Increasing penalties for illegal gun ownership was a centerpiece of Ivan Bates’ successful election campaign for State’s Attorney of Baltimore City in 2022.
But he needs the General Assembly to approve such measures for his promises to come true, and the first hearing Wednesday in Annapolis showed the political resistance Bates faces.
Baltimore City Del. Frank Conaway is the sponsor of the bill increasing illegal gun penalties.
“This is not a mandatory minimum bill,” Conaway told the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. “This is not a ‘first time out’ bill. This is a repeat offender bill. This is going to increase the amount of maximum time that can be (sentenced) from three years to five years.”
Bates then took his turn to speak to the committee in hopes of garnering support for a measure which in recent years has fallen short.
“You go up in the pod in [the Baltimore City Correctional Center] and they’ll be watching Fox news talking about the hearing or talking about what’s going on with guns,” Bates told lawmakers. “So when individuals know there’s a harsher penalty for carrying these illegal handguns, some will think twice. Not everybody but some will think twice. So do I think this will have an effect? It is one of the tools in the toolbox that will have some sort of effect.”
Bates then shared an example of what he has heard from the incarcerated talking at the detention center.
“I already have one jail call…we listen to thousands of jail calls,” Bates said. “And they’re talking about ‘Bates ain’t playing, Bates ain’t playing. Bates ain’t playing.’ Well the reason I’m not playing is because I’m down here in Annapolis calling for harsher penalties.”
That anecdote caught the ire of DeRay McKesson, who spoke remotely to the committee when opponents of the bill got their time.
“The idea that a single jail call is enough to change statewide law, is stunning to me,” McKesson said.
The civil rights activist and Baltimore City native went on to say increasing penalties would be another chapter in failed policies to stop violence.
“In Baltimore, we have lived through every solution that was carceral. We lived it!,” McKesson said. “And what happened? A lot of things happened, but the numbers didn’t change. This is a moment where we should be pushing everybody to think more imaginatively about public safety.”
Opposition wasn’t just limited to those from Baltimore City, a reminder that if passed the new penalties would apply to everywhere in the state.
Michael Beach is the district public defender for Montgomery County. “
Recently in half a month of cases I assigned to our lawyers of gun possession cases, where a gun was not used, brandished, implied or anything, there were 37 of those cases,” Beach told lawmakers. “Thirty-two of the defendants were Black. Three were Hispanic, and two were white. This bill has the risk of course of perpetuating the over-prosecution, over-policing, and over-incarceration of Black and Brown communities. Period. We should fix that first before we make laws that make it worse.”
Other opposition came from second amendment rights groups, who voiced concerns over legal gun owners unknowingly carrying illegal guns. The number of concealed carry permit holders in Maryland skyrocketed after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that led to former Gov. Larry Hogan lowering the standard for receiving such a permit.
Last week, State Senate President Bill Ferguson said he expects some form of tougher penalties to pass this General Assembly session, but believes that shouldn’t be all.
“If we’re only solving this problem with penalties, I think we will have failed,” Ferguson told reporters on Feb. 10. “Because it means somebody will have been hurt, there are more guns in the commerce stream, and there are more arrests for guns in the community.”
Gov. Wes Moore has said he supports efforts to stop repeat offenders with illegal guns, but has not been specific about whether he supports this bill.
