Maryland Congressman Olszewski joins push to reduce flow of stolen guns
BALTIMORE -- Maryland Congressman Johnny Olszewski, along with U.S. Senator Dick Durbin and U.S. Representative Brad Schneider, have reintroduced legislation that aims to reduce the prevalence of stolen guns by preventing "smash and grab" gun store burglaries.
The SECURE Firearms Storage Act would increase security requirements for federal-licensed gun dealers (FFL).
Under the proposed act, FFLs would be required to secure all guns in their inventory by fastening them to an anchored steel rod, or by storing them in a locked safe or gun cabinet. Federally licensed dealers would also be required to store paper records of gun transactions in a secure location in case they are needed for gun tracing investigations.
Additionally, the act would authorize the Attorney General to prescribe regulations with additional security requirements related to alarm and security cameras, site hardening on FFL premises, and security of electronic records.
New regulations would establish a three-strike system for federal firearms license holders who fail to meet security requirements, with escalating penalties ranging from civil fines to possible license revocation.
Under the rules, firearms dealers would face civil penalties for the first violation, potential license suspension for a second offense, and possible revocation of their federal firearms license after a third violation.
The regulations also require new license applicants to submit detailed security compliance plans for approval by the Attorney General before their applications can be approved.
Stolen guns linked to gun violence in Maryland
In 2020 the Baltimore County Council passed the SAFE Act, a similar bill which was introduced following a spree of burglaries at local gun shops.
Maryland has grappled with gun violence, with both stolen guns and ghost guns identified as problem factors.
In August 2024 four people, including two minors, were arrested for stealing more than 80 firearms from Maryland gun shops.
In September 2024, the Maryland, and D.C. attorneys general sued gun shops that trafficked dozens of illegal guns, several of which were recovered at crime scenes.
Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott in 2023 sued the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), alleging that the agency improperly denied critical gun tracing data that could be used to track the flow of guns from manufacturer to distributor.
"Right now we're not able to know if there's one gun store responsible for a disproportionate number of the guns flowing into our city, or if there's one area where trafficking guns is more common than others - but we should know," Scott said.
The suit alleged that the ATF denied a Freedom of Information Request that asked for the average time it took from the guns being sold to being used in a crime, and the top ten sources of crime guns in Baltimore.
Despite work that remains to reduce gun violence, Maryland still saw an overall reduction in gun violence in 2024.
