Together, SB 208 and HB 4 would have criminalized not only sales, but also actions “such as loans and gifts between friends, neighbors, or fellow hunters.”The two bills would have also resulted in a scenario in which law-abiding long gun owners would have had to pay a fee to the state — to cover the cost of paperwork — in order to sell a gun to a neighbor or a lifelong friend.

Hogan released a statement with his veto wherein he stressed that he had shown openness to signing legislation that promised to help curtail the burgeoning violence in Baltimore and specifically called for the passage of Violent Firearm Offenders Act of 2020, the Witness Intimidation Prevention Act, and the Judicial Transparency Act.

He noted that the Senate acted on his request, but the House did not. Instead, an ad hoc approach to crime was taken, and that approach included the gun controls contained in SB 208 and HB 4.