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As our Maryland readers will surely be aware, the Maryland Handgun Roster Board (HRB) presides over the process of approving handguns for addition to the Maryland Handgun Roster, which is required before any handgun manufactured post-1984 can be sold in the state.
Although the meeting minutes won’t be available until June, I’m hearing that at the Board’s March 5, 2025 meeting, they denied or tabled nearly every firearm submitted. According to the agenda, there were about 127 handguns up for consideration, and dozens of them would have been minor variations of handguns already on the roster. Until January of 2024, the last the disapproval list was updated, the HRB had only ever denied 54 handguns. if what I’m hearing is correct, that number may have tripled yesterday.
How and Why?
For anybody who isn’t sure how the HRB works, it consists of 11-members, one is the Secretary of the State Police or his designee, and the other 10 are Maryland residents appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate for 4-year terms according to these requirements:
(i) one shall be a representative of the Association of Chiefs of Police; (ii) one shall be a representative of the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association; (iii) one shall be a handgun dealer, gunsmith, or representative of a handgun manufacturer; (iv) one shall be a resident of the State who is a representative of the National Rifle Association or its affiliated State association; (v) one shall be a representative of an organization that advocates against handgun violence; and (vi) five shall be public members, two of whom shall be mechanical or electrical engineers.
Under the relevant Maryland Regulation, the HRB needs 6 members for a quorum, and votes pass by simple majority.
There has been one member of the HRB who has voted against nearly every firearm submitted for the last two years (you can guess which one from the list above). That number quickly grew as new members were appointed last year and by the end of 2024, there were three members voting against every application and a fourth frequently joining. It’s still unclear what exactly happened yesterday, but I’m told it looks like there are now four votes against every firearm and a fifth frequently joining, leaving no room for absences in a very slim majority.
What Next?
If you submitted a petition to add a handgun to the roster and it was denied, you should receive a letter shortly by certified mail stating the basis for the denial and will have 15-days to request a hearing to appeal the denial. It is imperative that you do not miss that deadline. There are likely several available bases to appeal the denials individually, and depending on more information, a wider spread effort may also be possible.
If you submitted a Petition to the Handgun Roster Board and it was denied, contact FICG today to discuss your options.
Firearms Industry Consulting Group® (FICG®) is a registered trademark and division of Civil Rights Defense Firm, P.C., with rights and permissions granted to Prince Law Offices, P.C. to use in this article.
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