The Senate Judicial Committee is scheduled to consider SB387 Public Safety - Untraceable Firearms in a voting session starting at 4pm today (3/9/2021). We have a thorough analysis of the bill in our written testimony HERE. Briefly, existing owners have until the end of the year to have a federally licensed manufacturer (Type 07 FFL) inscribe any unserialized firearm that a person may possess. The same requirement applies to any unfinished frames or receivers one might have. No manufacturer is required to provide this service and manufacturers are free to charge any amount if they do. Failure to comply is punishable by up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000 per gun (or receiver). Conviction of this "crime" is a lifetime disqualifier from ever possessing modern firearms or ammunition. MSI strongly opposes this legislation.

Contact the members of the committee directly to respectfully make your concerns with the bill known and to urge them for an unfavorable report. Their email addresses are below to copy and paste into your preferred email client. Be sure to have SB387 in your subject line.

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The committee session will be viewable HERE at or shortly after 4pm.

For a primer on the legislative process, be sure to read our guide HERE.

✅ HB1206 - Public Safety – Handgun Permit Requirement – Repeal (Maryland’s Constitutional Carry Act of 2022)
Delegate Grammer
MSI SUPPORTS this bill with amendments!
Hearing scheduled for 3/9 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 3/7 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bill: House Bill 1206 would amend MD Code, Criminal Law, §4-101 and MD Code, Criminal Law, § 4-203.  Section 4-101 addresses concealed and open carry of “dangerous weapons” which are defined by Section 4-101(a)(5) to include “a dirk knife, bowie knife, switchblade knife, star knife, sandclub, metal knuckles, razor, and nunchaku,” but to exclude “handguns.” Under current law, Section 4-101(b)(3) exempts a person with a wear and carry permit issued by the State Police under MD Code Public Safety, 5-306, from the prohibitions set forth in Section 4-101.  Permit holders are exempted from Section 4-203 under Section 4-203(b)(2). 

The bill would first amend Section 4-101 to delete the exemption for wear and carry permit holders, thereby subjecting the prohibitions of Section 4-101 on permit holders. The bill would then amend Section 4-203(a) to sharply limit the current broad ban on wear and carry of a handgun on or about the person to a defined set of persons and circumstances, viz., persons under the age of 21 while in a vehicle, persons under the age of 21 with a loaded handgun, on school property, or wear or carry a handgun with the intent of hurting someone. The bill would also amend Section 4-203(b) by deleting, with two exceptions, the remaining exceptions to the broad ban on wear and carry of a handgun under Section 4-203(a), including the exemption for wear and carry permit holders. The bill would retain the exception permitting a person to wear, carry or transport a handgun for use in “an organized military activity, a formal or informal target practice, sport shoot event, hunting, a Department of Natural Resources-sponsored firearms and hunter safety class, trapping or dog obedience training class or show.” The bill would likewise retain the exception in current law for the “carrying or transporting of a signal pistol” on the waterways of the State.

✅ HB1132 - Gun Theft Felony Act of 2022
Delegate Beitzel, et al.
MSI SUPPORTS this bill!
Hearing scheduled for 3/9 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 3/7 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bill:

The purpose of this bill is to provide for greatly enhanced penalties for the theft of a firearm. Under current law, theft of a firearm is treated just like the theft of any other piece of personal property. For example, under MD Code Criminal Law § 7-104(g)(2), “a person convicted of theft of property or services with a value of at least $100 but less than $1,500, is guilty of a misdemeanor and: (i) is subject to: 1. for a first conviction, imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or a fine not exceeding $500 or both; and 2. for a second or subsequent conviction, imprisonment not exceeding 1 year or a fine not exceeding $500 or both. The bill would change these penalties for theft of a firearm to a felony and would impose, on the first offense, a term of imprisonment not exceeding 5 years and/or a fine of $1,000. Subsequent offenses are punishable by imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years and/or a fine not exceeding $2,500. These punishments are similar to the provisions moved in 2020 by the Senate in SB 35 which likewise made theft of a firearm a felony and punished such theft with imprisonment for up to 5 years and a fine of $10,000. SB 35 further required the thief to restore the firearm to the owner or pay the owner the value of the firearm.

