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Denise Reid has an unfortunate level of knowledge about gun violence, with 11 family members shot or killed. That includes her son, Tevon Terrell, who succumbed to his injuries in April 2009, more than two years after a bullet severed his spinal cord and paralyzed him from the neck down.
Reid, a 58-year-old Baltimore City resident, still doesn鈥檛 know who specifically shot her son, but she memorializes him through advocacy with Moms Demand Action鈥檚 Maryland chapter. Reid plans to join dozens of others scheduled to testify on various gun bills before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee on Tuesday in Annapolis. That same day also marks the last day of National Gun Violence Survivors Week.
鈥淚 would like to see mental health organizations be aligned with these causes because it鈥檚 crucial,鈥� Reid said. 鈥淧eople feel hurt and left out. We need to help our cities heal鈥from] the gun violence.鈥�
Reid said in an interview that she will be in Annapolis in support of the聽聽sponsored by Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery).
Waldstreicher, vice chair of the Judicial Proceedings Committee, has two other bills scheduled for hearings Tuesday:聽聽that would prohibit anyone younger than 21 years old from owning a rifle or shotgun, and聽, which would allow victims of gun violence to sue gun manufacturers. The manufacturers bill has been cross-filed in the House of Delegates with Dels. Vanessa Atterbeary (D-Howard County) and Samuel Rosenberg (D-Baltimore City).
Of the trio, the bill expected to receive the most attention is the Gun Safety Act, which is Senate Bill 1, signifying its position as a top Senate priority for the 90-day session
鈥淪enate Bill 1 is less of a statement and more of a question: What kind of world do we want our children to inherit? It鈥檚 deeply personal for me,鈥� said Waldstreicher, who has a nine-year-old son, and two 13-year-old twins, a boy and a girl. 鈥淚t could be a world awash with firearms everywhere and that鈥檚 just not a world, not a country, not a state I鈥檓 willing to accept.鈥�
His comments similar to those from Senate Pres. Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) at a press conference last month.
鈥淲hen I walk into a doctor鈥檚 office, or I go into a child care facility, or I go into a church, I don鈥檛 want to wonder, if the person next to me is carrying a firearm, whether they鈥檝e had a good or bad day,鈥� Ferguson said. 鈥溾�hen I go to the doctor, I want to go to a place and get my health care serviced. I don鈥檛 want to sit in the waiting room and wonder who may or may not be carrying a weapon.鈥�
Part of the pending legislation would prohibit a person from knowingly wearing, carrying or transporting a firearm within 100 feet of a 鈥減lace of public accommodation:鈥� a broad definition of places that include everything from hotels and restaurants to sports arenas and retail stores. The bill also would prohibit anyone from carrying a gun onto someone else鈥檚 property without express permission.
Maryland鈥檚 current law states that a person聽聽at places including legislative buildings, state parks, schools or within 1,000 feet of a demonstration in a public place.
The legislation comes months after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June the聽聽concealed carry permit law violated the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.
The court鈥檚 decision in New York State Police & Rifle Association vs. Bruen concluded that residents did not need a 鈥済ood and substantial鈥� reason to carry a concealed gun. Maryland State Police also previously required special permission to carry a concealed gun, but the state聽聽to comply with the court鈥檚 ruling.
鈥淭he Supreme Court has forced Maryland鈥檚 hand with the Bruen decision and now we have to act,鈥� Waldstreicher said in an interview Wednesday. 鈥淢y strong concern is that after Bruen, every routine dispute turns into a possibly deadly dispute. In a post-Bruen world, if everyone has weapons everywhere, every small disagreement can become something larger very quickly and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 scared of.鈥�
Sen. Minority Whip Justin Ready (R-Carroll County) called the proposed legislation 鈥渂latantly unconstitutional鈥� and 鈥渙verreacting鈥� to the Supreme Court decision.
