By ALLEN ETZLER
ANNAPOLIS—Gov. Martin O’Malley and President Barack Obama unveiled gun control and public safety legislation this week in response to the December school shootings in Newtown, Conn. Here are some current Maryland laws, and the proposed legislative changes:
Current Maryland Gun Laws
Handguns:
-- 21 years old to purchase
-- Sales regulated
-- No permit necessary to purchase, however permit is required for concealed carry
-- No license to own required
-- Registration required through Maryland State Police
-- Safety training program through Maryland State Police required
Assault Weapons:
-- Currently 30 guns, and their copies, make up the list of assault rifles
-- 21 years old to purchase
-- Sales regulated
-- No permit necessary to purchase
-- No license to own required
-- Registration required through Maryland State Police
-- Safety training program through Maryland State Police required
Ammunition Magazines:
-- Limited to 20-round capacity
-- Mental Health
-- List of three groups of people labeled as prohibited purchasers of firearms: People who have been convicted of a felony or certain misdemeanors, people with a mental illness, drug and alcohol abusers.
Proposed Changes to Maryland Law
-- Complete ban on assault rifle sales
-- Reduce magazine capacity to 10-round maximum
-- Digital fingerprinting required for handgun ownership; will go into police database
-- Updated safety training for handgun ownership
-- Not-yet-detailed expansion of definition of an assault rifle
-- Require background check for all handgun sales
-- Increased focus on mental health/school safety
-- Adding people in guardianship, and people who have been court-ordered to a mental treatment facility and are deemed as potentially violent, to the list of prohibited purchasers of firearms
-- Creation of Maryland center for school safety
Proposed Changes to Federal Law
-- Increased focus on mental health/school safety
-- Close background check loopholes that permit private gun transactions to occur without background checks
-- Ban “straw purchasers,” people who purchase firearms for people who would otherwise not be able to obtain them
-- Increased investment in local police departments
-- Reinstate and expand assault weapon ban of 1994-2004
-- 10-round maximum for magazines
-- Remove restrictions on the Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms Bureau to enable it to better enforce regulations
-- Establish annual report on lost and stolen guns
-- Require all guns be traced from manufacturer to dealer to purchaser
-- Ban armor-piercing bullets