passage of this bill (H.R. 38) in the House is huge and is strongly endorsed by MSI. The bill contains multiple provisions greatly strengthening the rights of individuals with concealed carry permits and and of residents of constitutional carry states that allow concealed carry without a permit.
Sine Die (midnight, April 10) has come and gone and the 2017 Session of the General Assembly is over. Thankfully. The forces of logic and sense actually did pretty well, considering what was at stake. My thanks go out to the folks and leadership at NRA-ILA, the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association, 2A Maryland, the AGC, the Western Maryland Sportsmen's Coalition and the Maryland Hunting Coalition. We all contributed. But most of all I want to thank our membership and others, who stood up and were counted with time, testimony, emails, calls, support, and signs. Thank you for your passion! It is a bond that we all share.
So what happened this year?
Several of the 2A organizations in our state, along with the NRA showed up in Annapolis to testify against many bills. We have some video from these testimonies one of the more egregious bills this session, HB0159 - Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones. Take a look!
MSI's president, Mark Pennak, testified in Annapolis during a recent senate hearing during General Assembly 2017.
This page will be kept to date with this 2017 MGA session's 2nd Amendment related legislation as we become aware of them.
Read the written testimony by MSI's President, Mark Pennak voicing his opposition to HB159 (aka. Campus Carry Bill).
A Letter From the President of MSI
Well, we had an impact, but the City Council is tying itself in legal knots in an effort to have it both ways. I mean, you can’t make this stuff up. It is just bizarre.
Maryland Shall Issue is opposed to the Terrorist Watch List for the same reasons the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is opposed to the Terrorist Watch List, it lacks due process as required under the 5 th and 14 th Amendments to the Constitution. The Terrorist Watch List was created as an investigative tool, and was never intended to provide due process. The government does not disclose to people that they are under investigation.
Maryland Shall Issue (MSI) applauds the National Rifle Association’s (NRA) announcement of its support of a new challenge against the State of Maryland's unfair and discriminatory wear and carry permit system in federal district court. The case name is Malpasso v. Pallozzi, No. 18-1064 (D. MD). The Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association, which is the NRA's Maryland state organization, is also a named plaintiff. The lawsuit candidly acknowledges that the relief sought "is contrary to Woollard v. Gallagher, 712 F.3d 865 (4th Cir. 2013), but alleges that the Fourth Circuit's decision in Woollard was "wrongly decided" for the "reasons explained in Wrenn v. District of Columbia, 864 F.3d 650 (D.C. Cir. 2017), and that the purpose of the suit is "to seek to have Woollard overturned." The suit is thus similar to complaints filed by the same counsel in New York (New York State Rifle and Pistol Association, Inc. v. Beach, No. 18-134 (N.D.N.Y.)), and in New Jersey (Rogers v. Grewal, No. 18-1544 (D.N.J.)) in which existing adverse Second Circuit and Third Circuit precedent is challenged in the same way. These suits all take advantage of the "circuit split" created by the D.C. Circuit's decision in Wrenn. The resolution of such circuit splits is often the reason that cases are reviewed in the Supreme Court.
Read more ...With the recent changes in Maryland law concerning medical marijuana, see MD Code, Health - General, § 13-3304 et seq., and the push to legalize the use of marijuana in Maryland, a recurring issue is how such marijuana use would affect your Second Amendment rights. The short answer is that it may well act to abrogate those rights by (1) barring a FFL from selling a firearm to such a user and (2), by making such a user a prohibited person under federal law.
Read more ...RT @MD_Shall_Issue: Come out for a day at the range and support your right of self-defense while doing it at the 2nd Annual Grassroots Rang…
Come out for a day at the range and support your right of self-defense while doing it at the 2nd Annual Grassroots… https://t.co/CHCtZWM7el
WCBM 680's Sean and Frank Take MD Gun Control Laws to Task: https://t.co/LUXEVHZyBJ via @YouTube