Maryland Democrat lawmakers are pushing legislation that would bar licensed concealed carriers from carrying a gun for self-defense onto someone else’s property unless given explicit permission to do so.
On January 13 Breitbart News reported the origins of this push, noting that Democrats were promoting legislation that would ban legal carriers from being armed for self defense in public places.
Delmarva Now noted on January 31 that the legislation, the Gun Safety Act of 2023, also prohibits the licensed carry of a gun for self-defense on private property, unless the licensed carrier first secures permission from the property owner.
The bill’s main sponsor, State Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D) claims the Supreme Court of the United States’ Bruen (2022) decision created a dangerous situation by eliminating Maryland’s “good and substantial” reason requirement that residents had to meet in order to receive a concealed carry permit.
He said, “By eliminating that requirement, now anyone can get a gun and bring it anywhere. That is unacceptable and creates a tremendous danger in our state…It has forced our hand here in the legislature, and we need to act.”
Maryland’s original gun safety act–the Firearms Safety Act of 2013–failed to stop criminals from murdering innocents in Baltimore.
Breitbart News observed on July 12, 2017, that despite the “assault weapons” ban, “high capacity” magazine ban, and special fingerprinting and reporting requirements on handgun sales contained in that act, Baltimore’s murder rate was more than twice Chicago’s.
AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio and a Turning Point USA Ambassador. AWR Hawkins holds a PhD in Military History, with a focus on the Vietnam War (brown water navy), U.S. Navy since Inception, the Civil War, and Early Modern Europe. Follow him on Instagram: @awr_hawkins. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange. Reach him directly at awrhawkins@breitbart.com.