Proposed Maryland Firearm Legislation
2013 Session2014 Session2015 Session2016 Session2017 Session2018 Session2019 Session2020 Session2021 Session2022 Session2023 Session2024 Session
Filter: Click on bill number for details. jump to upper chamber
note: Maryland does not carry over legislation from session to session
Title: Public Safety - Handgun Permits - Application Report
Description: Requiring the Department of State Police to make a specified report to the General Assembly every 6 months containing the number of applications received and processed for permits to carry, wear, or transport a handgun.
Last Action: Unfavorable Report by Judiciary; Withdrawn
Last Action Date: February 20, 2017
Title: Sales and Use Tax - Exemption - Firearm Safety Devices
Description: Providing an exemption under the sales and use tax for the sale of specified firearm safety devices, including a firearm safe, firearm lockbox, trigger and barrel lock, or any other item designed to enhance home firearm safety; etc.
Last Action: Hearing 1/18 at 11:00 a.m.
Last Action Date: January 18, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Assault Weapons - Replacements
Description: Authorizing a person to replace a lost or broken assault weapon that was lawfully possessed in accordance with specified provisions of law if the replacement is registered with the Secretary of State Police.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones
Description: Altering a specified exception relating to law enforcement officers to the prohibition on carrying specified weapons on public school property; prohibiting the carrying or possession of specified firearms on the property of public institutions of higher education; requiring a public institution of higher education to post specified signs in prominent locations on the property; requiring the Board of Regents of the University System of Maryland to incorporate into their bylaws, policies and procedures, the current weapons practice on campus; etc.
Last Action: Senators Smith, Brochin, and Norman
Last Action Date: April 10, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Firearm Application
Description: Repealing a requirement that a firearm application contain a copy of the applicant's handgun qualification license; and requiring that a firearm application contain the applicant's handgun qualification license number, with a specified exception.
Last Action: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 189
Last Action Date: April 18, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Regulated Firearms - Definition of Convicted of a Disqualifying Crime
Description: Altering a specified definition of "convicted of a disqualifying crime" to include a case in which a person received probation before judgment for assault in the second degree if the crime was a specified domestically related crime.
Last Action: Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution - Chapter 805
Last Action Date: May 27, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Firearms Disqualifications - Antique Firearm
Description: Applying specified provisions disqualifying a person from possessing a rifle or shotgun to an antique firearm.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Handgun Permits - Correctional Officer
Description: Establishing a presumption that an applicant for a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun has a good and substantial reason to carry, wear, or transport a handgun if the applicant is an active and certified correctional officer.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Criminal Law - Crimes Against Property - Right to Defend Property
Description: Establishing that an occupant of a dwelling is justified in using any degree of physical force against another person when the other person has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, and when the occupant has a reasonable belief that the other person has committed a crime in the dwelling in addition to the unlawful entry or is committing or intends to commit a crime against a person or property in addition to the unlawful entry; establishing that a person acting in accordance with the Act is immune from specified criminal prosecution; etc.
Last Action: Unfavorable Report by Judiciary
Last Action Date: February 27, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Handgun Permit - Applicant Qualifications
Description: Repealing the requirement that the Secretary of State Police find that a person has a good and substantial reason to carry, wear, or transport a handgun before issuing a handgun permit to the person.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Handguns - School Employees - Handgun Permits and Carrying Weapons on School Property
Description: Authorizing a county board to authorize school employees in the county board's school system to carry a handgun on school property under specified circumstances; requiring the Secretary of State Police to issue a handgun permit to a person who is otherwise qualified and who is a school employee in a specified school system; etc.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun - Qualifications
Description: Clarifying that personal protection or self-defense can qualify as a good and substantial reason to wear, carry, or transport a handgun for purposes of the issuance by the Secretary of State Police of a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Handgun Permits - Universal Recognition
Description: Specifying that a permit to carry a handgun issued to an individual in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., or West Virginia is valid in Maryland.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Firearms - Permit to Wear, Carry, or Transport a Handgun - Expiration and Renewal
Description: Altering the time period in which a permit to wear, carry, or transport a handgun expires to be 5 years after the issuance; and altering the time period for renewal of a permit to wear, carry, or transport a handgun to 5 years after the last renewal.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Secretary of State Police - Temporary Firearms Training Waiver
Description: Authorizing the Secretary of State Police, on making a specified determination concerning an applicant for a specified handgun permit, to temporarily waive a requirement to complete a specified firearms training course; and requiring an applicant issued a specified permit to complete a firearms training course within 60 days after the issuance of the permit.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Firearms - Handgun Qualification License - Firearms Safety Training
Description: Repealing a requirement that a specified firearms safety training course include a specified firearms orientation component; and requiring the Secretary of State Police to adopt regulations that allow an applicant for a specified handgun qualification license to receive online all necessary instruction from a firearms safety training course required to be completed.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Handgun Permits - Alternative Expiration Date - Private Detectives, Security Guards, and Special Police Officers
Description: Authorizing the Secretary of State Police to establish an alternative expiration date for a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun that coincides with the expiration of a license, certification, or commission for a specified private detective, specified security guard, or specified special police officer.