鈥淢aryland is not the wild, wild west,鈥� Ready said in an interview. 鈥淲e have background checks. We have extensive training requirements that in some cases are pretty expensive, too. Unfortunately, there鈥檚 some folks who have the perspective that anybody who has a gun is somehow bad. It鈥檚 law-abiding citizens that are exercising that right [to carry a firearm].鈥�
He said the Republican Caucus plans to soon release criminal justice legislation to include a focus on enforcement against repeat violent offenders and those previously charged in using illegal firearms to 鈥渋ntentionally harm someone multiple times.鈥�
On the House side, Del. Luke Clippinger (D-Baltimore City), chair of the House Judiciary Committee, said he hasn鈥檛 seen all proposed legislation from his colleagues, but anticipates more firearm-focused legislation before the chamber鈥檚 filing deadline this week.
鈥淚鈥檝e been looking at and talking about this [gun] issue for about three years,鈥� he said in a brief interview Friday. 鈥淚 know [the Senate鈥檚] hearing is on Tuesday. I鈥檓 talking to members and we may have something more to talk about real soon.鈥�
The number of concealed carry permits being sought in Maryland has exploded since the Bruen decision this summer.
Since June and until Dec. 31, the state police approved more than 80,000 gun permits. The average permits issued between 2018 to 2021 was no more than 14,000, according to state police.
During a briefing last month before both the Senate Judicial Proceedings and House Judiciary committees, state police officials offered other statistics about gun ownership in the state: As of last month, the state鈥檚 total wear and carry gun permits are nearly 115,000. The two majority Black jurisdictions of Baltimore City and Prince George鈥檚 County have the highest number at 17,464 and 12,856, respectively.
Elizabeth Hilliard, assistant director of government relations for the Maryland Office of the Public Defender, said Waldstreicher鈥檚 bill could negatively affect residents in those two jurisdictions. For instance, she said residents who own a gun in high-density area are far more likely to live near public places like a bus depot or parking lot.
鈥淲e understand the desire for public safety and for people to feel secure in public places,鈥� Hilliard said. 鈥淗owever, we are worried about the enforcement because again, disproportionately laws tend to be enforced against Black and Brown Marylanders than the way that they are enforced on white Marylanders.鈥�
With tens of thousands of permits being issued, she said legislation should assess ways to improve the state鈥檚 conceal carry permit process.
鈥淲e have an unprecedented number of people applying for gun ownership and wear-carry permits,鈥� Hilliard said. 鈥淪hould we not think about the smartest ways to contemplate those permits and their impact on鈥ublic safety?鈥�
On a national level, the聽聽released data last year which showed firearm homicide rates grew by nearly 35% from 2019 to 2020. Maryland ranked 18th nationwide with 13.5 deaths per 100,000 people with 803 total deaths.
According to the聽, which tracks mass shootings nationwide, about three dozen occurred this year.
Some of them include two in California where 11 people were killed in a majority Asian American community celebrating the Lunar New Year, and seven people who worked on a farm.
About a dozen people were shot at a nightclub in Louisiana.
, an advocacy organization that promotes stronger gun laws, ranked Maryland as having the eighth strongest guns laws in the nation.
Members and volunteers with the group rallied at the State House last week to encourage lawmakers to pass stronger gun laws.
One particularly high-profile supporter stood in the rain with them: Gov. Wes Moore (D).
鈥淧roud to stand with Moms Demand today in Annapolis. There is no higher priority for a chief executive than keeping people safe,鈥� Moore said in a聽聽after the event.
Attorney general joins fight
Meanwhile, Attorney General Anthony Brown (D) joined 15 other state鈥檚 attorneys nationwide and filed a聽聽asking the U.S. Court of Appeals to reverse a New York court opinion to throw out the Concealed Carry Improvement Act, a wide-ranging bill passed by the New York State Assembly days after the Bruen decision.
The expanded law includes provisions being considered in Maryland鈥檚 Senate Bill 1, including requiring express consent to carry firearms on private property and dramatically increasing the number of public places where carrying a gun would be prohibited.
