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 2020, Maryland had the 18th-lowest gun death rate among the states and exported crime guns at the ninth-lowest 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
- 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
- Ghost gun regulations
- Some investments in community violence intervention
What Maryland Is Missing
- Gaps in domestic violence laws
- Strong firearm relinquishment laws
- Victims’ access to justice law
SPOTLIGHT
GUN LAW SCORECARD
The data is clear: states with stronger gun laws have less gun violence. See how your state compares in our annual ranking.
Read MoreEXPLORE MARYLAND’S GUN LAWS
WHO CAN HAVE A GUN
OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES
CHILD & CONSUMER SAFETY
GUNS IN PUBLIC
HARDWARE & AMMUNITION
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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.
