I’m a licensed Maryland gun owner who has a compliant semi-automatic rifle and a handgun. I respect the Second Amendment, and I expect every gun owner to uphold the highest standard of responsibility.

Every week in Prince George’s County, families live in fear: community centers lock early, parents worry when they receive school-news alerts, and trauma units treat too many gunshot victims. This isn’t the price of freedom; it’s the cost of inaction.

The plan

1. Universal background checks
   • Close the private-sale loophole so every gun transfer—from pawnshop to yard sale—runs through a check.
   • Require dealers to report multiple long-gun sales to curb trafficking.

2. Red-flag laws that save lives
   • Pass a federal Extreme Risk Protection Order statute so families and law enforcement can temporarily remove firearms from those at imminent risk.
   • Fund courts to process petitions within 48 hours—when every second counts.

3. Ban military-style weapons
   • Reinstate the Federal Assault Weapons Ban with updated definitions and magazine limits.
   • Offer a voluntary buy-back program for prohibited firearms and magazines, funded by a small fee on new gun sales.

4. Liability insurance for gun owners
   • Require every firearm purchase to include a one-year liability policy covering negligent use.
   • Adjust premiums based on safety-training completion and secure-storage compliance.

5. Community violence intervention
   • Expand Cure Violence–style outreach in hotspots—fund local intervention workers, not prisons.
   • Invest in youth mentoring, job training, and trauma-informed counseling so violence never becomes the default.

How we pay

• Raise the federal excise tax on ammunition to 5 cents per round (~$250–280M/year).

• Add a $50 fee on new firearm sales to fund universal background checks and crisis response teams.

• Redirect surplus military equipment from 1033 police programs to local community violence prevention grant

Gun ownership and public safety are not in conflict.

Responsible gun laws protect lives, protect communities, and protect the Second Amendment from being weaponized by extremists.