Call to Action

Some very, very BAD bills will be heard in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday, February 7, 2023 at 1 PM. 

Leading up to the hearing, please get in touch with your legislators, both House and Senate, and let them know that you oppose these bills.  

Find your Maryland Legislators here: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Members/District 

Go to the Lookup button and enter your address and zip code to get your District information and a complete list of your public officials.

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CAN’T CARRY ANYWHERE BILL

Maryland lawmakers filed SB 1, Gun Safety Act of 2023, or what could be called, the “Can’t Carry Anywhere” bill. This legislation would make it illegal to carry a permitted gun on anyone’s property without specific permission, in addition to restricting people with guns from being within 100 feet of a long list of places, including virtually every retail business in the state. This bill is unconstitutional because it makes exercising the right of a permitted person to carry a gun outside his or her home virtually impossible. 

Here is a link to information on the Bill and where it is in the Legislative process: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0001 

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GOODBYE YOUTH HUNTING BILL

Lawmakers filed yet another anti-gun bill, SB 86, Raise the Age Act of 2023, or what I call, the “Goodbye Youth Hunting” bill. This legislation would raise the age of possession of ordinary long guns to 21, threatening every young adult in Maryland with criminal prosecution for keeping arms and effectively ending hunting by such persons unless they are “under the supervision” of someone 21 or older AND have the permission of a parent. A violation of this ban on possession of a long gun is punishable by 5 years in prison. The bill also bans the mere sale or transfer of ammunition (of any type) to a person under 21 and a violation of that provision is punishable by a year in prison. 

Here is a link to information on the Bill and where it is in the Legislative process:  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0086 

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KISS WILDLIFE CONSERVATION GOODBYE BILL

Lawmakers have also filed SB 113, Gun Industry Accountability Act of 2023, or what I call “Kiss Wildlife Conservation Goodbye.” This legislation would undermine the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA), a federal law that shields firearms industry members from frivolous civil lawsuits. This bill represents a national push from gun control organizations to generally weaken the firearms industry as a whole, so as to limit the market of available firearms to the general public. 

It will put Federal Firearms Dealers out of business and funds raised through excise taxes levied on firearms, ammunition, and hunting and fishing equipment, will plummet. In 2020 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service distributed $1 billion of excise taxes to state fish and wildlife agencies to fund conservation and recreation projects, with Maryland receiving $9,735,508. That’s a lot of money during economic hard times! 

Here is a link to information on the Bill and where it is in the Legislative process:  https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/Legislation/Details/sb0113 

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For more information about the Pittman-Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act: The Surge in Gun and Ammo Sales Has Created a Boom in Wildlife Conservation Funding (outdoorlife.com) - https://www.outdoorlife.com/story/guns/gun-ammo-sales-increase-wildlife-conservation-funding/ 

PLEASE TALK TO YOUR LAWMAKERS ABOUT WHY YOU OPPOSE THESE BILLS!

To find your legislators’ contact information, go to: https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/mgawebsite/members/district and click on Senate/House. 

Always be civil and speak on how a bill directly affects you. Emails are okay, phone calls are better, but visits are the best. I’ve made appointments to meet with my representatives, and you can visit with them in their Annapolis legislative offices or in their home/local offices.

PLEASE PASS THIS INFORMATION ON TO FRIENDS, neighbors, family, hunters, youth groups, gun clubs, and all Second Amendment advocates. thank you in advance for your efforts to protect our Second Amendment. Pass it on!

Bills being introduced this year that remove your local school Board's autonomy are:

HB 119 https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/bills/hb/hb0119F.pdf

cross-filed with https://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2023RS/bills/sb/sb0199F.pdf

Requiring the State Department of Education, in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health, to develop a comprehensive health education framework; requiring each county board of education to create an age-appropriate curriculum that is consistent with the comprehensive health education framework; requiring each county board to establish a method by which a parent or guardian may opt out of certain topics, subject to certain requirements; etc.

Check back for more....

Representative Dusty Johnson) (SD) and Senator Ted Cruz (TX) will be re-introducing the Constitutional Amendment to set the U.S. Supreme Court at nine members.  KeepNine.org

NFRW President Eileen Sobjack voiced her support of this long-standing Federation priority, saying: “The National Federation of Republican Women, representing 65,000 grass-roots women across the country, strongly supports the Keep Nine Amendment. No Party should be allowed to tip the balance of power to its advantage by increasing the size of the U.S. Supreme Court. Americans have long recognized court-packing as a dangerous manipulation that would undermine confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the Court and upset the essential checks and balances that protect our liberties.”

The threat of court-packing is real. In the 117th Congress, Democrats, led by Senator Ed Markey and Representative Jerry Nadler, introduced a bill to expand the court to 13 justices to “right the wrongs” of a conservative-leaning court. This bill would give President Biden the power to appoint four liberal justices with a Democrat-controlled Senate.

Please ask your Representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Keep the Nine Amendment 

(co-sponsors should contact Sydney Powers with Rep. Johnson at Sydney.Powers@mail.house.gov). 

Please ask your Senators to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Keep Nine Amendment 

(co-sponsors should contact Chris Jaarda with Sen. Cruz at Chris_Jaarda@cruz.senate.gov