On January 11th, 2023 in a se ssion that begins at 6:00 pm, the Charles County Commissioners will hear pu blic testimony on Bill 2022-14, which among other th ings, would ban the possession of firearms within 100 yards of “a building owned or operated by Charles County government or the Board of Charles Coun ty,” even for carry permit holders.
The only exceptions are for:
An active sworn law enforcement officer
A special police officer employed by Charles County Government with a va lid government issued permit to carry a weapon or firearm
Ac tive duty military personnel engaged in the performance of their official e mployment duties
A member of the Board of Charles county com missioners.
Testimony can be submitted in pers on or virtually. The County’s public notice provides these instructions:
In-person: Speaker sign-up will begin 30 minutes (1/2 hour) prior to the hearing at the Charles County Government Building (200 Baltimo re Street, La Plata) and will end at the commencement of the hearing.< /p>
Virtually: Call 240-776-6709 b etween 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on January 11, 2023, to register to speak. Once reg istered, individuals will receive a virtual link to testify between 6pm– 9p m. after in-person speakers testify. If you are not available to speak when you are called, we have the right to move on to the next caller. Each spea ker will be allotted three (3) minutes to speak.
E-Comment: https://www.charlescountymd.gov/government/ public-comments/bill-2022-14
Phone message: call 301-645-0652
Pos tal Mail/Hand Delivery: Commissioners of Charles County, 200 Balti more Street, La Plata, Maryland 20646. *Comments sent by mail must be recei ved no later than January 10, 2023.
Those indiv iduals with special needs may contact the Commissioners’ Office at voice ph one number 301-645-0550 or Maryland Relay Service TDD 1-800-735-2258 for as sistance. Additional questions or concerns may be directed to Danielle Mitc hell, Office of the County Attorney, 301-645-0555 or .
The agenda for that he aring can be found HERE.
&n bsp;
MSI will be submitting testimony against the bill and we strongl y encourage Charles County residents to testify in opposition to this misgu ided legislation.
MD Wear and Carry permits are “not val id where firearms are prohibited by law” and thus carrying in violation of this county ordinance likewise creates a risk for prosecution under MD Code, Criminal Law, § 4-203. While a violation of the propo sed ordinance would be punishable by up to one-year imprisonment or a fine of $1,000, a violation of Section 4-203 is punishable by up to three years in prison, and therefore any conviction under Section 4- 203 would create a lifetime disqualification under State and federal law. T hat would be true regardless of the actual sentence.
X-EXTRAINFO:https://www.charlescountymd.gov/Home/Components/News/News/4408/407 DTSTAMP:20260430T035725 DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20230111T180000 SEQUENCE:0 TRANSP:OPAQUE END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR