Skip to main content
Blog Justice

House Advances Bill to Require Background Checks on Private Gun Transfers

The Maryland House of Delegates advanced a bill Friday to require background checks on private sales and transfers of shotguns and rifles.

House Bill 4 will be up for final approval in the chamber next week.

Supporters said the bill, sponsored by Del. Vanessa E. Atterbeary (D-Howard), will address a loophole in current law that could allow people prohibited from owning handguns due to prior offenses to access rifles and shotguns in ways that circumvent background checks.

The bill would require that private sales and transfers of those long guns be overseen by a licensed arms dealer. There are exceptions in the bill, including for transfers among family members and for temporary use at shooting ranges and while legally hunting.

Republicans in the House of Delegates sought several amendments to the bill, none of which passed.

Similar legislation failed to pass on the last day of the 2019 legislative session, as lawmakers ran out of time to iron out differences between the House and Senate versions of the long gun bill.

A hearing on a cross-filed Senate bill is scheduled for next week.

[email protected]

 

 

REPUBLISHING TERMS

Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of photos and graphics.

If you have any questions, please email [email protected].

To republish, copy the following text and paste it into your HTML editor.

License

Creative Commons License AttributionCreative Commons Attribution
House Advances Bill to Require Background Checks on Private Gun Transfers