Legislative Report #22 - July 31, 2023

Dear John,

The gun laws passed during the 2023 Session will take effect on October 1st of this year. Litigation pending in the Courts may alter the effective dates of some, but not all, provisions of the new laws. Senate Bill 1 will change the way all gun owners will be required to transport firearms. Read more below.

In this report:

• Senate Bill 1 Impacts ALL Gun Owners, not just carry permit holders
• Attorney General's "definite maybe" legal opinion on SB 1 and HB 824
• Senate Bill 1 Lawsuits - Update
• Carry permit holders more law-abiding than legislators
• Legalized Pot Warning - What gun owners need to know
• 90 Day Report on 2023 Legislative Session - Firearms
• Carry Permit Training Requirements - an update from MSP
• Judicary Committee Chairman forced to confront juvenile crime epidemic
• Maryland gun control group reveals its gun ban agenda for 2024 Session
• See the links below to previous Legislative Reports.

Best regards,

John H. Josselyn

2A Maryland

Click here to send your comments or suggestions.

Senate Bill 1 Impacts All Maryland Gun Owners

Effective October 1, 2023

Senate Bill 1 added two new sections to the Criminal Law Article: §4-111 and §6-411. It also modified §4-203 of the Criminal Law Article and §5-307 of the Public Safety Article.

While Senate Bill 1 is primarily focused on restricting where a permit holder can legally carry a handgun, it also imposes new restrictions on where and how a person can transport any firearm, not just handguns but rifles and shotguns.

These new restrictions go beyond those already contained in the Criminal Law Article and appear to conflict with some existing provisions in Criminal Law §4-203 (b) (3), (4), (5) and (9). It should be noted that the new restrictions vary depending on whether the person has a permit to carry a handgun.

Criminal Law Article §4-111

This section defines areas where firearms (all firearms, not simply handguns) are prohibited. It lists very limited exceptions for locations (§4-111 (B)), and the way firearms are carried or transported.

Under §4-111 (B) (11)(I) & (II), all firearms must be in a locked container, or in the case of a handgun being carried or transported by a person possessing a valid permit to wear and carry a handgun, the handgun must be worn, carried or transported within the limitations imposed under §5-307 of the Public Safety Article.

Public Safety Article §5-307

For persons who possess a valid Maryland handgun wear and carry permit, a handgun being transported must be either under or within an article of clothing OR within an enclosed case. A locked container for a handgun is not required. However, rifles and shotguns are still required to be transported in a locked container.

The pending litigation on Senate Bill 1 is unlikely to change the new firearms transportation requirements in the bill. 2A Maryland created a comprehensive document explaining the new requirements for transporting firearms in Maryland. You owe it to yourself to read it.

Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown on SB 1 & HB 824:

In the Maryland Attorney General's own words, SB1 and HB 824 are:

"....legally sufficient and is not clearly unconstitutional."

The Maryland Attorney General must opine on the constitutionality of every bill passed by the General Assembly before the bill can go to the Governor for signature.

AG Brown found himself in a bit of a predicament. On one hand, he is a Democrat on record supporting gun control, his party supports gun control, the Governor is a Democrat who is also on record supporting gun control. The office of Attorney General is an elected position, which means that the Attorney General is first and foremost a politician. What every politician wants most is another term and to declare either bill to be unconstitutional would incur the wrath of the Democratic Party.

On the other hand, recent court decisions in other states have found some provisions in these bills to be unconstitutional. Knowing that litigation was a certainty, the Attorney General would be publicly shown to be wrong.

When confronted with sharp questions which demand a yes or no response, feckless politicians often resort to obfuscation. For example, AG Brown opined:

"It is our view is that Senate Bill 1 is legally sufficient and is not clearly unconstitutional."

The Attorney General kept his options open, serving his masters while giving himself a "out" in public by essentially saying the bill is "not clearly unconstitutional" which is functionally equivalent to "might be constitutional."

If the Attorney General told you the Kool Aid was "not clearly unsafe" would you still drink it?

Governor Wes Moore did....

