CAMBRIDGE, Md.- Maryland law prohibits selling a gun or ammunition to anyone who falls under the category of mentally ill. However, a task force is meeting this week to take a closer look at the state laws already in place and determine if a change is needed for safety and fairness.
"Certainly if someone was to check off that they have been [mentally ill] that would just end the transaction right there, we wouldn't sell a gun to anybody who poses a threat to themselves or anybody else," said Russell Hudson, owner of Chesapeake Classics Sporting Goods in Cambridge.
Hudson said there are rules in place to keep guns out of the hands of unstable people.
"For a handgun the state police has a disclosure form which they have to sign off on which allows them to do a background check to see if they have ever been institutionalized," he said.
Margaretta Walley of Cambridge thinks this debate is a no-brainer. She said if you're mentally ill, you're not qualified to own a gun.
"They are not stable enough to be having firearms because they might shoot somebody accidentally then again they might shoot themselves," said Walley.
But not everyone agrees. Susan Blake of Cambridge said not all mentally ill people are dangerous and they should still have the right to protect themselves.
"I think it should be a case by case basis probably and really look at there history and see what their circumstances are," said Blake.
