Maryland Moms Demand Action, Everytown Applaud Maryland House of Delegates for Passing Legislation to Close Dangerous Gaps in Maryland’s Background Check System

HB 4 Would Require Background Checks on All Rifle and Shotgun Sales in Maryland

Last Week, Hundreds of Volunteers with Maryland Moms Demand Action Rallied in Annapolis to Urge Lawmakers To Support Common-Sense Gun Safety Legislation

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, a part of Everytown for Gun Safety, released the following statement applauding the Maryland House of Delegates for passing HB 4, legislation requiring background checks on all rifle and shotgun sales in Maryland. 

“The loopholes in Maryland’s background check system have let people with dangerous histories easily and legally acquire rifles and shotguns, like the one used to kill my husband and four others,” said Andrea Chamblee, a volunteer with the Maryland chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America whose husband, John McNamara, was among the five people killed in the mass shooting at the Capital Gazette. “We’re thankful that lawmakers are taking action to close this deadly gap, and we urge the Senate to move quickly to send this life-saving bill to the governor’s desk.” 

Hundreds of Maryland Moms Demand Action volunteers met with lawmakers in Annapolis last week, urging them to pass HB 4 and other pieces of common-sense gun safety legislation.

Currently, Maryland law does not require a background check on the sales of rifles and shotguns by unlicensed sellers. That makes it easy for convicted felons, domestic abusers and other people who are legally prohibited from having guns to obtain these deadly weapons, with no background check and no questions asked, through sales arranged online or at gun shows. The tragic shooting at the Capital Gazette newsroom stands as a reminder of the need to prevent these guns from falling into the wrong hands. Read more about this dangerous loophole here.

Statistics about gun violence in Maryland are available here, and information on how Maryland’s gun laws compare to other states’ overall is available here.