The brief notes that the Second Amendment grants the ability to implement firearm laws 鈥渨ithin the longstanding tradition of states regulating how and when property owners exercise their right to exclude the carry of firearms.鈥�
鈥淭he ability for states to enact reasonable gun safety laws enables them to fulfill a traditional regulatory role of protecting their residents,鈥� Brown said in a statement. 鈥淕un violence is an epidemic. States have a Constitutional right to restrict who may possess firearms, and where those firearms may be carried, in the interest of public safety.鈥�
Mark Pennak, president of the gun rights group Maryland Shall Issue, said during a briefing last month that the Bruen decision outlined five 鈥渟ensitive鈥� places where firearms can be banned: schools, government buildings, polling places, legislative assemblies and courthouses.
鈥淭he common denominator for all those five is they鈥檙e small discreet areas which can feasibly be secured by security measures,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nything beyond those five has to be justified by the government鈥ecause the scope of the Second Amendment is construed by reference to when it was adopted, which was when the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791. That鈥檚 your legal, analytical approach.鈥�
Long guns at 21
Waldstreicher鈥檚 second bill will focus on increasing the age to own rifles and shotguns from 18 to 21.
He said the bill would be complement federal law, which doesn鈥檛 allow a person to own or possess a handgun until age 21.
鈥淭his simply makes our long gun statute analogous to our handgun statute,鈥� he said.
The legislation has some exceptions, including use at a gun range, in self-defense 鈥渁gainst a trespasser into the residence,鈥� and by a member of the armed forces or a person who uses a shotgun or rifle for employment.
鈥淸The legislation] doesn鈥檛 in any way limit someone鈥檚 ability for self-defense. It doesn鈥檛 limit anyone鈥檚 ability to hunt with their children, and it doesn鈥檛 limit anyone鈥檚 ability 鈥� to bring their children to the range,鈥� Waldstreicher said.
Sen. Jack Bailey (R-St. Mary鈥檚) disagrees with the proposal, especially when a person in the military can carry a gun at age 18.
鈥淵ou could go to war and fight for your country at 18. But yet, you could not possess a gun in your house when you came home until you were age 21. That makes absolutely no sense,鈥� Bailey said in an interview. 鈥淭here is not a reason for us to attack any law-abiding citizen and take liberties away from them that are granted to them through the constitution.鈥�
鈥業鈥檓 ready鈥�
Waldstreicher鈥檚 third gun bill focuses on firearms manufacturers and sellers.
The bill proposes to prevent the sale or distribution of a firearm to a straw purchaser, trafficker or a person permitted from possession of a gun under state or federal law.
It would also prevent a sale to 鈥渁 person who the firearm industry member has a reasonable cause to believe intends to use the firearm-related product鈥� to commit a crime or harm someone.
Waldstreicher said the bill would work around the federal聽, a law passed in 2005 that grants broad immunity from liability for gun manufacturers in federal court. Waldstreicher said the law doesn鈥檛 apply to state courts.
For instance, state legislatures in New Jersey and Delaware approved similar legislation proposed by Waldstreicher, authorizing the attorneys general in those states to sue gunmakers.
In New Jersey, the聽聽signed by Gov. Phil Murphy (D) signed in July, states the attorney general can seek legal action if a member of the gun industry 鈥渒nowingly or recklessly contribute to a public nuisance鈥hrough the sale, manufacturing, importing, or marketing of a qualified product.鈥�
More importantly, Waldstreicher said, his bill would allow people who are victims of gun violence or residents whose loved ones died due to gun violence to sue gun manufacturers.
As of last week, he hasn鈥檛 heard from any gun manufacturers, but 鈥淚鈥檓 sure I will [Tuesday]. I鈥檓 ready.鈥�
Gun violence survivor Denise Reid said she will also be there Tuesday, but in support of Waldstreicher鈥檚 gun safety bills.
Reid said she was informed young people shot her son, but still doesn鈥檛 know who specifically is responsible. However, she isn鈥檛 concerned about that.
鈥淚 pray for [those] young men. This is a clarion call to help make a difference. Not so much of what happened to me, but how I can help other [people],鈥� she said. 鈥淢y faith is very strong and sustained me. This is greater than me.鈥�
