For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 16, 2020
Responding to a national surge in gun sales during the COVID-19 crisis, on April 15 the Montgomery County Council sent a letter asking Governor Hogan to answer important questions about gun stores, which have been deemed to be essential businesses in Maryland. The letter, organized by Council Vice President Tom Hucker, raises important safety issues and urges the extension of the process for conducting background checks during the state of emergency. Other signatories on the letter include Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, Court Watch Montgomery, March For Our Lives Maryland, MoCo Women, and Do the Most Good MoCo.
“It’s critical to the safety of our communities that state police have enough time to conduct proper background checks,” said Liz Banach, executive director of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. “The skyrocketing increase in gun sales has come at a time when we know our police resources are already strained responding to the many COVID-19 related challenges — including the drastic increase in domestic violence. We urge the governor to increase the time for background checks immediately, as other states’ governors have done. We have appreciated Governor Hogan’s strong leadership during this national crisis, and look forward to his continued partnership as we work together for the well-being of our communities.”
Carolyn Hoffmann, executive director of Court Watch Montgomery added, “During times when staying home is the public safety recommendation, it is always important to remember that being isolated at home with an abuser can increase acts of violence and be detrimental to domestic violence victims. We applaud the Montgomery County Council for supporting efforts to dive deeper into the gun sale regulations and we urge Governor Hogan to do the same. We all need to do our part to ensure that vulnerable populations are considered right now.”
Read the letter: https://tinyurl.com/yb8muahr .
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Release ID: 20-155