Last Action: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 191
Last Action Date: April 18, 2017
Title: Handgun Permits - Firearms Training Courses
Description: Altering the requirements from a minimum of 16 hours to 6 hours of instruction by a qualified handgun instructor for firearms training courses that an initial applicant for a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun must successfully complete; reducing from 8 to 2 the number of hours of instruction an applicant for renewal of a permit must successfully complete.
Last Action: Recommitted to Judiciary (Delegate Vallario)
Last Action Date: March 20, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Handgun Qualification License - Application Fee
Description: Reducing the maximum application fee that an applicant must pay to the Secretary of State Police for a handgun qualification license from $50 to $25.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Gun Shows - Captured Plate Data
Description: Establishing that it is not a legitimate law enforcement purpose to collect, store, or share specified captured plate data from a vehicle parked at, entering, or leaving a gun show without a warrant or articulable evidence of illegal activity.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Firearms - Handgun Permit - Preliminary Approval
Description: Authorizing a person to apply for preliminary approval of a handgun permit without completing a certified firearms training course; requiring the Secretary to investigate an application for a handgun permit; requiring the Secretary to issue preliminary approval for a handgun permit if the applicant meets specified requirements except the required certified firearms training course; requiring an applicant to satisfy a specified firearm training requirement within 120 days after receipt of preliminary approval; etc.
Last Action: Third Reading Passed with Amendments (46-0)
Last Action Date: April 10, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Regulated Firearms - Disqualifying Crime
Description: Clarifying that the term "disqualifying crime" includes a violation classified as a misdemeanor in the State that carried a statutory penalty of incarceration of more than 2 years at the time of the commission of the crime.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting a Handgun - Penalties - Subsequent Offenders
Description: Prohibiting the suspension of a sentence for wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun under specified circumstances for a person previously convicted of specified crimes.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Police Profiling - "Right-to-Carry" Permit
Description: Establishing that it is not a legitimate law enforcement purpose to use active or historical plate data captured by an automatic license plate reader system that indicates the owner of the vehicle has been issued a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun as the sole basis to stop and question the vehicle's driver.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Criminal Procedure - Firearms - Transfer
Description: Requiring a court to inform a person convicted of a specified disqualifying crime that the person is prohibited from possessing a firearm under specified provisions of law; requiring the court to advise the person that specified proof must be provided to the Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services that specified firearms owned by the person or in the person's possession have been transferred from the person's possession; etc.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Rifles and Shotguns - Transactions
Description: Providing that a person who is not a specified licensee may not complete the transfer of a specified rifle or shotgun as transferor or transferee, except under specified circumstances; requiring, before a specified transfer is conducted, the transferor and transferee to meet jointly with a specified licensee and request that the licensee facilitate the transfer; requiring a licensee to take specified actions when facilitating a transfer; etc.
Last Action: Hearing 3/14 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 14, 2017
Title: Department of Health and Mental Hygiene - Commission to Study Firearm Violence - Establishment
Description: Establishing the Maryland Commission to Study Firearm Violence; providing for the membership of the Commission; requiring the Commission to award specified loans and grants, develop specified recommendations, administer a specified fund, and develop specified processes; establishing the Maryland Firearm Violence Research Fund as a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to a specified provision of law; specifying the purpose of the Fund; etc.
Last Action: Unfavorable Report by Judiciary
Last Action Date: March 17, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Firearm Application
Description: Repealing a requirement that a firearm application contain a copy of the applicant's handgun qualification license; and requiring that a firearm application contain the applicant's handgun qualification license number, with a specified exception.
Last Action: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 192
Last Action Date: April 18, 2017
Title: Handgun Permits - Alternative Expiration Date - Private Detectives, Security Guards, and Special Police Officers
Description: Authorizing the Secretary of State Police to establish an alternative expiration date for a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun that coincides with the expiration of a license, certification, or commission for a specified private detective, specified security guard, or specified special police officer.
