Public Safety - Firearms - Storage Requirements

EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MATTER ADDED TO EXISTING LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
*hb1608*

HOUSE BILL 1608
E4, E1 6lr3692

By: Delegate Bartlett
Introduced and read first time: February 17, 2026
Assigned to: Rules and Executive Nominations

A BILL ENTITLED

AN ACT concerning 1

Public Safety – Firearms – Storage Requirements 2

FOR the purpose of altering a certain provision of law that prohibits a person from storing 3
or leaving a certain firearm in a location if the person knew or should have known 4
that an unsupervised minor is likely to gain access to the firearm; requiring a certain 5
individual to store a firearm in a certain secure storage depository at a certain time; 6
prohibiting a certain individual from violating a certain firearm storage 7
requirement; prohibiting a certain individual from violating a certain firearm 8
storage requirement ; prohibiting a certain individual from violating a certain 9
firearm storage requirement resulting in a certain unauthorized user accessing the 10
firearm and causing serious bodily injury or death; and generally relating to the 11
storage of firearms. 12

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 13
Article – Criminal Law 14
Section 4–104 15
Annotated Code of Maryland 16
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 17

BY adding to 18
Article – Criminal Law 19
Section 4–112 20
Annotated Code of Maryland 21
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 22

BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 23
Article – Public Safety 24
Section 5–133(b) and 5–306(d) 25
Annotated Code of Maryland 26
(2022 Replacement Volume and 2025 Supplement) 27

2 HOUSE BILL 1608

SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 1
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 2

Article – Criminal Law 3

4–104. 4

(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated. 5

(2) “Ammunition” means a cartridge, shell, or other device containing 6
explosive or incendiary material designed and intended for use in a firearm. 7

(3) (i) “Firearm” means a handgun, rifle, shotgun, short–barreled rifle, 8
or short–barreled shotgun, as those terms are defined in § 4 –201 of this title, or any other 9
firearm. 10

(ii) “Firearm” does not include an antique firearm as defined in § 11
4–201 of this title. 12

(b) This section does not apply if: 13

(1) the minor’s access to a firearm is supervised by an individual at least 14
18 years old; 15

(2) the minor’s access to a firearm was obtained as a result of an unlawful 16
entry; 17

(3) the firearm is in the possession or control of a law enforcement officer 18
while the officer is engaged in official duties; [or] 19

(4) the minor has a certificate of firearm and hunter safety issued under § 20
10–301.1 of the Natural Resources Article; 21

(5) THE MINOR OBTAINS TH E FIREARM IN A N ACT OF LAWFUL 22
SELF–DEFENSE OR DEFENSE OF ANOTHER PERSON; OR 23

(6) THE FIREARM WAS STOR ED IN ACCORDANCE WIT H § 4–112 OF 24
THIS SUBTITLE. 25

(c) A person may not store or leave a [loaded] firearm in a location where the 26
person [knew] KNOWS or should [have known] KNOW that [an unsupervised minor has 27
access to the firearm] A MINOR IS LIKELY TO GAIN UNSUPERVISED AC CESS TO THE 28
FIREARM. 29

(d) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction 30
is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000. 31
HOUSE BILL 1608 3

(e) [(1)] A violation of this section may not: 1

[(i) be considered evidence of negligence; 2

(ii) be considered evidence of contributory negligence; 3

(iii)] (1) limit liability of a party or an insurer; or 4

[(iv)] (2) diminish recovery for damages arising out of the 5
ownership, maintenance, or operation of a firearm or ammunition. 6

[(2) A party, witness, or lawyer may not refer to a violation of this section 7
during a trial of a civil action that involves property damage, personal injury, or death.] 8