ℹ️ HB482 Firearms – Right to Purchase, Own, Possess, and Carry – Medical Cannabis
Delegate Grammer
MSI is providing Informational Only Testimony on this bill.
Hearing scheduled for 3/9 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 3/7 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bill: House Bill 482 adds a new subtitle 7 to the Public Safety Article relating to persons who are authorized to use medical cannabis under title 13, subtitle 33 of the Health – General Article of Maryland law. The bill provides that a State Agency may not access a State database relating to medical marijuana patients for the purpose of approving or disapproving such person’s application for a wear and carry permit, or for other purposes relating to the purchase, ownership, possession or carrying of a firearm. More generally, the bill provides that “IT IS THE INTENT OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY THAT MEDICAL CANNABIS SHOULD BE TREATED AS LEGAL FOR PURPOSES OF STATE LAW AND THAT THE STATE SHOULD NOT PENALIZE A QUALIFYING PATIENT FOR USING THE DRUG LEGALLY. Like similar bills in the past, MSI takes no position with respect to the merits of these bills. However, as before, we do wish to point out some legal realities for purposes of informing the debate on these bills. A similar bill, SB 286, recently and unanimously passed the Senate. MSI likewise provided “information only” testimony on SB 286, making clear that the legal issues, identified below, also fully apply to SB 286.

Legal Issues: 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 Second Amendment rights. The short answer is that such use effectively abrogates those rights by (1) barring a Federal Firearms Licensee (“FFL”) from selling a firearm to such a user and (2), by making such a user a prohibited person under federal law.

The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider HB425 Public Safety - Untraceable Firearms in a voting session starting at 1:30pm today (3/4/2021). We have a thorough analysis of the bill in our written testimony HERE. Briefly, existing owners have until the end of the year to have a federally licensed manufacturer (Type 07 FFL) inscribe any unserialized firearm that a person may possess. The same requirement applies to any unfinished frames or receivers one might have. No manufacturer is required to provide this service and manufacturers are free to charge any amount if they do. Failure to comply is punishable by up to three years imprisonment and a fine of up to $10,000 per gun (or receiver). Conviction of this "crime" is a lifetime disqualifier from ever possessing modern firearms or ammunition.

Contact the members of the committee directly to respectfully make your concerns with the bill known and to urge them for an unfavorable report. Their email addresses are below to copy and paste into your preferred email client. Be sure to have HB425 in your subject line.

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The committee session will be viewable HERE at or shortly after 1:30pm.

For a primer on the legislative process, be sure to read our guide HERE.

✅ HB1288 Public Safety - Handgun Permit Application Fee - Waiver for Disabled Residents
Delegate Arikan, et al.
MSI SUPPORTS this bill!
Hearing scheduled for 3/2 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 2/28 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bill: This bill would amend MD Code, Public Safety, § 5-304. That Section sets out fees charged by the State of Maryland in connection with an application for a wear and carry permit issued by the Maryland State Police for the wear, carry or transport of a handgun under MD Code, Public Safety, § 5-306. Those fees are “(i) $75 for an initial application; (ii) $50 for a renewal or subsequent application; and

(iii) $10 for a duplicate or modified permit”. See Section 5-304(b)(2). Subsection 5-304(d) provides that the Secretary of the State Police may not charge a fee otherwise imposed by Section 5-304 for “a State, county, or municipal public safety employee” who is required to carry a firearm as a condition of employment, or to a “retired law enforcement officer of the State or a county or municipal corporation of the State.”

The bill would add to that list A DISABLED PERSON, and would thus prohibit the Secretary from charging fees to a disabled person. For the sake of clarity, the bill also amends MD Code, Public Safety, § 5-301 to define a “disabled person” for these purposes, providing that a disabled person is a person who (1) HAS BEEN CERTIFIED AS DISABLED BY A UNIT OF THE STATE OR THE UNITED STATES THAT CLASSIFIES DISABLED INDIVIDUALS; AND (2) IS A RESIDENT OF THE STATE. The bill makes no modification to the requirements for a permit otherwise imposed by Section 5-306.

