MaryLand – -(Ammoland.com)- Just filed in the 2017 Maryland General Assembly is HB 159 (found here), the so-called Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones.
This bill failed last year, but is being pushed hard this year by some misguided members of the General Assembly.
The bill would ban carry or possession of any firearms of any type anywhere on any “property” of any college or institute of higher learning in Maryland.
“Property” is not a defined term or limited in any way. Thus, the ban would extend to any property owned by such a college, including farms, apartment buildings, strip malls, roads, and the like, and would include a ban on possession of a firearm while merely driving across college “property.”
That ban would also extend to off-duty police officers and to persons with concealed carry permits and to anyone else not specifically authorized by the college to possess firearms.
The penalty for violating this ban is up to 3 years in prison, with a minimum sentence of 90 days in jail. Conviction would thus result in a permanent, lifetime firearms disability under federal law. In short, it creates giant unsecured “gun-free zones” that are the prime targets for terrorists and deranged persons. The first hearing is before the House Appropriations Committee on January 31 2017 in Annapolis.
The House Appropriation Committee has no expertise on this subject matter (this bill should have been assigned to the Judiciary Committee, which at least as some experience in such matters). Maryland Shall Issue will be attending and testifying at the hearing. If this matters to you (and it does to us) contact your delegates (click here to find yours) and politely let them know what you think about this bill.
A quick note: We are often asked why we aren’t more political in our stances. Under MSI bylaws, we are a non-partisan organization and we conduct ourselves as such. We cannot engage in partisan activities. We all understand who our allies in the General Assembly are, and who are not.
That being said, we welcome enlightened Democrats, Republicans, and Independents of any political stripe to our cause!
About Maryland Shall Issue:
Mission Statement: Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners’ rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that ‘shall issue’ laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime.
For more information, visit: https://www.vcdl.org/webapps/vcdl/2017leg.html.
I cannot comprehend how it is so hard for these people to understand: If someone is willing to use a gun to assault & kill others (which is breaking the law, obviously), they will have no problem breaking other lesser laws to accomplish this. Such as ignoring the “gun-free zone” laws & consequences. Therefor gun bans do not prevent crime. This applies to bans of possession on certain properties, but also bans on specific models of guns such as MD’s asinine laws of 2013. Bans only promote crime in these “gun-free zones” due to the fact the perpetrators are aware… Read more »
The MD gun grabbers are at it again. Let’s hope Hogan don’t become what O’Malley became.