Maryland has taken aim at gun violence by implementing some of the most proscriptive gun laws in the country.[1]Despite Maryland’s tough approach to gun control, record gun homicide rates in Baltimore City and a recent spate of shootings prove the State’s legislative arsenal is lacking.[2]Maryland hopes that its new “Red Flag” law will provide the firepower needed to stem gun violence.[3]
The Red Flag law allows certain health professionals and other persons (“petitioner”) closely associated to a gun owner (“respondent”) to petition a Maryland District Court for issuance of an Extreme Risk Protective Order (“ERPO”).[4]The court may issue an interim, temporary, or final ERPO if the respondent is deemed an imminent danger to himself or herself or another.[5]The ERPO requires that respondent surrender any firearms and ammunition in his or her possession and restricts future purchase for a prescribedtimeframe.[6]If the ERPO is violated, the respondent will be subject to criminal prosecution.[7]Considering the underwhelming impact of Maryland’s current gun laws, it is unclear whether the latest law will have any significant bearing on gun violence.[8]
Recently, a participant at a Madden video game tournament in Florida went on a deadly shooting spree with guns he legally purchased in Maryland.[9]The shooter, David Katz (“Katz”) killed two people and wounded ten before fatally shooting himself.[10]Even with Maryland’s sweeping gun laws, none were able to prevent the tragedy.[11]
In the Madden shootings, the gunman suffered from documented mental illness and exhibited severe behavioral issues, yet he was able to pass a background check without issue.[12]Katz was hospitalized twice for psychiatric issues and was at one point prescribed anti-psychotic medication.[13]Katz’s mother even called the police when he became increasingly abusive and violent.[14]Under the Red Flag law, Katz’s mother, father, or psychiatrist could have sought an ERPO to have his guns confiscated, or to prevent him from buying guns in the first place.[15]
By acting as a stopgap between fruitless background checks, and gun laws that are primarily reactive, the Red Flag law may help reduce senseless gun violence.[16]However, there are arguments that the Red Flag law has red flags of its own. Cynics highlight that eligible petitioners are narrowly circumscribed, thus interested parties separated from a respondent by a few degrees lack standing to get an ERPO.[17]There are also contentions that the law is a violation of Fourth Amendment guarantees of Due Process because guns may be confiscated on the mere predicate that a crime could potentially be committed.[18]Further, gun rights advocates view the law as an unconstitutional infringement on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.[19]
With the Red Flag law, Maryland looks to zero-in on gun violence. However, detractors highlight that the new law’s shortcomings will relegate it to a heap of prior laws that have failed to yield results.[20]Despite the naysayers, Maryland legislators have resolved to continue passing restrictive gun laws.[21]Whether or not Maryland’s newest law will bear out any impact on gun violence is to be determined.
Todd Milligan II is a third-year law student and will receive his J.D. in 2019. Todd joined Law Forum as a transfer student in 2017 when he completed the write-on competition during the first two weeks of his first semester at the University of Baltimore. Todd is also pursuing a dual LL.M. in Taxation and hopes to one day sit as a judge on the U.S. Tax Court.
Please contact Todd with questions or comments at: todd.milligan@ubalt.edu. Connect with Todd on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tm2/.
[1]Paige Leskin, 7 Maps to Explain U.S. Gun Control Laws, By State, Inverse Innovation (Oct. 5, 2017), https://www.inverse.com/article/37141-state-gun-law-maps.
[2]Murder Rates in 50 American Cities, The Economist(Feb. 7, 2017), https://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2017/02/daily-chart-3;See also Scott Dance, Maryland’s strict gun laws could not prevent Capital Gazette shooting, spurring talk of changes, Balt. Sun(July 2, 2018), http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/politics/bs-md-capital-shooting-gun-laws-20180630-story.html.
[3]2018 Md. Laws 1294 (providing that the Red Flag law is effective as of Oct. 1, 2018).
[4]Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-601 (2018); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-602 (2018).
[5]Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§§ 5-603 to 5-605 (2018).
[6]Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-603(i) to (ii) (2018); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-604(a)(3)(i) to (a)(3)(ii) (2018); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-605(c)(3)(i) to (c)(3)(ii) (2018).
[7]Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§§ 5-609 to 5-610.
[8]The Economist, supra note 2.
[9]Tim Prudente,Despite mental health troubles, Jacksonville shooter was able to buy guns in Maryland,Balt. Sun(Aug. 28, 2018, 6:05 PM),http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bs-md-david-katz-guns-20180828-story.html.
[15]Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-601(e)(2)(viii) (2018).
[16]Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-133(b)(6) (2018) (prohibiting gun possession by people suffering from mental illness after a violent history has been established);Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-133(b)(10) (2018) (prohibiting gun possession by a mentally ill person after involuntary commission to a mental institution); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-133(b)(12) (2018) (allowing firearm seizure after an ex parte civil protective order has been entered); Md. Code Ann., Pub. Safety§ 5-133(c) (2018) (prohibiting gun possession afterconviction of enumerated crimes).
[17]See Nicole Gaudiano, As Anne Arundel police prepare for ‘red flag’ gun seizures, law’s sponsor holds Capital Gazette shooting victim close, Cap. Gazette(Aug. 24, 2018), http://www.capitalgazette.com/news/for_the_record/ac-cn-red-flag-20180824-story.html
[18]Marisa Gerber, A landmark 2016 law praised as an ‘unbelievably powerful tool’ against gun violence remains scarcely used, L.A. Times(Sept. 19, 2018, 5:00 AM), http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-gun-violence-restraining-order-law-20180919-story.html#.
[20]SeeGaudiano, supra note 16 (observing that a gunman’s harassment conviction did not prohibit him from owning the guns used in a newspaper office shooting).
[21]See Erin Cox & Peter Jamison, New laws: Gun restrictions in Maryland, tax hikes in D.C., Wash. Post(Sept. 30, 2018, 11:28 AM), https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/new-laws-gun-restrictions-in-maryland-tax-hikes-in-dc/2018/09/30/5d936368-c336-11e8-a1f0-a4051b6ad114_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.2aa8ce0b97a4 (reporting on Maryland’s impending gun laws).
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