Discussion: This bill makes sense. People with disabilities are often uniquely susceptible to physical attack precisely because their disability may hinder or impede their ability to defend themselves. See https://bit.ly/3BVcvEI. As such, the State Police recognize that such individuals may well qualify for a wear and carry permit. Yet, such disabilities may also contribute to financial hardship. Persons should not be forced to choose between their need for self-defense and their ability to otherwise provide for themselves. The amounts involved are relatively small but may well be significant to a person with disabilities. Nothing in this bill would amend or change the rigorous training requirements otherwise imposed by Section 5-306(a)(5), including the requirement that the applicant demonstrate, through a scored course of live fire, “proficiency and use of the firearm.” See Section 306-5(a)(5)(ii). Nothing in the bill would change the requirement, imposed by Section 5-306(b)6), that the applicant demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the State Police, a “good and substantial reason” for the issuance of a carry permit. The only thing that would change is that the person with State-recognized disabilities would be spared the $75 initial application fee, the $50 renewal fee, and the $10 fee for a modified permit. That is a small price for the State to pay to assist such persons.

We urge a favorable report.

Sincerely,

Mark W. Pennak
President, Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.

❌ SB873 Public Safety – Firearm Industry Members – Public Nuisance
Senators Waldstreicher and Smith
Hearing Canceled

❌ HB1396 Public Safety – Firearm Industry Members – Public Nuisance
Delegate Atterbeary
MSI OPPOSES this bill!
Hearing scheduled for 3/15 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 8am and 3pm on 3/11/2022 with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bills: These bills define a new offense of “public nuisance” and is designed to negate the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, 15 U.S.C. § 7901, et seq. (“PLCAA”). It provides a new duty of care on a “firearm industry member” a term that is defined by the bill to include “A PERSON ENGAGED IN THE SALE, MANUFACTURING, DISTRIBUTION, IMPORTING, OR MARKETING” of any “QUALIFIED PRODUCT,” a term that is defined to include all firearms and ammunition, including mere “COMPONENTS” of firearms and ammunition. The bills provide that such a “member” of the industry may not “knowingly or recklessly” engage in conduct that is “unlawful” or in conduct that “IS UNREASONABLE AND CREATES, MAINTAINS, OR CONTRIBUTES TO A CONDITION IN THE STATE THAT ENDANGERS THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC THROUGH THE SALE, MANUFACTURING, IMPORTING, OR MARKETING OF A QUALIFIED PRODUCT.” The bill also imposes a new duty on such industry members to “ESTABLISH AND USE REASONABLE CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES TO PREVENT A QUALIFIED PRODUCT FROM BEING POSSESSED, USED, MARKETED, OR SOLD UNLAWFULLY IN THE STATE.”

The bill then declares that any violation of the foregoing provisions “THAT RESULTS IN HARM TO THE PUBLIC IS A PUBLIC NUISANCE.” The bill provides that the “CONDUCT” of the industry member SHALL CONSTITUTE A PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE PUBLIC NUISANCE IF THE ENDANGERMENT OF THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF THE PUBLIC WAS A REASONABLY FORESEEABLE EFFECT OF THE CONDUCT, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY INTERVENING ACTIONS, INCLUDING CRIMINAL ACTIONS BY THIRD PARTIES.” The bill then provides for enforcement of the bill’s provisions by the Attorney General if the Attorney General “SUSPECTS” a violation or imminent violation, providing that “IN ACCORDANCE WITH AN ORDER OF THE COURT OF APPEALS, IMPOUND AND RETAIN” records of the industry member. The bill also provides for lawsuits, stating IF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DETERMINES THAT THERE HAS BEEN A VIOLATION UNDER THIS SUBTITLE, THE FOLLOWING PARTIES MAY BRING AN ACTION AGAINST THE FIREARM INDUSTRY MEMBER FOR INJUNCTIVE RELIEF OR TO RECOVER FOR DAMAGES, OR BOTH, IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OR IN A FEDERAL COURT SITTING IN THE STATE.” The list of persons entitled to bring suit “IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OR IN A FEDERAL COURT,” includes the Attorney General, city corporate counsel and “A PERSON THAT SUFFERED DAMAGE AS A RESULT OF THE VIOLATION.” The bill authorizes compensatory and punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and costs and “OTHER RELIEF THE COURT CONSIDERS PROPER.”

