Free Republic

Maryland's new gun control law, signed in May by Gov. Martin O'Malley, has survived its first challenge. Organizers of a petition drive to get the law onto the ballot in 2014 failed to turn in any signatures by Friday night's deadline, said Steve Ackerman of the Office of the Secretary of State. A referendum would have kept the law from going into effect on Oct. 1. To get one, opponents would have had to submit roughly 18,600 signatures. While the National Rifle Association is still expected to battle the law in court, gun control groups celebrated news that the petition...

Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) of Maryland signed into law on May 16 a measure intended to control the sale of so-called assault weapons, which have been involved in incidents such as the mass killing at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown CT in December in 2012. The measure casts a broad net over a variety of weapons, both pistols and long guns, that have at least two of three characteristics – folding stock, grenade launcher or flash suppressor. Firearms having any two of these characteristics, therefore, qualify as an “assault weapon” under provisions of the law. Specific pistols, rifles...

On the evening of May 22, 2013, the Board of Commissioners of Carroll County presented, debated and adopted a resolution known as the “Second Amendment Preservation Resolution”. This resolution, among other things, declared Carroll County as a “Second Amendment Sanctuary County”.County officials, including the Board of County Commissioners, the States Attorney and the Sheriff deemed this action necessary in light of the recent enactment by the Maryland General Assembly of “pretended legislation” known as the Maryland Firearms Safety Act of 2013.The Resolution declares that the so called “Safety Act”, which purports to ban the sale of forty-five types of ordinary...

Maryland lawmakers gave final approval Friday to the first increase in the state’s gas tax in 20 years, acting to replenish a transportation fund that is rapidly running out of money for highway construction and long-planned mass-transit projects. Under the bill, which passed the Senate 27 to 20, motorists can expect to pay between 13 and 20 cents more per gallon by mid-2016, according to legislative analysts. The increase would be phased in, with the first bump of about 4 cents a gallon coming in July. The legislation, which transportation officials say would yield $4.4 billion for new projects over...

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ)—Maryland is a step closer to enacting some of the strictest gun control legislation in the country. The Maryland Senate passed an amended bill that keeps the governor’s original plan for gun control intact. ... Since their rally Feb. 6, gun advocates have continued to protest what they believe is a violation of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. And those arguments were echoed in the Senate chamber Thursday. “We are taking that right away from law-abiding citizens,” argued Senator Nancy Jacobs, (R) Harford County. In marathon sessions, the senate amended and passed the Firearms Safety Act...

Last night in Annapolis, Maryland a hearing was conducted on new sweeping gun control proposals for the state via SB 281, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013. State Senator Jamie Raskin (D), an anti-gun advocate, decided to ignore the pro-Second Amendment testimony that others were listening to and instead opted for a game of electronic chess. Just makes you proud doesn’t it citizens of Maryland? The photo seen here was provided courtesy of the Maryland Shooters Facebook page.Many commenters on the page were, shall we say, a bit upset at his lack of performance in the role as State Senator.The...