Opinion

Maryland – -(AmmoLand.com)- As of December 20, 2019, several bills have been added to the “Prefiled Legislation” bin at the Maryland General Assembly. This gives us an opportunity to develop a vision for how this next General Assembly Session will go.

I have updated the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA) 2020 Maryland General Assembly Bill Tracker with these initial bills and will be tracking daily for changes.

I will include a brief summary of what we are able to determine at this time.

House Bill 0004 / Delegate Atterbeary / Public Safety – Rifles and Shotguns – Secondary Transfers

Coming back for another bite at the apple, Delegate Atterbeary (Democrat, District 13, Howard County) has filed the same bill that failed last year. While we do not have actual bill texts as of 12/20/2019, the General Assembly website indicates that this legislation was “Introduced in a prior session as: HB0786”. Which means we will face yet another defense of our rights from the addition of a torturous registration and purchase process which will do nothing to reduce criminals getting their hands on firearms and simply focus as an attempt to break the backs of law-abiding citizens with red-tape, paperwork, fees, and delays. MSRPA Position: OPPOSED.

House Bill 0035 / Delegate Queen / Public Safety – Firearm Telematics – Study

An attempt at forcing the Maryland State Police to study the ability to track firearms and their usage in real-time. We have seen this proposed in other states, usually as a criminal justice action forcing the tracking of the usage of law enforcement firearms. This bill includes language requiring the MSP to study “telematics” for the retail firearms market. MSRPA Position: OPPOSED.

House Bill 0047 / Delegate Parrott / Public Safety – Handgun Qualification License – Training Exemption

There is no bill text available at this time and nothing to indicate this is a redraft of prior legislation. MSRPA Position – No Position.

Senate Bill 0039 / Senator Waldstreicher / Public Safety – Regulated Firearm – Definition

This bill adds two additional firearms to the list of specifically banned firearms. MSRPA Position: OPPOSED.

Senate Bill 0043 / Senator Simonaire / Licensing – Fingerprint Requirements

This bill would change the requirements for repeated processing of fingerprints in various licensing categories. We are still researching the potential consequences of the bill at this time. MSRPA Position – No Position.

Senate Bill 0055 / Senator Young / Income Tax Checkoff – Maryland Assault Weapons Buyback Fund

There are multiple issues with this bill, which will be heard in a committee that does not normally discuss firearms issues – Budget & Taxation. First, the bill assigns a label to “Assault Weapons” that is incredibly broad and has potentially sweeping consequences throughout the Maryland Statute. Secondly, it creates a fund allowing the Maryland State Police to buyback, for destruction or sale to the United States military complex, items from Maryland citizens that were never purchased from the State of Maryland in the first place. It is our opinion that “gun buyback” programs are a misguided attempt to currying favor without properly educating the public. They do nothing more than vilify firearms and law-abiding firearms owners, regardless of the legality of ownership/purchase method, all for the sake of swaying public opinion. MSRPA Position: OPPOSED.

With the significant changes in leadership roles within the Maryland General Assembly, we can predict that this year is going to be a very tough one on multiple fronts. We are calling on all of our members, friends, and interested parties, to get involved with contacting your legislators and politely/professionally expressing your concerns as constituents. Talk to your neighbors, family, and friends – we are all needed in this fight to protect our personal safety freedoms.

Sincerely,

Mike Doherty

Chairman of the Board of Directors & 2nd Vice President – Legislative Affairs

Maryland State Rifle & Pistol Association

About Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA):

The Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA) is the flagship Gun Rights organization in and for the State of Maryland. The Association offers both individual and club memberships. Support of the shooting disciplines and legislative activities is primarily through a systems of committees. All participants are volunteers. In the face of a near tidal wave of citizen disarmament occurring in Maryland, the MSRPA has played a critical part in drawing the line and standing firm for Gun Rights. Without this resistance, things would have been much worse and been so much sooner. Now the objective is to continue to develop new activists with numerous individual skills who will help us bring Maryland into line with the rest of the states which have made strong gains in protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

For more information, visit: www.msrpa.org.