Last Action: Approved by the Governor - Chapter 190
Last Action Date: April 18, 2017
Title: Handgun Permits - Multijurisdictional Recognition
Description: Specifying that a permit to carry a handgun issued to an individual in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington, D.C., or West Virginia is valid in Maryland.
Last Action: Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 8, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Regulated Firearms - Definition of Convicted of a Disqualifying Crime
Description: Altering a specified definition of "convicted of a disqualifying crime" to include a case in which a person received probation before judgment for assault in the second degree, if the crime was a specified domestically related crime.
Last Action: Enacted under Article II, Section 17(c) of the Maryland Constitution - Chapter 804
Last Action Date: May 27, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun - Qualifications
Description: Clarifying that self-defense can qualify as a good and substantial reason to wear, carry, or transport a handgun for purposes of the issuance by the Secretary of State Police of a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun.
Last Action: Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 8, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Firearms Disqualifications - Antique Firearm
Description: Applying specified provisions disqualifying a person from possessing a rifle or shotgun to an antique firearm.
Last Action: Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 8, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Permit to Carry, Wear, or Transport a Handgun - Qualifications
Description: Clarifying that personal protection or self-defense can qualify as a good and substantial reason to wear, carry, or transport a handgun for purposes of the issuance by the Secretary of State Police of a permit to carry, wear, or transport a handgun.
Last Action: Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 8, 2017
Title: Criminal Procedure - Firearms - Notification
Description: Requiring a State's Attorney to notify the court, before a defendant is sentenced, that a conviction prohibits a person from possessing a specified firearm under specified provisions of law; requiring a court to inform a person convicted of a specified disqualifying offense, both verbally and in writing, that the person is prohibited from possessing a firearm under specified provisions of law; and providing that the failure to receive a specified notification is not grounds for relief or a defense for specified criminal violations.
Last Action: Rereferred to Judiciary
Last Action Date: April 10, 2017
Title: Wearing, Carrying, or Transporting a Handgun - Penalties - Subsequent Offenders
Description: Prohibiting the suspension of a sentence for wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun under specified circumstances for a person previously convicted of specified crimes.
Last Action: Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 8, 2017
Title: Gun-Free Higher Education Zones
Description: Altering a specified exception relating to law enforcement officers to the prohibition on carrying or possessing specified weapons on school property; prohibiting the carrying or possession of specified firearms on the property of public institutions of higher education; providing specified exceptions; providing that a violation is a civil offense punishable by a fine of up to $1,000; requiring the Board of Regents for the University System of Maryland to incorporate the current weapons practice into their bylaws, policies and procedures; etc.
Last Action: Senators Smith, Brochin, and Norman
Last Action Date: April 10, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Rifles and Shotguns - Secondary Transactions
Description: Providing that a person who is not a specified licensee may not complete the transfer of a specified rifle or shotgun as transferor or transferee, except under specified circumstances; requiring, before a specified transfer is conducted, the transferor and transferee to meet jointly with a specified licensee and request that the licensee facilitate the transfer; requiring a licensee to take specified actions when facilitating a transfer; etc.
Last Action: Hearing 3/08 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 8, 2017
Title: Criminal Law - Crimes Against Property - Right to Defend Property
Description: Establishing that an occupant of a dwelling is justified in using any degree of physical force against another person when the other person has made an unlawful entry into the dwelling, and when the occupant has a reasonable belief that the other person has committed a crime in the dwelling in addition to the unlawful entry or is committing or intends to commit a crime against a person or property in addition to the unlawful entry; establishing that a person acting in accordance with the Act is immune from specified criminal prosecution; etc.
Last Action: Unfavorable Report by Judicial Proceedings; Withdrawn
Last Action Date: March 15, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Permit to Wear, Carry, or Transport a Handgun - Expiration and Renewal
Description: Altering the time period in which a permit to wear, carry, or transport a handgun expires to be 5 years after the issuance; and altering the time period for renewal of a permit to wear, carry, or transport a handgun to 5 years after the last renewal.
Last Action: Hearing 3/15 at 1:00 p.m.
Last Action Date: March 15, 2017
Title: Public Safety - Handgun Permit Review Board - Repeal
Description: Altering the process by which a person who is denied a specified handgun permit or renewal of a permit or whose permit is revoked or limited by the Secretary of State Police or the Secretary's designee may appeal the decision; repealing provisions of law relating to the Handgun Permit Review Board; providing that appeals from a specified decision by the Secretary or the Secretary's designee may be made to the Office of Administrative Hearings in a specified manner; etc.
Last Action: First Reading Senate Rules
Last Action Date: March 6, 2017