Another October 1 has arrived, which means more Maryland laws have become effective. The new laws enacted this month have a particular focus on gun control, but have a wide variety in scope:

Gun Laws

• People with concealed-carry permits in Maryland will now be banned from wearing, carrying, or transporting firearms to many different public places, including “areas for children or vulnerable adults.” This includes, but is not limited to, healthcare facilities, schools, stadiums, and museums. (Exemptions are allowed for law enforcement and security guards, among others).
• “Jaelynn’s Law” provides an additional restriction on firearms. 16-year-old high school student Jaelynn Willey was killed in 2018 by a fellow student who used his father’s gun. Jaelynn’s Law prevents individuals from storing loaded firearms in a place where the gun owner should have known that an unsupervised minor would have access to the gun.

Laws Protecting Victims of Violent or Sexual Crime

• The Child Victims Act grants survivors of child sexual abuse significantly expanded ability to file civil lawsuits against institutions that employed or enabled their abusers. Much of the discussion and buildup to the law’s passage focused on the Catholic Church; however, camps, schools, and other youth organizations also could be implicated.
• An additional law protecting victims of sexual crimes prohibits incarcerated individuals from going to the residence or workplace of their accuser, or otherwise contacting their accuser, if they were accused of certain sexual crimes.
• The “spousal defense” has been eliminated. Maryland law has long prohibited prosecution of a person for rape or other sexual crimes against their legal spouse. The new law eliminates this defense, allowing prosecution if “the person in committing the crime uses force or threat of force and the act is without the consent of the spouse.”
• Maryland’s hate crime law has been revamped to allow victims of hate crimes to sue the person who committed the offense against them.

Police and Drug Reform

• A new law grants Maryland’s attorney general independent authority to bring criminal charges against police officers after investigating police-involved deaths.
• Hospitals are now required to conduct tests for fentanyl when doing urine screenings. If positive, the results will be reported anonymously to the Maryland Department of Health.

These are only a few of the many laws that went into effect this month. If you have any questions about these or any other new laws, contact an RKW attorney.

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