Sen. Smith can make a difference on gun violence by bringing Jaelynn’s Law to vote
We have written these words before. The gun violence that is breaking America must end.
It will only do so when good people act. And while the mass shooting Tuesday in Boulder should be a source of grief and motivation for change for all Americans, there is a chance to make a difference today in the Maryland State House.
One influential lawmaker is standing in the way of saving lives currently at risk: state Sen. Will Smith.
Smith has so far failed to bring Jaelynn’s Law, Senate Bill 479 and House Bill 200, out of limbo in his powerful committee. It is a commonsense gun safety measure arising from a tragedy right here in Maryland: the 2018 school shooting at Great Mills High School in St. Mary’s County.
A 17-year-old student brought a gun stored unsafely at home to school and started shooting. He killed Jaelynn Rose Wiley just weeks after the mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High in Parkland, Florida, and just months before five members of the Capital Gazette staff were murdered by a gunman in their Annapolis newsroom.
The legislation would increase pressure on gun owners to safely secure and store their firearms through higher penalties and the possibility of jail time.
It would raise the age of children listed in the law from 16 to 17 but keep exemptions for minors with guns used for hunting who have taken state-approved gun safety courses and have parental permission.
That’s it. Gun safety.
But Del. Sandy Bartlett, the Maryland City Democrat, is increasingly worried that her legislation is doomed. It mirrors the legislation passed out of the Senate last year only to fall short in the COVID19 shortened session.
Bartlett and her co-sponsor, Del. Dana Stein, expected easy passage this year.
Instead, Smith’s robust support for Jaelynn’s Law — he’s the sponsor of the Senate bill and called it a top priority — apparently means nothing. He won’t even give it a vote.
What’s changed is the appetite for taking topics like this on. Reform of police oversight has dominated this session, and Smith’s committee doesn’t seem motivated to take this issue up again.
Jaelynn’s Law does not break ground. Instead, it addresses a real danger present right now.
Ten times each year in Anne Arundel County, a student is caught bringing a gun to school. How long before an unsecured firearm ends in tragedy in county schools?
On Christmas Day, a 17-year-old Edwin Juarez of Lothian was killed in Charles County when a 13-yearold friend accidentally shot him. Two months later, a 16-year-old was shot and killed in Baltimore by his 17-year-old friend while they were playing with the older boy’s unsecured weapon. Now he has been charged with manslaughter.
Baltimore County has already done this, adopting a similar measure in 2018.
The death of 10 people in a mass shooting in Boulder this week and six others in Atlanta last week will dominate the national discussion on what to do. We’ve seen this before and know what is likely to come next in Washington. There will be thoughts and prayers, and then Republicans will stand in the way of any change.
We already have urged passage of gun violence legislation now in the U.S. Senate, even if it means ending the filibuster.
But Maryland can help chip away at the plague of gun violence by ones and twos only if one lawmaker shows the courage of his convictions. Email the senator from Montgomery County and urge him to bring Jaelynn’s Law to a vote.
Tell Will Smith he must act.