The final hours of the Maryland General Assembly’s yearly session focused on guns — coming on the day of another deadly mass shooting in the U.S., and in the face of a U.S. Supreme Court that has shown hostility to gun control measures.
As lawmakers crafted, amended, and eventually approved legislation Monday, Gov. Wes Moore noted their work came on the day of America’s latest mass shooting, this one in Louisville that killed at least five people.
“We have a very serious problem where we just have far too much access to these weapons,” Moore told reporters Monday afternoon. “And I think we’re seeing what that looks like all across the country, and the state of Maryland is not immune to it.”
On their final day, lawmakers were still dealing with the fallout of last summer’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen that struck down the state of New York’s higher requirements to receive a concealed carry permit. That set off a chain reaction — then Gov. Larry Hogan lowered Maryland’s standards, which were similar to New York’s. That led to a sevenfold increase in Marylanders applying for a permit. Democratic leadership in the General Assembly sought during this year’s session to define where all those new firearms could be taken.
“Maryland just passed the strictest gun safety package in the nation,” Montgomery County Democratic Senator Jeff Waldstreicher said moments after the legislative session ended Tuesday morning. The chief sponsor of SB1 told WYPR some of the areas where firearms will be prohibited.
“So sensitive places include places like legislatures, preschools, courthouses, hospitals, stadiums, and the like,” Waldstreicher said.
Republicans were not able to stop the bill, but are confident an expected legal challenge will lead to the bill being found unconstitutional — even if it takes getting that challenge all the way to the Supreme Court. Republican Senate leader Steve Hershey accused Democrats of trying to circumvent the Supreme Court ruling.
“They recognized we have to allow wear and carry, and this bill came in and said ‘we’ll allow it, but we’ll restrict all the areas you can bring your firearm,’” Hershey said. “With that being the purpose of the bill, I think we’ll see it ruled unconstitutional, and I think it will be filed in court by the end of the week.”
Waldstreicher, the Montgomery County Democrat, disagrees.
“I’m confident it will be upheld in court,” he said. “We took great pains to make sure it follows Constitutional strictures and is within the bounds of Bruen. The attorney general’s office has advised us it’s constitutional, and I have full confidence in Attorney General Anthony Brown that he will defend the bill aggressively in court.”
Other measures that passed before Sine Die dealt with tightening requirements about gun storage. That one was named for a St. Mary’s County student who was shot to death in her high school in 2018 by a fellow student who was using his father’s gun. Another bans those serving probation for a crime punishable by more than a year in prison from receiving a concealed carry permit, as well as those with a history of violent behavior.
“So essentially, the Supreme Court forced our hand with Bruen,” Waldstreicher said. “In essence, the Court said the new default is going to be guns everywhere unless states act. And so we acted. And acted boldly.”
Through the legislative process, a major campaign promise of new Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates was added to one of the bills. Repeat offenders over the age of 21 caught possessing a gun illegally will face stiffer penalties — up to five years in prison.
“We’re one step closer to being able to ensure swift, certain, and serious consequences for the kinds of reckless actions that have played out in our streets and in our neighborhoods,” Bates said at an event earlier Monday in Baltimore.
Current penalties allow for up to three years in prison, which Bates argued allowed many to plead down and end up serving only months in incarceration.
