Maryland has enacted strong gun safety laws, though some of this lifesaving progress is undermined by guns trafficked in from states with weaker laws.
Since 2018, Maryland has allowed a family member, law enforcement officer, or mental health professional to petition courts for extreme risk protection orders to temporarily disarm an individual in crisis. In 2019, Maryland had the 23nd-lowest gun death rate among the states and exported crime guns at less than half the national rate. To further strengthen its gun laws, Maryland legislators could regulate undetectable and untraceable firearms (also known as ghost guns) and increase the state’s investment in community violence intervention programs.
What Maryland Does Well
- Universal background checks for handguns
- Partial gun owner licensing
- Extreme risk protection orders
- Certain domestic violence gun laws
- Assault weapon restrictions
- Large capacity magazine ban
- Strong concealed carry law
- Certain open carry regulations
- Child access prevention laws
- Community violence intervention funding
What Maryland Is Missing
- Universal background checks for long guns
- Local authority to regulate firearms
- Microstamping requirements
- Safe storage laws
EXPLORE MARYLAND’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
SUPPORT GUN SAFETY
We’re in this together. To build a safer America—one where children and parents in every neighborhood can learn, play, work, and worship without fear of gun violence—we need you standing beside us in this fight.
