Attention MSRPA Members & Clubs: 2016 Maryland General Assembly Session Underway

Maryland Capitol Building
Maryland Capitol Building
Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association
Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association

Maryland -(Ammoland.com)- The 2016 Maryland General Assembly session is well underway and we now have a fairly good picture of this year’s bills.

For those of you following our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/MDSRPA), you may have noticed that our lobbyist, along with the lobbyists from the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore (AGC), Maryland Shall Issue (MSI), and the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA) have already been busy testifying on our behalf.

They were in Annapolis on February 26 to testify in front of the House Judiciary committee in opposition to the “Terror Watchlist” bill (HB1000) and again on March 1 to testify in front of the House Appropriations committee in opposition to the “Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones” bill (HB1002), two of the “signature” bills presented as a result of the “Common Sense” press conference held by Senate President Miller, House Speaker Busch, and Attorney General Frosh earlier in this session.

We would like to ask that all of our members consider coming down to lend their voices t o the de cision-making process in Annapolis – our legislators need to hear from the people they represent, or they will follow their own agendas within the legislative process.

There are several hearing dates coming up over the next two weeks that we would like you to consider:

  • March 9 – The majority of the Senate firearms-related bills will be heard in the Senate Judicial Proceedings (aka JPR) Committee, starting at 1:00PM. JPR is located on the second floor of the Miller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD. Sign-ups for in-person testimony (3 minutes, per person) will be available from8:30AM until approximately 12:30PM. If you wish to deliver written testimony, you will need to deliver a minimum of 20 printed copies to the JPR Committee Office no later than 11:00 (electronic/facsimile delivery is not an option).
  • March 15 – The majority of the House firearms-related bills will be heard in the House Judiciary (aka JUD) Committee, starting at 1:00PM. JUD is located on the first floor of the House Office Building, 6 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD. Sign-ups for in-person testimony (2 minutes, per person) will be available from 8:30AM until approximately12:30PM. If you wish to deliver written testimony, you will need to deliver a minimum of 35 printed copies to the JUD Committee Room no later than 11:00(electronic/facsimile delivery is not an option).
  • March 16 – The Senate version of one of the “signature” bills, “Terror Watchlist” (SB1040) has been scheduled on a different day than the rest of the bills being heard in front of JPR, starting at 1:00PM. JPR is located on the second floor of the Miller Senate Office Building, 11 Bladen Street, Annapolis, MD. Sign-ups for in-person testimony will be available from 8:30AM until approximately 12:30PM. If you wish to deliver written testimony, you will need to deliver a minimum of 20 printed copies to the JPR Committee Office no later than 11:00 (electronic/facsimile delivery is not an option).

MSRPA’s current organizational positions on the bills are attached to this email. The document contains links to the Bill Synopsis (Bill # column), Crossfile Synopsis (Crossfile column, if applicable), Bill Text (Bill Title column), and the Committee Assigned (Committee column).

Parking in Annapolis:

There are several parking garages within walking distance of the State Capitol grounds. Average daily cost is between $10-15 dollars, and not all garages take credit cards. There are a limited number of both 2-hour and 9-hour free parking spots along the roadsides nearby; they are monitored and subject to ticketing/towing, so use your best judgement. You can also park at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. Parking is $5.00 (cash only) and there is a shuttle to take you to the State House grounds ($2, each way, cash only).

The stadium is approximately 15 minutes walking distance away from the State Capitol grounds.

2016 msrpa bill tracker

About Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA):

The Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association (MSRPA) is the flagship Gun Rights organization in and for the State of Maryland. The Association offers both individual and club memberships. Support of the shooting disciplines and legislative activities is primarily through a systems of committees. All participants are volunteers. In the face of a near tidal wave of citizen disarmament occurring in Maryland, the MSRPA has played a critical part in drawing the line and standing firm for Gun Rights. Without this resistance, things would have been much worse and been so much sooner. Now the objective is to continue to develop new activists with numerous individual skills who will help us bring Maryland into line with the rest of the states which have made strong gains in protecting the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.

For more information, visit: www.msrpa.org.

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chuck schuette

The political process in Maryland is so out of control and leftist that after 45 years and carreering there it was time to leave. Miller and Busch have a stranglehold on the process and nothing there will change untill the house and senate have new more realistic leadership. They and their former governor and horribly failed presedential candidate Omally have enacted some of the most draconian gun laws in the country. Shame on them!