NCJ Number
160665
Date Published
1995
Length
53 pages
Annotation
A commission appointed by the Maryland governor in April 1995 examined the issue of firearm-related violence and concluded that measures to reduce gun violence should not unduly burden lawful gun owners, but should keep guns out of the wrong hands and out of the illegal market.
Abstract
The commission included 12 citizens appointed by the governor and two State legislators appointed by the presiding officer of each branch of the legislature. The commission gathered information from four public hearings and from presentations by representatives of several organizations. The Commission learned that 719 people were killed and 16,911 were victimized by murder, robbery, and assault in Maryland in 1994. Firearm-related crime increased 17 percent from 1990 to 1994. Among people ages 15-24 and 25-34, intentional injuries were the leading cause of death. The presence of a gun in the home increased the risk of homicide by 7 times and suicide by 10 times. Many speakers testified that law-abiding citizens should be permitted to own guns for their own protection and that existing gun law are not uniformly enforced or prosecuted across Maryland. The commission unanimously rejected any recommendations to ban all handgun sales or to further restrict the use of firearms for hunting, sport shooting, and other lawful purposes. It made 38 recommendations regarding the enforcement of existing laws, the enactment of tougher new laws, the reduction of illegal sales or transfers of firearms, education and public awareness, and data collection. Footnotes, list of commission members, and appended dissenting views