Md. Bills Approved to Strip Abusers of Firearms

The Maryland House of Delegates approved two measures today that would give judges more authority to take firearms from suspects accused of domestic violence.

Similar bills had failed in past years but this year the effort received the support of Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) and Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown (D), who campaigned for the proposals in the name of his cousin, who was killed last year by an estranged boyfriend.

In a statement, Brown thanked the House for its action and urged the Senate to quickly follow suit.

"Last year, 75 Marylanders lost their lives because of domestic violence and more than half of them by a firearm," he said. "Taking guns out of the hands of abusers is a common sense measure that will protect victims and save lives."

Under one of the bills approved, a judge could order abuse suspects to give up their guns when served with a seven-day temporary protective order, if the suspect had threatened violence or to use a gun. Another bill would require judges to confiscate guns from anyone issued a more serious final protective order.

The House also today defeated a separate measure that would have made it easier for victims of domestic violence to get state police approval for permits to carry handguns. The measure received support from gun rights advocates, who argued women should be able to carry a gun for protection when threatened by violent partners. But victims' advocates opposed it, saying it seemed to endorse injecting firearms to highly charged domestic disputes.

The bill was defeated 86 to 51, along heavily partisan lines, with Democrats opposed and Republicans in favor. Debate over the measure was at times emotional, echoing dramatic floor contests over issues of domestic violence that have occupied the House for more than a week.

Del. Cheryl D. Glenn (D-Baltimore), who last week rose on the floor to passionately tell delegates about her own experiences as the victim of violent beatings at the hands of an ex-husband in the 1970s, urged the bill's defeat.

"I can tell you as a victim, if I had had access to a gun at my most serious instances of domestic violence, I would have used it," Glenn said. "Killing someone would have changed who I am today."

It was Glenn's comments that persuaded Del. Jolene Ivey (D-Prince George's), who had earlier said she supported the bill, to vote today against it.

"It would have changed her as a person," Ivey said. "That made sense to me."

Ivey said she was also concerned about the possibility that victims could have a weapon taken from them by an abuser and used against them.

But supporters of the measure said that suggestion amounted to an offensive claim that women cannot handle firearms. Under the bill, the state police would have taken into account whether a permit applicant had received a protective order when deciding whether he or she had a reasonable case to carry a gun.

"We often talk about victims' services, and one of the most important things we can do for a victim is to empower them," Del. Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio (R-Talbot) said.

Michael Raia, a spokesman for Brown, said he was very pleased the House had defeated what he termed a "misguided measure."