jmcgonig
Active Member
Thank you for taking the time to express your opposition to Governor O’Malley’s gun safety bill, the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 (HB 294). I understand and appreciate your unwavering support for the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution and your position on this bill. I respect your position on this issue and understand how strongly you and many others feel about this issue.
It is clear that there is a great deal of misinformation about the bill that I would like to clarify. The bill does not:
- prohibit in any way a lawful citizen’s right to obtain or own a handgun and keep it in their home;
- require additional licensing procedures for hunting rifles and shotguns;
- force citizens who lawfully possess an assault (or assault-style) weapon before this bill is passed to surrender their weapon;
- prohibit authorized personnel from carrying or transporting a hand gun; or
- require current lawful gun owners to retroactively obtain a license.
The bill has a comprehensive approach that, we hope, will improve public safety and protect Maryland families by focusing on three principal areas: (1) gun safety; (2) school safety; and (3) improving mental health safeguards and services. Gun violence, as you know, was responsible for more than 32,000 deaths in our country in 2011. The bill includes reform measures designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Research shows that permit-to-purchase licensing and fingerprinting provisions help to prevent the diversion of guns to criminals. Maryland currently bans only 15 enumerated assault pistols but allows for the sale and possession of high capacity, military weapons designed for the greatest human carnage. This legislation would establish a ban on all assault weapons, with a focus on the features that enhance a weapon’s lethality. The proposal would also reduce the allowable magazine capacity from 20 rounds to 10. The bill does nothing to disrespect the traditions
of hunters and sportsmen while implementing common-sense licensing requirements.
Based on recent poll results, it is clear that the majority of Marylanders support our gun safety efforts. Recent polls have shown that 58% of Maryland voters support a law that would ban the sale of assault weapons in the state and 71% of Maryland voters support requiring a license in order to purchase a gun.
One of the most important components of this legislation is the focus on improving access to mental health services and early intervention, as well as strengthening provisions regarding in Maryland law that prohibit possession of gun if a person suffers from a mental disorder or has a history of violent behavior. The bill adds that if an individual is currently under guardianship due to an inability to care for themselves or manage their own affairs or if they have been civilly committed under certain circumstances, they may not possess a weapon. Further, the legislation provides for various initiatives to improve the delivery of mental health services in Maryland, particularly to provide for earlier intervention to reduce the potential for violent behavior.
I am a co-sponsor of the legislation and serve as a co-chair of a House work group established by the Speaker to work on the bill. It has been jointly assigned to the Judiciary Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee because the issues are complex and, as I noted above, not simply ensuring that access to mental health services and early intervention is very important and something that must be addressed.
Again, thank you for contacting me on this important matter. And even though we disagree on this issue, I hope you will continue to contact me in the future about legislative and other state governmental matters of interest to you.
Best regards,
Kathleen Dumais
___________________________
Kathleen M. Dumais
Maryland House of Delegates
Vice Chair, House Judiciary Committee
District 15, Montgomery County
101 House Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401
(301) 858-3052 - Phone
(301) 858-3219 - Fax
It is clear that there is a great deal of misinformation about the bill that I would like to clarify. The bill does not:
- prohibit in any way a lawful citizen’s right to obtain or own a handgun and keep it in their home;
- require additional licensing procedures for hunting rifles and shotguns;
- force citizens who lawfully possess an assault (or assault-style) weapon before this bill is passed to surrender their weapon;
- prohibit authorized personnel from carrying or transporting a hand gun; or
- require current lawful gun owners to retroactively obtain a license.
The bill has a comprehensive approach that, we hope, will improve public safety and protect Maryland families by focusing on three principal areas: (1) gun safety; (2) school safety; and (3) improving mental health safeguards and services. Gun violence, as you know, was responsible for more than 32,000 deaths in our country in 2011. The bill includes reform measures designed to keep guns out of the hands of criminals. Research shows that permit-to-purchase licensing and fingerprinting provisions help to prevent the diversion of guns to criminals. Maryland currently bans only 15 enumerated assault pistols but allows for the sale and possession of high capacity, military weapons designed for the greatest human carnage. This legislation would establish a ban on all assault weapons, with a focus on the features that enhance a weapon’s lethality. The proposal would also reduce the allowable magazine capacity from 20 rounds to 10. The bill does nothing to disrespect the traditions
of hunters and sportsmen while implementing common-sense licensing requirements.
Based on recent poll results, it is clear that the majority of Marylanders support our gun safety efforts. Recent polls have shown that 58% of Maryland voters support a law that would ban the sale of assault weapons in the state and 71% of Maryland voters support requiring a license in order to purchase a gun.
One of the most important components of this legislation is the focus on improving access to mental health services and early intervention, as well as strengthening provisions regarding in Maryland law that prohibit possession of gun if a person suffers from a mental disorder or has a history of violent behavior. The bill adds that if an individual is currently under guardianship due to an inability to care for themselves or manage their own affairs or if they have been civilly committed under certain circumstances, they may not possess a weapon. Further, the legislation provides for various initiatives to improve the delivery of mental health services in Maryland, particularly to provide for earlier intervention to reduce the potential for violent behavior.
I am a co-sponsor of the legislation and serve as a co-chair of a House work group established by the Speaker to work on the bill. It has been jointly assigned to the Judiciary Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee because the issues are complex and, as I noted above, not simply ensuring that access to mental health services and early intervention is very important and something that must be addressed.
Again, thank you for contacting me on this important matter. And even though we disagree on this issue, I hope you will continue to contact me in the future about legislative and other state governmental matters of interest to you.
Best regards,
Kathleen Dumais
___________________________
Kathleen M. Dumais
Maryland House of Delegates
Vice Chair, House Judiciary Committee
District 15, Montgomery County
101 House Office Building
Annapolis, MD 21401
(301) 858-3052 - Phone
(301) 858-3219 - Fax
