Governor’s Gun Bill Update

“The Amendment Shootout at the OK Corral”

By Delegate Mike McDermott

Friday marked an 8-hour Voting Session with the Joint Committees of Judiciary and HGO (Health and Government Operations) on SB-281, the O’Malley-Brown Gun Bill. Before I begin with the amendment process, I have to point out that the Judiciary Committee only received the operating copy of the bill (complete with over 10 significant multi-page amendments) at 5pm on Thursday evening. These significant changes caused a lot of problems for Republicans as we scrambled to craft amendments to amendments on a bill that Bill Drafters could not work from since the slated amendments had not been adopted by the committee.

We all got together and went through the bill page by page to see the proposed changes from the Democrats already fashioned as part of the bill. We altered some of the amendments previously crafted and added a few more. Three of us, Del. Smeigel, Del. Hough, and myself offered the bulk of the amendments. When I consider that the leadership wanted no amendments added during the Voting session…and a Joint Session at that…I did not like our chances, but I focused on amendments that made a lot of sense.

In the end, I was able to get the support on the committee to pass some significant amendments to the bill:

· To include the Maryland Defense Force as one of the exempted organizations alongside the US Armed Forces and National Guard in three specific sections of the bill (Amendment 11)

· To allow members of the Armed Forces or National Guard 18 years of age or older to be eligible to purchase a Regulated Firearm in Maryland (had been 21).

· The rolling in of my bill, HB-961, into the governor’s bill which will provide for the shielding of personal information and registration records from any form of public disclosure. The bill was crafted to address the problems many faced in New York when the media published the gun purchase records in the paper. This will be illegal in Maryland if the bill passes.

· To exempt folks who are physically disabled and assisted by a Guardian not to be denied their rights to own and possess firearms (Amendment 15).

· To clarify specifically in the bill that a banned firearm or magazine is allowed to pass to an heir declared in an estate and to insure that the heir can possess the firearm without exception so long as they are not otherwise disqualified by law (Amendment 14).

· To provide that no matter how many regulated firearms a person moving into the state may declare, the cost for the application is $15. It had been $15 per firearm (Amendment 16)

Delegate Smigiel was able to amend clarifying language in the cases of “relic, antique, and curio” firearms through Amendment 13 which will prove very helpful going forward. Delegate Hough was able to add language which would require the Secretary in the case of any denial of a permit to provide a written reason to the denied individual through Amendment 12.

Delegate Simmons was the lone Democrat to have an amendment added to the bill which made individuals who received a Probation Before Judgment (PBJ) verdict in cases involving a crime which would have been disqualified them from owning/possessing a regulated firearm as being disqualified under the terms of the bill.

By far, the most controversial amendment was offered by Delegate Smigiel and would have eliminated various credits that inmates currently receive while incarcerated for any of the mandatory time they serve for a crime involving a firearm. This would insure that a five year mandatory sentence would need to be fully served. It was a great amendment and the vote count was close but favorable by a very small margin. Many celebrated with the passage of the amendment as it would be the only portion of this bill which would actually address problems associated with criminals. The celebration was very short lived and sparked a controversy when Chairman Vallario interrupted the next amendment presentation several minutes later and stated, “we have to vote that last amendment again…we got the vote count wrong”. It was clear that following passage of the amendment, the Democrat leadership operatives began whipping the members until they altered the vote count. Delegate Shawn Tarrant changed his mind and this apparently spawned the second vote on the amendment. This time around the count came up tied at 23-23 and the amendment was declared to have failed. Controversy followed with claims that the vote was “tyrannical”, “unfair”, and “out-of-order” by members and many in the audience. In fact, about half of those who had occupied the audience (around 85 total) showed their contempt for the proceedings by making a loud exit storming out of the committee chamber.

This type of display was a good example of what the minority party suffers on a regular basis at the hands of a supermajority that has grown increasingly arrogant in recent years. I hope this stays with the many who saw it firsthand and those who will hear about it or see it on Youtube (Treachery in the House) in the future.

The ban list of 45 regulated rifles remains in the bill and the list includes many popular firearms such as the Colt AR-15. Further banned will be any firearms that are similar to those on the list as well. The 10-round magazine limit also could not be shaken from the bill even though many of us believe it will result in a de facto ban on many firearms currently sold in Maryland as the manufacturers refuse to tool up just for a small market state. While the bill is currently fashioned prospectively (only addresses future purchases), it will require a significant training component for new owners which will also include “displaying proficiency with the firearm” on a range. We simply do not have the infrastructure to support this type of mandated training in Maryland. Some areas of the state are better equipped than others, but all are deficient. It also remains to be seen where these folks will acquire the handguns to take to the range so they can secure their Handgun Qualification Permit since they cannot receive their handgun until they take the course. See what happens when people who know nothing about firearms make laws addressing firearms.

Registration is still in the bill moving forward and those who want to secure their Handgun Qualification License will also need to be fingerprinted and fill undergo a significant background investigation by the State Police. Folks who move into the state after October 1, 2013 will need to declare their regulated firearms to the State Police and fill out an application including a fee of $15. I can see the new signage on our gateway highways: “Governor O’Malley Welcomes you to Maryland and reminds you to check your guns with the police and get out your wallet…”

The mental health components of the bill are significant and anyone who finds themselves involuntarily committed for mental health related issues will find their right to possess a firearm significantly disrupted. The House eliminated those who were voluntarily committed as they felt this could represent a big hurdle for those who could be forced to choose between firearm ownership and receiving treatment. While there is a mechanism built into the bill to allow for an individual to show they should have their rights of firearm ownership to be restored, the path will not be an easy.

The bill will also require some additional record keeping by dealers and will expand the ability of law enforcement to conduct inspections of records. While the bill drafters worked to eliminate components in the original documents that would have eliminated all of the firearms manufacturers in Maryland, the new language will generally allow these folks to continue functioning in the state. However, it is clear that these companies are deeply offended that this state is slated to define their employees work product as “bad” or “evil” to the extent that it must be banned in Maryland. I doubt that they will remain in a state where their product cannot be sold to the employees who manufacture them.

The electronic version of the bill is available for review in total. Over the next two days the House will be debating the bill on the floor where amendments will be offered before the entire membership. It is possible it could be modified again, but it is probably in the form in which it will be voted on in the House. If the bill passes in the House, it will be reintroduced in the Senate since it has been significantly amended. The Senate will then have the choice of accepting the changes and approving the bill or moving the bill to a Conference Committee where members from both chambers will see if an agreement can be achieved before the end of this year’s session.

I encourage you to continue contacting the Democratic members of the House of Delegates and insure they know how you feel about this bill. Your Second amendment rights are clearly on the line, and I can assure you, going forward, the ban list will only grown larger so long as Annapolis has a supermajority of Democrats in charge.

Marylanders, take back your state.