January 29th, 2020 by WCBC Radio

The House Minority Caucus today called on the Democratic Majority in the General Assembly to put forward serious solutions to address the violent crime crisis in Maryland.  Instead of facing reality and the clear statistical facts of the problem, they have thrown their support behind House Bill 4, a bill that targets lawful gun owners rather than illegal guns and those who use them to commit violent crimes. 

“The Democrats in the House of Delegates had an opportunity today to directly address the crisis of violent crime in our state, and they simply didn’t take it,” said House Minority Leader Nic Kipke. “Instead they chose instead to focus their attention on the wrong guns and the wrong people; law abiding citizens and the firearms they use for hunting and sport.” 

Members of the Minority Party offered several amendments to the House Bill 4 that would directly address Maryland’s violent crime crisis. One amendment would have closed the “drug dealer loophole” that would classify possessing a firearm while dealing drugs a violent crime, another would make straw purchases – buying a gun on behalf of someone who is not legally permitted to own one – a felony, the third would have made the theft of a firearm a felony. These amendments were defeated almost exclusively along party lines.