ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP/WBOC)- A Maryland measure to ban guns without serial numbers will go into effect without Gov. Larry Hogan's signature, the governor announced Friday.
The Republican governor made the announcement on the first of more than three dozen bills he is expected to make decisions about Friday. He has the options of signing the bills, vetoing them or letting them go into law without his signature.
Hogan said while he appreciated the work lawmakers did to ban so-called ‘ghost guns,’ the legislation doesn’t do anything to penalize people who actually use them in violent crimes. He urged lawmakers to pass crime-fighting measures he supports.
“It is my hope that in the last days of this session, the General Assembly will do the right thing and pass the Violent Firearms Offender Act, so that we can ensure those who use guns to commit violent and heinous crimes remain off of our streets and out of our communities," Hogan said in a news release.
In contrast to Hogan, Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, praised the law banning ghost guns.
"Our law banning ghost guns in Maryland will save lives," Frosh said in a statement. "Ridding our streets, our communities, and our schools of illegal, deadly guns has been a priority for our office for many years. We have successfully fought back multiple challenges to Maryland’s Gun Safety Act. We have charged and put in prison violent criminals, and we have seized numerous illegal firearms. And today, our state has taken another step to make our communities safer."
The measure banning untraceable firearms requires guns made after Oct. 22, 1968, to have serial numbers. Law enforcement officials have said the weapons, which are often purchased over the internet, have become more common in Maryland.