Litigation in Federal Court on Senate Bill 1 - UPDATE

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

July 13, 2023

MEMORANDUM TO COUNSEL RE: Kipke, et al., v. Wes Moore, et al.,

Civil Action No. GLR-23-1293;

Novotny, et al., v. Wes Moore, et al.,

Civil Action No. GLR-23-1295

Further, consolidation promotes judicial economy. Consolidation of similar cases allows judges to conscientiously resolve other pending cases, and a reduction in demand for judicial resources, such as jurors, benefits the community. Campbell, 882 F.3d 76. Further, the complete overlap of claims raised in Novotny that are asserted in Kipke will allow for a comprehensive resolution. While the Court notes that the Novotny Plaintiffs cite concerns for delayed rulings, they have not explained why consolidation is likely to cause delay. Both cases were filed on the same day and Plaintiffs in both cases have moved for preliminary injunctive relief. Additionally, the parties will benefit from decreased litigation costs. Accordingly, the Novotny Plaintiffs have failed to show that consolidation prejudices them and the Court concludes that consolidation is appropriate.

For the foregoing reasons, Defendants’ Motion for Consolidation (ECF Nos. 8, 30) is GRANTED. The Clerk is directed to CONSOLIDATE these cases, with Kipke as the lead case. Further, because the Novotny Motion for Preliminary Injunction is already fully briefed, the Court adopts the following briefing schedule for the Kipke Motion for Preliminary Injunction:

Defendants’ Opposition: July 28, 2023

Plaintiffs’ Reply: August 11, 2023

As for the Kipke Cross Motions for Summary Judgment, the briefing shall proceed as follows:

Defendants’ Opposition/Cross-Motion: July 28, 2023

Plaintiffs’ Reply/Opposition: August 18, 2023

Defendants’ Reply: September 8, 2023

Accordingly, the Joint Motion to Extend Time (GLR-23-1293, ECF No. 10) is DENIED AS MOOT. Despite the informal nature of this memorandum, it shall constitute an Order of the Court, and the Clerk is directed to docket it accordingly.

Very truly yours,

/s/

George L. Russell, III

United States District Judge

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE ENTIRE MEMORANDUM

Carry Permit Holders are Statistically More Law-abiding than the Legislators in the Maryland General Assembly

As of July 26th, the Maryland State Police have issued 156,618 permits to wear and carry a handgun. Of that number, 161 (.1%) have been revoked for various reasons (MSP does not currently have the ability to breakdown the revocations by reason for the revocation.

Now consider the 188 members of the Maryland General Assembly. During the same post Bruen period, one member plead guilty to an offense. This represents .5% of the Maryland General Assembly.

Looking at it from a different perspective: if there were the same number of legislations as there are permit holders, and for the same period of time, we applied the offense rate of the legislators, the number of offending legislators would be 833.

The evidence is clear, carry permit holders are far more law-abiding than the people who make the laws. Gun control advocates often allege their agenda is “evidence based,” it will be interesting see the political spin they put on this during the 2024 Session.

Legalized Pot Warning - What Gun Owners Need to Know

FIREARMS FAQs

Is it lawful for a medical cannabis patient or a personal user of cannabis to own or possess a firearm?

​No. Federal law bars medical cannabis patients and personal cannabis users from purchasing or possessing firearms. The Federal Gun Control Act, 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(3), prohibits any person who is an "unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance (as defined in section 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802))" from shipping, transporting, receiving or possessing firearms or ammunition. Marijuana is listed in the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I controlled substance, and there are no exceptions in Federal law for marijuana purportedly used for medicinal purposes, even if such use is sanctioned by State law.

Medical cannabis patient information contained in Maryland's patient registry is considered confidential, protected health information and held in compliance with federal HIPPA regulations by the Maryland Cannabis Commission. However, the Maryland State Police query individuals who seek to purchase a firearm about their status as a medical cannabis patient or personal use of cannabis and bar those who disclose that they are a medical cannabis patients or a personal user of cannabis from making the transaction. Individuals who provide false information by failing to disclose that they are a medical cannabis patient or a personal user​ of cannabis when purchasing a firearm are in violation of federal statute, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000

Source: MARYLAND STATE POLICE LICENSING DIVISION WEBSITE

Department of Legislative Services

90 Day Report on 2023 Legislative Session - Firearms

Following each legislative session, the Maryland Department of Legislative Services publishes a "90 Day Report" which provides a good overview of the legislation passed during the prior 90 Day Session. A truncated version covering gun related legislation passed can be downloaded by clicking the following link:

Click here to download the abridged version of the 90 Day Report

Background on Training Requirement in House Bill 824:

The original language in HB 824 increased the scope of the required training for a wear and carry permit. This placed an increased training burden on instructors and created additional liability exposure when teaching topics beyond actual firearm operation and safety. It also created a situation where each instructor would likely be teaching different material.

To counter the legislature's effort to make training even more burdensome, and provide continuity of training statewide, 2A Maryland offered an amendment to HB 824 shifting the responsibility for course creation and content from the individual instructors to the appropriate state agencies, i.e. the Attorney General and the Department of Health.

