1. Future purchase of a regulated firearm, which from now on means a handgun (because currently regulated long guns are going to become banned long guns), would require a "handgun qualification license." (The handgun license is not required for an active or retired member of the armed forces of the United States or the National Guard, for active or retired law enforcement officers.) One must be age 21 to apply for the license. To obtain the license requires fingerprinting, a $50 fee paid to the state, and proof of satisfactory completion of either "a firearms safety training course approved by the Secretary [of the Maryland State Police]," or a course approved by the DNR under existing law, which refers to the DNR hunter certification course. There are certain exceptions to the training requirement, including an exception for anyone who "lawfully owns a regulated firearm" -- these people still need the handgun qualification license, but would not be subject to the training requirement. I see no provision that would allow a person to inherit handguns unless he or she first obtains the handgun qualification license -- I may be mistaken about this, and if I am, I would be interested in an explanation of how an unlicensed heir could lawfully take possession of handguns. There are certain narrow exceptions to the new handgun licensing requirement, but none that we need to dwell on here.
2. New acquisition of any firearm defined as an "assault long gun" would be banned as of October 1, 2013, with narrow exceptions for law enforcement, manufacturers, certain defense contractors and the like. The ban would extend to all of the 45 named models of rifles previously listed as regulated rifles in the Public Safety Article, including (as I read it) any long guns deemed to be "copies" by past or future interpretation.
3. In addition, the bill would ban future acquisition of any so-called "copycat" firearms. In this bill, "copycat" does not mean that a firearm is really a copy of anything -- it is just a political gimmick term to refer to firearms that have the specific characteristics that will cause them to be banned. A centerfire rifle will be a banned "copycat" if it meets any one of these three tests:
(1) Has a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds; or
(2) has an overall length of less than 29 inches; or
(3) has two of the following attributes: (i) folding stock, (ii) grenade or flare launcher, or (iii) flash suppressor.
4. A semiautomatic RIMFIRE rifle would never be an "assault" weapon under this bill.
5. A semiautomatic pistol would be a banned assault/copycat weapons only if it has a fixed magazine that can accept more than 10 rounds; this applies to both rimfire and centerfire.
6. A semiautomatic shotgun would be a banned assault/copycat weapon if it had either a folding stock or a revolving cylinder.
7. "Assault" weapons and "copycat" firearms possessed as of October 1, 2013, would be grandfathered in, with no registration requirement, for both current Maryland residents and people who move to Maryland in the future. Their lawful owners may continue to possess them and to transport them. This would also apply to any such firearm for which the would-be owner "has a purchase order for. or completed an application to purchase" as of October 1, 2013" (note: that phrase was inserted on the floor on April 3, in place of the earlier phrase referring to a "verifiable purchase order"). However, a resident of another state who lawfully acquires such a weapon after October 1, 2013, and who then moves into the state with it, or travels through the state with it, commits a criminal offense (and there is no grace period). Grandfathered assault weapons may be passed on by inheritance. A dealer may sell an "assault long gun" or "copycat" that he "lawfully possessed on or before October 1, 2013." It is not clear to me whether this means the dealer can sell this inventory to Maryland residents; I think the more likely reading is that the dealer may only sell them to residents of other states, subject to the usual federal transfer requirements, or to in-state law enforcement buyers.
8. Anyone who moves into the state would be required to register "all regulated firearms" with 90 days after establishing residency. This would apply to all handguns, except muzzleloaders and antiques (pre-1899), no matter when or where they were acquired. I suppose it will also be applied to any "assault" rifle that was lawfully possessed by the new resident prior to October 1, 2013, although that is not perfectly clear. There will be a $15 application charge, which will cover any number of handguns/regulated firearms. It appears to me that criminal penalties would apply for failure to register a handgun within 90 days, but I would appreciate some lawyer well versed in the criminal code looking at that question. If I am right, a new resident might find grandpa's old service revolver in a trunk in a few years, take it down to the local gun shop to sell it, and end up arrested for failure to register the handgun within 90 days of establishing residency.
9. Like the bill passed by the Senate, I see nothing here to allow a person who lacks the handgun qualification license to temporarily "receive" handgun to shoot on the premises of a range, under the supervision of a parent or spouse, or whatever. Some people point to language in the bill dealing with the temporary possession of regulated handguns by minors, but this is merely the current language of the old regulated firearm law, which is reproduced in the bill because of the legislature's convention in showing where new provisions are being inserted. In my opinion, the old provision allowing temporary possession by a minor under certain circumstances does not clearly constitute an exception to the proposed new requirement that nobody can "receive" a handgun without first obtaining the handgun qualification license -- and a person under age 21 cannot even apply for that license. Even if I am wrong about the minors, there is no exception for unlicensed spouses, guests from out of state, and so forth. I know that some people insist that this is not the intent. Maybe not -- but explicit language would make that clear, and the sponsors have not added any such language that I can see.
10. Future transfers within Maryland of detachable magazines with capacity of greater than 10 rounds are banned. This is true whether or not the magazine is the manufacturer's standard issue for a certain pistol, and it applies to magazines that are associated with old guns.
11. As in the bill passed by the Senate, those who qualify for Maryland carry permits will required to undergo 16 hours of instruction before a permit is issued, and 8 hours before each renewal (i.e., every two or three years), with certain exceptions. The bill would change current law so that permit holders could be criminally charged for carrying outside the bounds of any permit restrictions, in contrast to current law under which carrying outside of restrictions is dealt with administratively (for example, by revocation of the permit).
12. Provisions in the Senate-passed bill removing all firearms rights from persons targeted by out-of-state "protective" orders have been retained, without any language requiring that that the targeted person have an opportunity to receive notice and defend himself in court before the disqualification is applied. There is no language in the bill limiting the scope of this provision to domestic partners, although some say that is the intent.
13. Provisions removing all firearms rights from persons who are protected by court-appointed guardians have been retained, without any language requiring a finding of danger to oneself or others, and without any exceptions for temporary possession for participation in shooting sports and the like. The only exception is guardianships based purely on a "physical" disability.
14. The bill would make it a new crime to "during and in relation to a crime of violence . . . possess or use restricted firearm ammunition." The House committee adopted an entirely new definition of what constitutes "restricted firearms ammunition," and I do not have the technical competence to interpret it. I underscore that this is not a ban on sale or possession, but on use in relation to a crime of violence.
15. The committee-reported bill contains the Simmons Amendment, which would disqualify from firearms ownership those persons who received Probation Before Judgment for certain crimes that are listed in the amendment. As amended on the floor, this would not apply to PBJs that are expunged. The Simmons Amendment is discussed in detail in a separate thread, here:
The Simmons Amendment: probation before judgment - Maryland Shooters
16. The House committees added a new provision that requires that a regulated firearms owner "shall report the loss or theft to the local law enforcement agency within 72 hours after the owner first discovered the loss or theft." This will apply to handguns and pre-ban "assault" weapons, not "regular" rifle guns and long guns. Anyone who "knowingly and willfully violates" this requirement is subject to a $500 fine on the first offense, and to 90 days and/or a $500 fine on any subsequent offense.
17. The House committees added a new provision establishing that state records of firearms transfers, carry permits, etc., are not generally subject to public inspection, except by the person named in the records or his attorney.
SB 281: A summary of some key provisions as passed by the House - Maryland Shooters