SB444 requires federal firearms licensees or law enforcement agencies operating gun buyback programs to destroy all firearms, ensuring they are permanently inoperable and unrepairable, with the intent to reduce the number of firearms owned in a community. It requires law enforcement to check if a firearm is stolen or crime-related before destruction, prohibits non-compliant buyback programs, and revokes a firearm dealer's license for violations, with non-compliance a classified as a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $10,000.
The Maryland State Senate passed SB444 on February 28, 2025, by a vote of 33 to 12. We have assigned pluses to the nays because this legislation infringes on the constitutionally protected rights guaranteed by the Second Amendment. It also undermines individual liberty by funding and promoting state-sponsored firearm reduction programs, discouraging lawful firearm ownership, and expanding bureaucratic overreach in regulating private property.