The amendment was offered by Delegate Jesse Pippy but failed in the House. The Senate further increased the required training and at the urging of 2A Maryland, included language similar in function to the amendment 2A Maryland suggest while HB 824 was still in the House.

House Judiciary Chairman Luke Clippinger Calls for Special Hearings on Juvenile Justice

Luke Clippinger Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee posing for photos with Bloomberg's Demanding Moms prior to a hearing during the 2023 Legislative Session Photo by 2A Maryland

Editor's Note:

Some years ago, I had a conversation with Jack Young when he was Mayor of Baltimore. I remarked, "Mr. Mayor, you know that Baltimore will never solve its crime problem until it finds a way to fix the families." Mayor Young responded, "First they have to want to be fixed."

The following articles clearly demonstrate that goverment officials and elected legislators still don't get it. They offer programs to offenders after the fact and foolishly hope that they will not re-offend. Anyone who has ever input the name of persons charged into Maryland Judiciary Search will see that most offenders have lengthy criminal records and a history of receiving probation and/or suspended sentences. Juvenile offenses are not a matter of public record so the "early years" are not as clear.

What is clear is that most offenders and victims come from home where the normal family structure of two parents, and typcally children who have the same father does not exist. They children do not learn the morals and social skills that most of us were fortunate enough to learn. They grow up fending for themselves in a survival of the fittest environment where there is no supervision or mentoring and no consequenses for anti-social behavior. Combine that with poor housing, drugs, failing schools that double as their only reliable meal source, but produce functionally illiterate youth with no marketable job skills in an area with no jobs and you have a receipe for social decay.

Politicians are well aware of this. They simply lack the moral fiber and strength of character admit to the problem in public and work for a meaningful long term solution.

July 30, 2023

From WBFF website:

"BALTIMORE (WBFF) — A House committee will convene in September for a hearing to begin the process of reviewing current juvenile crime laws as the surge in violence continues to impact communities across Maryland.

With more teens getting caught in the middle of crime, House Judiciary Committee Chair Luke Clippinger, D-Baltimore City, called a hearing in September to begin the conversations about revising some of the current juvenile justice laws, specifically parameters surrounding probation for young offenders.

“The previous law said that they could be on probation until they are 21, the current law depends on if it’s a misdemeanor or a felony, but it could be up to a year if it’s a misdemeanor and up to two years for a felony. I think we might take another look at those,” Del. Clippinger said.

Beyond the probation length, Clippinger said he wants to figure out ways to address some concerns he has with the services provided within the Department of Juvenile Services.

“What’s becoming clear is that the Department of Juvenile Services doesn’t have the services and doesn’t’ have a plan to deal with kids who are in possession of guns,” Clippinger said. “After we passed the legislation, what became clearer over the last year, is that there are not the services necessary for these kids. We were promised those services.”

Click here for the full WBFF TV45 article.

RELATED Calls for change from Maryland General Assembly on juvenile justice laws

WBFF:by Maxine StreicherThu, July 13th 2023, 3:56 PM EDT

"We reached out to every State’s Attorney in Maryland with a series of questions including:

• Do you believe the Maryland General Assembly has made it difficult for your office to hold juveniles accountable for criminal acts?
• Do you support the Juvenile Justice Reform Act of 2022 and the Child Interrogation Protection act of 2022? Why or why not?

Of the 24 State’s Attorney’s, 10 answered our questions and all of them agreed the general assembly has made it more difficult to hold juveniles accountable.

“They know nothing is really going to happen to them if they keep their crime in a certain limit of types of crimes,” said Shellenberger.

Under the Juvenile Justice Reform Act passed last year, those 13 and under are limited to charges for crimes of violence, and a juvenile under 10 cannot be charged.

The law also calls for six months’ probation for juveniles who commit adult misdemeanors and one-year probation for juveniles who commit adult felonies."

Local Gun Control Group Announces its Gun Ban Agenda for the 2024 Legislative Session in Annapolis

From their most recent email:

"The gun industry must be held accountable for the carnage it unleashes and Maryland’s ineffective Assault Weapons Ban must be fixed. Collaborating with legislators and our gun violence prevention partners, we are working to turn these principles into legislative priorities for the Maryland General Assembly’s 2024 Session." 

2A Maryland 2023 Session Legislative Reports - Webpage Views

Maryland Gun Laws - Statutes & Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR)

Note: One or both of the documents below will require updating to address the changes relating to the gun bills passed during the 2023 Session.

Watch for udates in the coming months.

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