April 22, 2023
Ready Report: Wrapping Up Session, Still Fighting on for Constitutional Rights & More
Following the Maryland General Assembly legislative session, the Governor can either sign, veto, or not-sign legislation that passed to his desk which allows it to go into law without his signature.
This legislative session featured a dangerous shift to the extreme, far-Left on a whole host of issues, not the least of which was a complete surrender on crime. The Democratic Party that controls the General Assembly and now the Governor’s Mansion seems to have been captured by the idea that punishing crime and being too hard on criminals is why Baltimore and other parts of our state have become unsafe. They forced through bills that go further into so-called “reform” instead of fixing laws that are too lax on repeated, violent behavior. They watered down the power of locally elected State’s Attorneys (county prosecutors) and – instead of cracking down on criminals who use guns illegally – they forced through new restrictions on where law-abiding citizens can practice their 2nd Amendment rights as concealed carry permit holders in SB 1 and HB 824. It even raised permit fees, something I tried to amend out of bill on the Senate floor and was defeated.
I voted NO on these bills. I haven’t stopped fighting. On Friday, I sent a letter to Governor Wes Moore along with the other members of the Senate Republican Caucus calling on him to veto SB 1/HB 824 as these two bills put unconstitutional restrictions on permit holders – while doing nothing to stop actual crime. Here’s the letter:
Whether he will listen or not I do not know but we must continue to call out this double standard on how law-abiding citizens are treated versus violent criminals. The next step if these two bills are signed will be court challenges as they clearly violate the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision on firearm permits.
ICYMI: End of 2023 Session Report
In case you missed it, I put together – with the help of my staff – a full report on what happened in the 2023 Session. It’s not necessarily comprehensive but it captures the major issues as well as items I was working on more specifically. To read the full report, click here.
Maryland Transportation Authority Hiring Event
On Tuesday, April 25th, the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) will be hosting a hiring event at the Fort McHenry Tunnel Maintenance Building located at 4000 Leland Avenue, Baltimore, Maryland 21224. The event will be held from 1pm-6pm. Applicants may apply online or in person, however online applications are preferred and can be found by clicking here.
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