Violence vs. right to guns

State senators hear testimony on domestic killings

General Assembly 2009

Mary Crawford's husband fired a rifle at her chest.

Janet Blackburn's sister, niece and two nephews were killed by an abuser.

Lt. Gov. Anthony Brown's cousin was shot to death by her estranged boyfriend.

The three of them - and a dozen police officers, elected officials and domestic violence specialists - testified yesterday in Annapolis about two initiatives that would take firearms out of the hands of suspected abusers.

"These bills do in fact save lives," Brown said. He told lawmakers the story of his cousin, Catherine Brown, a first-grade teacher who was killed last summer at her home days before school was to begin. "Every so often," he said, "our personal lives ... come face to face with the decisions we have to make as elected officials."

The measures, part of Gov. Martin O'Malley's legislative package, deal with protective orders, a civil protection meant to put distance between domestic violence victims and their abusers.

One bill would give judges the discretion to confiscate guns from the subjects of temporary protective orders, which last seven days and can be issued based on only an alleged victim's version of events. State law now does not permit judges to take guns - even if the person seeking a protective order says the accused has access to guns and has threatened to use them.

The other bill would require judges to take guns after a final protective order is granted. Final orders last a year and come after a judge has heard from the accuser and the accused. Under federal law, the subject of such an order cannot possess firearms, but state law leaves it up to judges to order them confiscated. This bill would bring state law in line with the federal regulation, proponents said.

Maryland Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler told lawmakers that the federal Violence Against Women Act of 1994 has not been followed as closely as it could be, in part because of the lack of a state law. Gansler is a Democrat, as are O'Malley and Brown.

Police officials, including Howard County Chief William J. McMahon and Baltimore County Chief James Johnson, said they support the bills because they would make officers safer, too.

"It's well-documented that responding to domestic violence can be the most dangerous thing police officers do," McMahon said.