Officials debate regulations for gun-carrying permits

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Suzanna Hupp has told her story many times.

If only she had had her .38-caliber Smith & Wesson the day a man plowed through the front window of a Texas cafeteria in 1991 and shot and killed her parents and 21 others, maybe her two children would know their grandparents.

“I made the stupidest decision of my life — I decided to comply with Texas law because I was worried about getting caught,” Hupp, a former Texas state representative, said Friday during her testimony before House Judiciary Committee in support of a bill that would make it easier for Marylanders to carry handguns.

At the time, Texas law prevented Hupp from legally carrying a handgun. But for nearly 12 years now, the state has allowed adults with clean criminal records to carry handguns — even in the state Capitol, Hupp said.

The current Maryland law is guided by a “may issue” philosophy, giving law enforcers final say over who may carry a weapon. The bill would remove the requirement in state law for a “good and substantial reason.” That would allow adults who have not been convicted of a felony or a controlled substance violation and who have taken a gun-safety course to carry a handgun.

The Judiciary Committee has dashed a handful of similar bills in the past, but dozens of supporters packed the hearing Friday to testify in support of the bill.

“I believe that as a law-abiding citizen, I have just as much a right to self-defense as I do to the right to assembly, petition, and speech,” said Del. Daniel Riley, the bill’s sponsor.

As it is, many of Maryland’s 12,000 carry permits belong to retired law enforcers, judges or people whose professions require them to transport large sums of money or controlled substances, Riley said.

The state turns away about 250 applicants each year, officials said.

Maryland is one of 10 states whose laws require citizens to justify their desire to carry a gun. Forty states have “shall carry” laws, which prevent law enforcers from withholding a permit provided the applicant has met all the criteria for carrying a handgun.

jpalazzolo@baltimoreexaminer.com

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