❌ HB1021 Public Safety – Licensed Firearms Dealers – Security Requirements
Speaker Jones
MSI OPPOSES this bill!
Hearing scheduled for 3/2 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 2/28 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bill:

The bill would create a new Section 5-145.1 in the Public Safety Article of the Maryland Code that would impose new security requirements on licensed dealers in Maryland.  Specifically, the bill provides that a dealer MAY NOT CONDUCT BUSINESS AND STORE FIREARMS AT A LOCATION UNLESS the premises on which the dealer operates is EQUIPPED WITH . . . (1) EQUIPMENT CAPABLE OF FILMING AND RECORDING VIDEO FOOTAGE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE BUILDINGS WHERE FIREARMS ARE STORED; (2) BARS OR SECURITY SCREENS DESIGNED TO PREVENT UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY ON ALL EXTERIOR DOORS AND WINDOWS OF ALL BUILDINGS WHERE FIREARMS ARE STORED; (3) A BURGLARY ALARM SYSTEM THAT IS CONTINUALLY MONITORED; AND (4) PHYSICAL BARRIERS DESIGNED TO PREVENT THE USE OF MOTOR VEHICLES TO BREACH ALL BUILDINGS WHERE FIREARMS ARE STORED. The bill then provides that, outside of business hours, the dealer must LOCK[] ALL FIREARMS STORED ON THE PREMISES IN: (I) A VAULT; (II) A SAFE; OR (III) A SECURE ROOM.

The bill imposes a civil penalty of $1,000 for the first violation.  For a second and subsequent violations, the bill imposes a criminal penalty of 3 years imprisonment and/or a fine of $10,000 if the offense was COMMITTED KNOWINGLY AND WILLFULLY. This criminal penalty effectively renders the dealer a disqualified person under both federal and state law, thereby ending the ability of the dealer to possess any firearm or modern ammunition for life. See 18 U.S.C. 921(a)(20)(B), MD Code, Public Safety, § 5-101(g)(3). The ability of the dealer to make a living as a dealer is thus destroyed upon indictment, 18 U.S.C. 922(n), and/or conviction, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), for this offense.

Being heard Virtually on March 2nd at 1pm in the Judiciary Committee:
Testimony signup and submission is 2/28 between 8am and 3pm.
Go directly to the MyMGA Witness Signup page here: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/MyMGATracking/WitnessSignup

✅ HB1288 Public Safety - Handgun Permit Application Fee - Waiver for Disabled Residents
Delegate Arikan, et al.

❌ HB1021 Public Safety – Licensed Firearms Dealers – Security Requirements
Speaker Jones

Being heard In-Person March 2nd at 1pm in the Judicial Proceedings Committee:

❌ SB873 Public Safety – Firearm Industry Members – Public Nuisance
Senators Waldstreicher and Smith

Being heard Virtually on March 9th at 1pm in the Judiciary Committee:

✅ HB871 Handgun Permit - Preliminary Approval
Delegate Saab, et al.

✅ HB1174 Public Safety – Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun – Qualifications
Delegate Kipke, et al.

✅ HB1206 Public Safety – Handgun Permit Requirement – Repeal (Maryland’s Constitutional Carry Act of 2022)
Delegate Grammer

ℹ️ HB482 Firearms – Right to Purchase, Own, Possess, and Carry – Medical Cannabis
Delegate Grammer

Being heard Virtually on March 10th at 1pm in the Appropriations Committee:
Testimony signup and submission is on 3/8 between 8am and 3pm.

❌ HB780 Gun-Free Higher Education Zones
Delegate Jalisi

Being heard In-Person March 15th at 1pm in the Judicial Proceedings Committee:

❌ SB676 Firearm Safety - Storage Requirements and Youth Suicide Prevention (Jaelynn's Law)
Senators Smith and Beidle

❌ SB773 Public Safety – Firearms Dealers – Storage Vaults for Regulated Firearms
Senator Carter

✅ HB1174 Public Safety – Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun – Qualifications
Delegate Nick Kipke, et al.
MSI SUPPORTS this bill!
Hearing scheduled for 3/9 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 3/7 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

✅ SB327 Public Safety – Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun – Qualifications
Senator Justin Ready, et al.
MSI SUPPORTS this bill!
Heard on 2/10 - Watch HERE

The Bills

These bills would amend MD Code, Public Safety, § 5-306(b)(6)(ii) to specify that “self-protection,” or “self-defense” is a basis for finding a “good and substantial” reason for the issuance of a Maryland Wear and Carry Permit. The bills leave unaltered the rest of Section 5-306, including leaving unchanged the rigorous training requirements of 16 hours of instruction that includes a live fire component that “demonstrates the applicant’s proficiency and use of the firearm.” Also unchanged is the requirement that the State Police conduct a background investigation using the applicant’s fingerprints, and the requirement that the State Police find that the applicant “has not exhibited a propensity for violence or instability that may reasonably render the person’s possession of a handgun a danger to the person or to another,” found at § 5-306(b)(6)(ii).

