Bill would require courts to tell abusers to give up guns

A measure to come before Maryland lawmakers would require courts to inform people convicted of domestic violence that they must give up their firearms.

The bill would require courts to order a person convicted of a crime of violence that is a “domestically related crime” to transfer his or her guns to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

More than a dozen states have strengthened laws to keep firearms out of the hands of domestic abusers in recent years.

In 2009, Maryland enacted a law that requires a judge to order firearms to be confiscated from people who have final protective orders filed against them for as long as the order is in effect.

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