ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland gun control advocates began the 2019 session of the General Assembly with a big agenda focused on eliminating the distinctions between categories of guns requiring more regulations in favor of treating all guns as equal.
But a measure that would have required qualifications licensing for all gun purchases, not just those involving handguns and "assault-style" semi-automatic rifles, has already gone down to defeat.
What remains is a sharply scaled back bill that would require the minimal federal Brady Bill background check for all gun sales.
The only practical effect would be to eliminate selling between private parties at gun shows or by classified advertising without using a licensed gun dealer as a middleman to conduct a federal background check.
Another bill attempts to stop the sale of do-it-yourself kits that exploit loopholes in federal gun regulation allowing owners to construct their own guns without serial numbers, background checks or registration.
At the heart of the issue is the way guns have become categorized in Maryland. In the eyes of the law, all guns are not created equal.
The most intensely scrutinized category are so-called “regulated firearms” which are handguns and certain semi-automatic rifles commonly regarded as “assault-style” rifles.
Purchasers are required to have a state qualification license which includes completing training, fingerprinting, a state police criminal background check, and a health department records check to exclude people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility.
The Maryland qualifications process can cost a buyer hundreds of dollars and can take weeks or months to complete. At the end of the process the applicant is issued a Handgun Qualification License or “HQL” which also covers the regulated semi-automatic rifles.
In the less scrutinized category are all other guns, such as rifles and shotguns more commonly used for hunting and target sports. This category remains unregulated by Maryland.
These so-called “long guns” can be purchased at Maryland big box store gun counters after the buyer passes an on-the-spot computerized federal background check, which frequently takes less than 10 minutes. No HQL is required.
However, frequently the only practical difference in terms of legality between the categories of guns is the way they look.
Modification accessories that can give many long-guns a more “tactical” look or function are widely available in stores or on-line with no background checking required.
For instance, the gun used to kill five in the 2018 attack on the Annapolis Capital-Gazette Newspaper was a shotgun that did not require a qualifications license in Maryland.
That is why gun control advocates in Maryland hoped to expand licensing qualifications to all types of guns regardless of function, common use or appearance.
That portion of the House of Delegates bill was stripped away during committee debate.
The remaining legislation requiring minimal federal background checks for sales between private parties will be considered by the full House of Delegates Monday evening.