Maryland 2025 Regular Session

Maryland House Bill HB353 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3	EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
4	4	[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
5	5	hb0353
6	6
7	7	HOUSE BILL 353
8	8	E4 5lr0710
9	9	HB 364/23 – JUD
10	10	By: Delegates Grammer, Arikan, Chisholm, Fisher, M. Morgan, Nawrocki, and
11	11	Szeliga
12	12	Introduced and read first time: January 16, 2025
13	13	Assigned to: Judiciary
14	14
15	15	A BILL ENTITLED
16	16
17	17	AN ACT concerning 1
18	18
19	19	Public Safety – Handgun Permit Requirement – Repeal 2
20	20	(Maryland’s Constitutional Carry Act of 2025) 3
21	21
22	22	FOR the purpose of repealing the requirement that a person have a certain permit before 4
23	23	the person carries, wears, or transports a handgun; repealing certain criminal 5
24	24	prohibitions against a person who is at least a certain age wearing, carrying, or 6
25	25	transporting a handgun; and generally relating to wearing, carrying, or transporting 7
26	26	a handgun. 8
27	27
28	28	BY repealing 9
29	29	Article – Public Safety 10
30	30	Section 5–301 through 5–314 and the subtitle “Subtitle 3. Handgun Permits” 11
31	31	Annotated Code of Maryland 12
32	32	(2022 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 13
33	33
34	34	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 14
35	35	Article – Criminal Law 15
36	36	Section 4–101(b) and 4–203(a) and (b) 16
37	37	Annotated Code of Maryland 17
38	38	(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 18
39	39
40	40	BY adding to 19
41	41	Article – Criminal Law 20
42	42	Section 4–207 21
43	43	Annotated Code of Maryland 22
44	44	(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 23
45	45
46	46	BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 24
47	47	Article – Natural Resources 25
48	48	Section 10–410(c) 26 2 HOUSE BILL 353
49	49
50	50
51	51	Annotated Code of Maryland 1
52	52	(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 2
53	53
54	54	SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 3
55	55	That Section(s) 5–301 through 5–314 and the subtitle “Subtitle 3. Handgun Permits” of 4
56	56	Article – Public Safety of the Annotated Code of Maryland be repealed. 5
57	57
58	58	SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That the Laws of Maryland read 6
59	59	as follows: 7
60	60
61	61	Article – Criminal Law 8
62	62
63	63	4–101. 9
64	64
65	65	(b) This section does not prohibit the following individuals from carrying a 10
66	66	weapon: 11
67	67
68	68	(1) an officer of the State, or of any county or municipal corporation of the 12
69	69	State, who is entitled or required to carry the weapon as part of the officer’s official 13
70	70	equipment, or by any conservator of the peace, who is entitled or required to carry the 14
71	71	weapon as part of the conservator’s official equipment, or by any officer or conservator of 15
72	72	the peace of another state who is temporarily in this State; 16
73	73
74	74	(2) a special agent of a railroad; OR 17
75	75
76	76	(3) [a holder of a permit to carry a handgun issued under Title 5, Subtitle 18
77	77	3 of the Public Safety Article; or 19
78	78
79	79	(4)] an individual who carries the weapon as a reasonable precaution 20
80	80	against apprehended danger, subject to the right of the court in an action arising under 21
81	81	this section to judge the reasonableness of the carrying of the weapon, and the proper 22
82	82	occasion for carrying it, under the evidence in the case. 23
83	83
84	84	4–203. 24
85	85
86	86	(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section[, a person may not]: 25
87	87
88	88	(i) A PERSON UNDER THE A GE OF 21 YEARS MAY NOT wear, 26
89	89	carry, or transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, on or about the person; 27
90	90
91	91	(ii) A PERSON UNDER THE A GE OF 21 YEARS MAY NOT wear, 28
92	92	carry, or knowingly transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, in a vehicle traveling 29
93	93	on a road or parking lot generally used by the public, highway, waterway, or airway of the 30
94	94	State; 31
95	95	HOUSE BILL 353 3
96	96
97	97
98	98	(iii) [violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph] A PERSON MAY NOT 1
99	99	WEAR, CARRY, OR TRANSPORT A HANDG UN, WHETHER CONCEALED OR OPEN, ON OR 2
100	100	ABOUT THE PERSON while on public school property in the State; 3
101	101
102	102	(iv) [violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph] A PERSON MAY NOT 4
103	103	WEAR, CARRY, OR TRANSPORT A HANDG UN, WHETHER CONCEALED OR OPEN, ON OR 5
104	104	ABOUT THE PERSON with the deliberate purpose of injuring or killing another person; [or] 6
105	105	AND 7
106	106
107	107	(v) [violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph] A PERSON UNDER THE 8
108	108	AGE OF 21 YEARS MAY NOT WEAR , CARRY, OR TRANSPORT A HANDG UN, WHETHER 9
109	109	CONCEALED OR OPEN , ON OR ABOUT THE PERS ON with [a] THE handgun loaded with 10
110	110	ammunition. 11
111	111
112	112	(2) There is a rebuttable presumption that a person who transports a 12
113	113	handgun under paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection transports the handgun knowingly. 13
114	114
115	115	(b) This section does not prohibit: 14
116	116
117	117	(1) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person who is 15
118	118	authorized at the time and under the circumstances to wear, carry, or transport the 16
119	119	handgun as part of the person’s official equipment, and is: 17
120	120
