Coalition Urges the Maryland State Legislature to Pass a Bill That Will Decrease Armed Domestic Violence

Legislatures have until Monday, April 13, 2026, to pass the Family and Law Enforcement Protection Act (FLEPA)

ANNAPOLIS, MD, April 10, 2026 — Today, a coalition including Brady, Marylanders Against Gun Violence, Community Justice, Women’s Law Center of Maryland, Team Enough Baltimore, and Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence all ardently urge the Maryland State Senate to take life-saving action to protect victims of domestic abuse by passingHB 83, the Family and Law Enforcement Protection Act (FLEPA). 

In 2022, domestic violence killed 56 Marylanders, and 75% of those deaths were from a firearm. This bill would reduce gun violence associated with domestic abuse by requiring the immediate surrender of all firearms when a temporary protective order is issued, ensuring respondents receive clear, specific instructions on how to lawfully comply. 

Currently, the bill is stalled in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Maryland lawmakers have until Monday to advance the bill through the Maryland State Legislature. 

Brady President Kris Brown said:

We know that there is a proven, deadly connection between firearms and domestic violence. The longer that the passage of FLEPA is delayed, the more Marylanders are put in danger. This is utterly unacceptable. Maryland lawmakers have an easy path towards preventing gun violence, decreasing armed domestic violence, and protecting all of their constituents. We strongly call on them today to advance this bill. If lawmakers fail to act before the end of the session, it provides another year where violent domestic abusers can maintain access to their firearms, creating potentially lethal situations and inevitably more loss and trauma.

Karen Herren, Executive Director of  Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence:

For two years, we worked alongside survivors, domestic violence and gun violence prevention advocates, the Judiciary, public health experts, and law enforcement to deliver a bill that is practical, constitutional, and ready for implementation. It addresses a known gap at one of the most dangerous moments in an abusive relationship, when a victim is trying to leave, and when access to a firearm too often turns violence into homicide. These victims are overwhelmingly women. The failure to move this legislation forward is a decision that leaves that risk in place. Maryland can, and must, do better. Failing to act on known risks is choosing to leave lives unprotected.

Jose Alfaro, Executive Director of Community Justice: 

We know that access to firearms during moments of crisis, particularly in situations of domestic violence, can have devastating and irreversible consequences. The Maryland Senate has an opportunity to take meaningful, life-saving action by advancing the Family and Law Enforcement Protection Act. Delays in passing this legislation leave too many families, particularly in Black and Brown communities, at heightened risk. We urge Senate leadership to act with urgency and move this bill forward.

Katie O’Malley, Executive Director of the Women’s Law Center of Maryland: 

Guns are almost always an issue in securing consent in a protective order, respondents who do consent oftentimes lie about their gun ownership. We strongly support HB 0083’s provisions for petitioner reporting of the respondent’s firearms as well as the enforcement mechanisms introduced for both search warrants and mandated law enforcement engagement in the reclamation process. Intimate partner violence and gun violence are inextricably linked, impacting millions of women, families, and communities across the country. Nearly half of all women murdered in the United States are killed by a current or former intimate partner, and more than half of these intimate partner homicides are by firearms, according to Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Layla Greten, Founder and President of Team Enough Baltimore:

Children and teens across Maryland deserve to know they are safe from harm, especially in domestic violence and abuse cases. The Family and Law Enforcement Protection Act safeguards women, children, and all victims of abuse, so that they feel safe to speak out and file a protective order against their abuser without the risk of retaliation by a firearm. The Maryland legislature’s inability to pass this constitutional and common-sense piece of public health legislation continues to jeopardize the livelihood and safety of families across our state.

Jennifer Pollitt Hill, Executive Director of Maryland Network Against Domestic Violence:

This bill is critical to the safety of victims of domestic violence. Evidence demonstrates that the time immediately following separation or the issuance of a protective order presents a heightened risk of lethality. Public policy should prioritize the preservation of life. Firearms may be returned; a life lost cannot be restored.