Stated briefly, there are powerful reasons to enact this bill into law. Section 5-306, as administered by the State Police, is unconstitutional without these amendments. The Maryland requirement of a “good and substantial reason” is on borrowed time in the courts, including in a pending case challenging Maryland’s law. Should Maryland lose in such litigation, the attorneys’ fees award against Maryland under 42 U.S.C. §1988, will prove quite expensive. Moreover, as John Hopkins University’s most recent study (attached) documents, illegal carry by otherwise law-abiding citizens for self-defense is very common in Baltimore. These individuals should be accorded an opportunity to carry legally, so as to obtain the training and legal instruction presently mandated by Maryland law. The amendments to Maryland’s law in this bill would make that possible. As explained below, the status quo in Baltimore is utterly untenable.

❌ HB659 - Firearm Safety - Storage Requirements and Youth Suicide Prevention (Jaelynn's Law)
Delegate Dana Stein
MSI OPPOSES this bill!
Virtual hearing scheduled for 2/23 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 2/21 between 8am and 3pm with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

❌ SB676 Firearm Safety - Storage Requirements and Youth Suicide Prevention (Jaelynn's Law)
Senators Smith and Beidle
MSI OPPOSES this bill!
In-person hearing scheduled for 3/15 at 1pm
Signup to testify between 3/14 at 4pm and and 3/15 by 10am with your MyMGA Account
For more on how to testify and signup, read our guide.

The Bills:

The bills would amend MD Code Criminal Law § 4-104. Specifically, current law provides that “[a] person may not store or leave a loaded firearm in a location where the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised child would gain access to the firearm.” A child is defined for these purposes as a person “under the age of 16 years.” These bills would change the definition of a child to any minor (a person under the age of 18 years). The bills then provide that a person may not store or leave any firearm, loaded or unloaded, in a location where a person knew or reasonably should have known that an unsupervised MINOR IS LIKELY TO gain access to the firearm.

The bills then create three categories of prohibitions concerning such access. The first is simply that A PERSON MAY NOT STORE OR LEAVE A FIREARM IN A LOCATION WHERE THE PERSON KNEW OR REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT AN UNSUPERVISED MINOR IS LIKELY TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE FIREARM, but the minor does not actually gain access. Such storage is punishable with 90 days in prison or a fine of $1,000 or both. The second category is where such storage occurs and AN UNSUPERVISED MINOR DOES GAIN ACCESS TO THE FIREARM. Such storage is punishable by imprisonment by up to 2 years and a $2,500 fine or both. The third category is that the firearm is left WHERE THE PERSON KNEW OR REASONABLY SHOULD HAVE KNOWN THAT AN UNSUPERVISED MINOR IS LIKELY TO GAIN ACCESS and the minor’s access RESULTS IN HARM TO THE MINOR OR TO ANOTHER PERSON. Such storage is punishable by up to 3 years imprisonment and a fine of $5,000.

The bills also create a number of “safe harbors” for certain conduct or storage which are exempt from the bills’ prohibitions. Specifically, the bills retain current law exemptions for when minor access is supervised by a person 18 or older and where the minor’s access is the result of unlawful entry. The bills add an exemption for firearms that are stored UNLOADED, and the ammunition for such firearm is IN A SECURE LOCATION WHERE A MINOR IS NOT LIKELY TO GAIN ACCESS TO THE AMMUNITION and THE FIREARM: 1. SECURED IN A LOCKED CONTAINER THAT IS EQUIPPED WITH A TAMPER-RESISTANT LOCK; OR 2. RENDERED INOPERABLE TO ANYONE OTHER THAN AN AUTHORIZED ADULT. The bill also retains the existing law’s exemption for a minor who has a certificate of firearm and hunter safety issued by the State, but restricts that access solely to a rifle or shotgun and adds the caveat that the minor must have BEEN GIVEN EXPRESS PERMISSION BY THE MINOR’S PARENT OR GUARDIAN TO ACCESS THE RIFLE OR SHOTGUN FOR THE PURPOSE OF ENGAGING IN A LAWFUL ACTIVITY.