121	121	(i) a law enforcement official of the United States, the State, or a 18
122	122	county or city of the State; 19
123	123
124	124	(ii) a member of the armed forces of the United States or of the 20
125	125	National Guard on duty or traveling to or from duty; 21
126	126
127	127	(iii) a law enforcement official of another state or subdivision of 22
128	128	another state temporarily in this State on official business; 23
129	129
130	130	(iv) a correctional officer or warden of a correctional facility in the 24
131	131	State; 25
132	132
133	133	(v) a sheriff or full–time assistant or deputy sheriff of the State; or 26
134	134
135	135	(vi) a temporary or part–time sheriff’s deputy; 27
136	136
137	137	[(2) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person to 28
138	138	whom a permit to wear, carry, or transport the handgun has been issued under Title 5, 29
139	139	Subtitle 3 of the Public Safety Article; 30
140	140
141	141	(3) the carrying of a handgun on the person or in a vehicle while the person 31
142	142	is transporting the handgun to or from the place of legal purchase or sale, or to or from a 32
143	143	bona fide repair shop, or between bona fide residences of the person, or between the bona 33 4 HOUSE BILL 353
144	144
145	145
146	146	fide residence and place of business of the person, if the business is operated and owned 1
147	147	substantially by the person if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or 2
148	148	an enclosed holster;] 3
149	149
150	150	[(4)] (2) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun 4
151	151	used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal 5
152	152	target practice, sport shooting event, hunting, a D epartment of Natural 6
153	153	Resources–sponsored firearms and hunter safety class, trapping, or a dog obedience 7
154	154	training class or show, while the person is engaged in, on the way to, or returning from that 8
155	155	activity if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster; 9
156	156	OR 10
157	157
158	158	[(5) the moving by a bona fide gun collector of part or all of the collector’s 11
159	159	gun collection from place to place for public or private exhibition if each handgun is 12
160	160	unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster; 13
161	161
162	162	(6) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person on real 14
163	163	estate that the person owns or leases or where the person resides or within the confines of 15
164	164	a business establishment that the person owns or leases; 16
165	165
166	166	(7) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a supervisory 17
167	167	employee: 18
168	168
169	169	(i) in the course of employment; 19
170	170
171	171	(ii) within the confines of the business establishment in which the 20
172	172	supervisory employee is employed; and 21
173	173
174	174	(iii) when so authorized by the owner or manager of the business 22
175	175	establishment;] 23
176	176
177	177	[(8)] (3) the carrying or transporting of a signal pistol or other visual 24
178	178	distress signal approved by the United States Coast Guard in a vessel on the waterways of 25
179	179	the State or, if the signal pistol or other visual distress signal is unloaded and carried in an 26
180	180	enclosed case, in a vehicle[; or 27
181	181
182	182	(9) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person who is 28
183	183	carrying a court order requiring the surrender of the handgun, if: 29
184	184
185	185	(i) the handgun is unloaded; 30
186	186
187	187	(ii) the person has notified the law enforcement unit, barracks, or 31
188	188	station that the handgun is being transported in accordance with the court order; and 32
189	189
190	190	(iii) the person transports the handgun directly to the law 33
191	191	enforcement unit, barracks, or station]. 34 HOUSE BILL 353 5
192	192
193	193
194	194
195	195	4–207. 1
196	196
197	197	(A) A PERSON MAY NOT WEAR , CARRY, OR TRANSPORT A HANDG UN WHILE 2
198	198	THE PERSON IS UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALC OHOL OR DRUGS . 3
199	199
200	200	(B) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES THIS SECTION IS GUIL TY OF A MISDEMEANOR 4
201	201	AND ON CONVICTION IS SUBJECT TO IMPRIS ONMENT NOT EXCEEDING 1 YEAR OR A 5
202	202	FINE NOT EXCEEDING $1,000 OR BOTH. 6
203	203
204	204	Article – Natural Resources 7
205	205
206	206	10–410. 8
207	207
208	208	(c) (1) A person may not shoot at any species of wildlife from an automobile or 9
209	209	other vehicle or, except as provided in § 4–203(b) of the Criminal Law Article [and Title 5, 10
210	210	Subtitle 3 of the Public Safety Article], possess in or on an automobile or other vehicle a 11
211	211	loaded handgun or shotgun, or a rifle containing any ammunition in the magazine or 12
212	212	chamber. 13
213	213
214	214	(2) If this subsection is violated by an occupant of a vehicle which has 2 or 14
215	215	more occupants and it cannot be determined which occupant is the violator, the owner of 15
216	216	the vehicle, if present, shall be presumed to be responsible for the violation. In the absence 16
217	217	of the owner of the vehicle, the operator of the vehicle shall be presumed to be responsible 17
218	218	for the violation. 18
219	219
220	220	(3) Provisions of this subsection do not apply to a disabled person who 19
221	221	obtains a special permit under § 10–307 of this title. 20
222	222
223	223	SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Ac t shall take effect 21
224	224	October 1, 2025. 22
225	225