Maryland Shall Issue
Regular Member
In this issue:
1. General Assembly Session Recap
2. HB519 Details
1. General Assembly Session Recap
The sound that you heard on April 11th was the collective sigh of relief that the 2011 General Assembly session was coming to a close.
In what has become a familiar pattern to gun owners involved in the Maryland legislative process, the name of the game for this year's session was "status quo". By that, we mean that our community staved off many serious threats to our rights but at the same time we made no significant gains either (though we'll detail one good piece of news below).
We're finishing up our scorecard of legislator voting records on the bills that received votes, either in committee or on the floor of the House or Senate, and will share that with you in coming days.
For now, here's the run down of how the bills that we were tracking fared: House Bills
•HB-9 - Regulated Firearms - License Issued Delaware, Pennsylvania, or Virginia - Reciprocity - STRONGLY SUPPORT Suffered the same fate as last year, with a "desk drawer" veto by Chairman Vallario, meaning it was never voted on in committee.
•HB91 - Courts-Bankruptcy-Arms - SUPPORT - Unfavorable report by Judiciary Committee
•HB-252 - Crimes - Possession of Loaded Handgun or Regulated Firearm - Enhanced Penalties - OPPOSE No action taken
•HB-294 - Abuse or Neglect of Animals - Use of Rifle, Handgun, or Other Weapon - Penalties - OPPOSE No action taken
•HB-330 - Detachable Magazines - Maximum Capacity for Ammunition - STRONGLY OPPOSE - Unfavorable report by Judiciary Committee
•HB-343 - Public Safety - Handgun Permits - Repeal of Finding Requirement - STRONGLY SUPPORT
Unfavorable report by House Judiciary Committee
•HB-355 - Natural Resources - Hunting - Junior Deer Permit - SUPPORT - Passed by the General Assembly and awaiting the Governor's signature.
•HB519 - Firearms - Knowing Violation of Specified Prohibitions - Penalty - OPPOSE - Favorable report with amendments by House Judiciary Committee. See below for more information.
•HB705 - Crimes - Pawn Shop Sales of Firearms - Prohibition - OPPOSE - Withdrawn
•HB730 - Public Safety - Regulated Firearms - Mental Disorder - STRONGLY OPPOSE - Unfavorable report by the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Expect to see this bill back next year.
•HB803 - Criminal Law - Possession of a Handgun - Institutions of Higher Education and Hospitals - OPPOSE - Unfavorable report by House Judiciary Committee
•HB1008 - Firearms - Detachable Magazines - Maximum Capacity for Ammunition - OPPOSE - Unfavorable report by House Judiciary Committee
•HB1043 - Regulated Firearms - Applications for Dealer's License - Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements - OPPOSE - Unfavorable report by House Judiciary Committee
•HB1331 - Peace Orders - Surrenders of Firearms - OPPOSE - No action taken.
Senate Bills
•SB-161 - Regulated Firearms - Applications for Dealer's License - Record Keeping and Reporting Requirements - OPPOSE - No action taken. Expect this one to come back again next year
•SB-162 - Firearms - Detachable Magazines - Maximum Capacity for Ammunition - STRONGLY OPPOSE - No action taken.
•SB-239 - Crimes - Possession of Loaded Handgun or Regulated Firearm - Enhanced Penalties - OPPOSE - No action taken
•SB-311 - Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones - OPPOSE - No action taken.
•SB-425 - Abuse or Neglect of Animals - Use of Rifle, Handgun, or Other Weapon - Penalties - OPPOSE
No action taken.
•SB-650 - Peace Orders - Surrender of Firearms - Unfavorable report by Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee
•SB-929 - Firearms - Knowing Violation of Specified Prohibitions - Penalty - OPPOSE - No action taken.
2. HB519 Details
If you recall, we were on record as opposing HB519.
Many of you questioned our stance on the bill, since the meat and potatoes of it dealt with "the knowing violation of a certain prohibition against obliterating, removing, changing, or altering the manufacturer’s identification mark or number on a firearm; and generally relating to firearms violations. "
We certainly were not taking the stance that we thought it a good idea to obliterate or remove a serial number, but we instead took objection to the continued use of the terms "ammunition designed solely for use in a regulated firearm" in Maryland code.
We're proud to say that thanks to our vocal opposition to this "legislative unicorn" that the language was subsequently stripped from the bill through amendment. You can see the version of the bill that was adopted here.
Maryland Shall Issue, Inc.
1332 Cape Saint Claire Road #342
Annapolis, Maryland 21409
240-446-6782
Mission Statement: Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime.
Follow Us On Facebook
1332 Cape Saint Claire Road #342
Annapolis, Maryland 21409
240-446-6782
Mission Statement: Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners' rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that 'shall issue' laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime.
Follow Us On Facebook