MD: Gun bills moving through the General Assembly

By Grant Clarkson


Maryland is once again seeing gun related bills move through the General Assembly. Some of these bills continue to push for stripping Marylanders of their constitutional rights, while the other set of bills hold positives that would be beneficial to those wishing to exercise their Second Amendment rights in Maryland. Please see the list of bills below:
Oppose:

HB 387 — Imposes an 11% tax on firearm sales by licensed dealers, both within and outside the state of Maryland.
HB 937 — Doubles the sales and use tax rate for sales of firearms, firearm accessories, and ammunition from 6% to 12%.

These taxes would undoubtedly be passed along in the form of price increases for gun owners. Secondly, the justification for these bills is to fund programs that seek to “decrease gun violence” in Maryland. As a reminder, gun violence figures in Maryland have gone UP during the same time that Marylanders’ Second Amendment rights have been restricted. This includes the passage of “Assault Weapons” ban in 2013.

HB 1287 — Bans any semi-automatic pistol that COULD be converted into a machinegun. While this legislation is specifically targeting “Glock switches,” it is worded ambiguously enough to potentially include ALL semi-automatic pistols. Similar legislation was introduced

Source: Gun Owners of America