MDPetitions.com, a group that led the efforts to collect the signatures that put the same sex marriage law and the Maryland Dream Act on the ballot in 2012 for referendum, has decided against petitioning for referendum on the Firearms Safety Act of 2013. That law was recently signed by Governor O'Malley. Instead, MDPetitions.com has decided to back litigation that the NRA intends to file. There will also be efforts to defeat Maryland legislators who voted in favor of the law.
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The Firearms Safety Act of 2013
will ban magazines that hold more than 10 bullets and will ban 45 types of semiautomatic rifles, classifying them as assault weapons. It will also require those seeking to buy any gun other than a hunting rifle or shotgun to obtain a license, a process that will include submitting fingerprints to police, passing classroom and firing-range training and undergoing more extensive background checks.
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While it is possible that other groups could still petition for referendum on the gun law,
this is not likely as MDPetitions.com has been the leader in obtaining the signatures on recent laws put to referendum by conservatives.
This is good news for Marylanders. Even though any referendum on the gun law would likely be defeated by the voters, a petition to put the law to referendum would delay the effective date of the law until after the 2014 elections. If no petition for referendum is filed, the law will take effect on October 1, 2013.
Legislators who voted in favor of the law will however face challenges by those opposing the gun law in the next election.
The Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore has agreed to set aside $50,000 to fund a new political action committee called Take Back Maryland that will target state legislators who supported the gun bill, said John H. Josselyn, the group's legislative vice president. Josselyn said it should be up and running within two weeks.
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