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Maryland & Delaware Enact Tighter Gun Restrictions

creative commons

DOVER, Del. (AP) - The state Senate has given final approval to a "red flag" bill allowing authorities in Delaware to seize guns from a person deemed by a mental health provider to be a danger to themselves or others.

The measure passed the Senate unanimously Tuesday after unanimous approval by the House last month.

Under the bill, police who are alerted by a mental health provider could immediately ask a Justice of the Peace magistrate for a temporary order requiring the person to surrender any firearms or ammunition if there's probable cause that he or she is dangerous.

The case would then be referred to the attorney general's office, which could petition Superior Court for an indefinite order requiring the person to give up any guns or ammunition.

Maryland

Credit Don Rush (File Photo)
Governor Larry Hogan (R-MD)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan has signed measures aimed at stopping gun violence.

Hogan signed a bill into law on Tuesday to enable families and law enforcement to ask courts for an order to temporarily restrict a person's access to firearms, if they are found to be a risk to themselves or others.

He also signed a measure to ban bump stocks, which can increase a semi-automatic rifle's firing rate. And Hogan signed a measure to require convicted domestic abusers to surrender their guns.

The Republican governor says they are "commonsense bipartisan measures that will keep guns out of the hands of the mentally ill and those with criminal backgrounds."

He also signed legislation for tougher sentences for repeat violent offenders and people who commit crimes with a gun.

Don Rush is the News Director at Delmarva Public Media. An award-winning journalist, Don reports major local issues of the day, from sea level rise, to urban development, to the changing demographics of Delmarva.