Legislators seek to abolish Handgun Permit Review Board
"43899665?" He asked. "Do we have Mr. or Mrs. 43899665 in the house?"
After a few moments, when no one stepped forward, Michel went on to the next applicant for a "wear and carry" handgun permit.
The list was long for last week's meeting of the
"43899039? 43899039?"
A man wearing a lightweight jacket stepped forward to make his case for why he should be allowed to carry a handgun at all times.
For decades, the board operated with little scrutiny, handling a few dozen cases a year. But the board grew more permissive in recent years under appointees of Gov.
That's drawn scrutiny from the
"We've seen this permit review board continually overturning
Hogan's office did not respond to requests for comment on Monday.
In total, 22,177 Marylanders have handgun permits, according to state police. The state police received about 4,400 new applications and 5,400 renewal applications last year - and denied about 500 of those applications.
The governor nominates people to three-year terms on the five-member board that hears appeals of those denials, with his appointments needing the state
Of 269 cases the board reviewed from
Combined, that's a rate of overturning or modifying state police decisions 83 percent of the time - which some say is too permissive.
Supporters of the board say it's a necessary check on the state police.
It can be challenging to learn more about the board's decision-making.
During meetings, board members refer to applicants only by their application number. There are no microphones, making it difficult for the audience to hear exchanges between applicants and board members. People are allowed by law to wait until the end of the night and have their case heard in private.
The applicants' case files are not public, and the board's minutes reflect only the outcome of a case: overturned, modified or sustained.
The bill to eliminate the handgun board is being reviewed by two
Credit: By
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