For Immediate Release

Maryland one of only six states to get 'A-' grade on gun safety More remains to be done to protect police and citizens

January 13th , 2005

CeaseFire Maryland welcomed the annual ‘report card’ issued by the Brady Campaign to states for their gun safety laws. Maryland was one of only six states to rate a grade of ‘A-‘ (California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey and Massachusetts were the others.). At the other end of the grading scale, 31 states received grades of ‘D’ or ‘F’.

Leah Barrett, CeaseFire Maryland Executive Director, said, “We are pleased Maryland is recognized as having some of the best gun safety laws in the country. However, when 650 our of citizens continue to die each year from gunfire, that means two things: 1) we are not doing a good enough job of enforcing our existing laws such as requiring background checks on all gun sales and prosecuting rogue gun dealers; and 2) there are still loopholes that need to be closed such as banning military-style assault rifles and making gun owners accountable for lost and stolen weapons that may fall into the wrong hands.”

CeaseFire Maryland is supporting efforts in Annapolis to pass an assault rifles ban to complement its 11-year-old ban on assault pistols. Barrett said: “With the demise of the weak 1994 federal assault weapons ban, AK-47s are once again legal for sale in Maryland along with hundreds of other copy-cat assault rifles like the Bushmaster XM-15 used by the DC-area snipers in 2002.

She continued: “Last Sunday, January 9, an SKS assault rifle was used in an ambush shooting to murder one police officer and critically wound another in Ceres, CA. Assault weapons are a primary threat to law enforcement. In 2004 at least six law enforcement officers were slain by SKSs. That’s why eighty-two Maryland police chiefs and sheriffs support banning assault rifles as well as 77% of Maryland voters.”

Lisa Miller Delity, President of CeaseFire Maryland, said, “In addition, several police departments have asked us to support a law that would make people accountable for their lost and stolen guns. A law requiring citizens to report a firearm loss or theft will also help the police return the gun to its rightful owner.” Last year, Detective Kyle Olinger of the Montgomery County Police Department was shot during a routine traffic stop which left him paralyzed from the neck down. It turns out the gun used to maim him had been stolen. The police believe that a loss and theft reporting requirement would help them track down crime guns before they are used to kill and wound.