4–112. 9

(A) (1) IN THIS SECTION THE F OLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE ME ANINGS 10
INDICATED. 11

(2) “AUTHORIZED USER” MEANS AN INDIVIDUAL WHO: 12

(I) IS NOT PROHIBITED BY STATE OR FEDERAL LAW FROM 13
POSSESSING, RECEIVING, OWNING, OR PURCHASING A FIREARM; AND 14

(II) IS EITHER: 15

1. THE LAWFUL OWNER OF THE FIREARM; OR 16

2. LAWFULLY AUTHORIZED BY THE OWNER OF THE 17
FIREARM TO ACCESS, POSSESS, AND USE THE FIREARM. 18

(3) “CARRIED BY OR UNDER T HE DIRECT CONTROL OF ” MEANS AN 19
AUTHORIZED USER IS: 20

(I) CARRYING A FIREARM ON THE AUTHORIZED USER ’S 21
PERSON; OR 22

(II) CLOSE ENOUGH TO A FIREARM TO READILY P REVENT AN 23
UNAUTHORIZED USER FROM GAINING ACCESS TO THE FIREARM. 24

(4) “FIREARM” HAS THE MEANING STAT ED IN § 4–104 OF THIS 25
SUBTITLE. 26

4 HOUSE BILL 1608

(5) “SECURE STORAGE DEPOSITORY” MEANS A SAFE OR ANOTHER 1
SECURE CONTAINER THAT: 2

(I) WHEN LOCKED, IS INCAPABLE OF BEING OPENED WITHOUT 3
A KEY, A KEYPAD, A COMBINATION, OR ANY OTHER UNLOCKING MECHANISM; 4

(II) IS CAPABLE OF PREVEN TING AN UNAUTHORIZED USER 5
FROM OBTAINING ACCESS TO AND POSSESSION OF A FIREARM CONTAINED INSIDE; 6
AND 7

(III) IS FIRE–, IMPACT–, AND TAMPER–RESISTANT. 8

(6) “UNAUTHORIZED USER ” MEANS A PERSON WHO I S NOT AN 9
AUTHORIZED USER. 10

(B) THIS SECTION DOES NOT APPLY IF: 11

(1) ACCESS TO A FIREARM WAS OBTAINED AS A RE SULT OF AN 12
UNLAWFUL ENTRY INTO REAL PROPERTY; OR 13

(2) AN UNAUTHORIZED USER OBTAINS A FIREARM IN A LAWFUL ACT 14
OF SELF–DEFENSE OR DEFENSE OF ANOTHER PERSON. 15

(C) AN AUTHORIZED USER OF A FIREARM SHALL STORE THE FIREARM IN A 16
LOCKED SECURE STORAGE DEPOS ITORY WHEN THE FIREARM IS NOT BEING 17
CARRIED BY OR UNDER THE DIRECT CONTROL OF THE AUTHORIZED USER. 18

(D) A PERSON MAY NOT VIOLATE SUBSECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION. 19

(E) A PERSON MAY NOT VIOLATE SUBS ECTION (C) OF THIS SECTION 20
RESULTING IN AN UNAUTHORIZED USER: 21

(1) ACCESSING A FIREARM; AND 22

(2) CAUSING SERIOUS BODILY INJURY TO OR DEATH OF A PERSON. 23

(F) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES SUBSECTION (D) OF THIS SECTION IS GUILTY 24
OF A MISDEMEANOR AND: 25

(1) FOR A FIRST CONVICTION, IS SUBJECT TO A FINE NOT EXCEEDING 26
$500; 27

HOUSE BILL 1608 5

(2) FOR A SECOND CONVICTION, IS SUBJECT TO A FINE NOT 1
EXCEEDING $1,000; AND 2

(3) FOR A THIRD OR SUBSEQUENT CONVICTION: 3

(I) IS SUBJECT TO A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $1,000; AND 4

(II) SHALL BE PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING: 5

1. A REGULATED FIREARM UNDER § 5–133 OF THE 6
PUBLIC SAFETY ARTICLE; 7

2. A HANDGUN QUALIFICATION LICENSE UNDER § 8
5–117.1 OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ARTICLE; AND 9

3. A PERMIT UNDER § 5–306 OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY 10
ARTICLE. 11

(G) A PERSON WHO VIOLATES SUBSECTION (E) OF THIS SECTION IS GUILTY 12
OF A MISDEMEANOR AND ON CONVICTION: 13

(1) IS SUBJECT TO A FINE NOT EXCEEDING $1,000; AND 14

(2) SHALL BE PROHIBITED FROM POSSESSING: 15

(I) A REGULATED FIREARM UNDER § 5–133 OF THE PUBLIC 16
SAFETY ARTICLE; 17

(II) A HANDGUN QUALIFICATION LICENSE UNDER § 5–117.1 OF 18
THE PUBLIC SAFETY ARTICLE; AND 19

(III) A PERMIT UNDER § 5–306 OF THE PUBLIC SAFETY ARTICLE. 20

(H) NOTHING IN THIS SECTI ON SHALL BE INTERPRETED TO AFFEC T, 21
IMPAIR, OR SUPERSEDE ANY RESTRICTION BY A LOCAL JURISDICTION RELATING TO 22
THE SECURE STORAGE OF A FIREARM THAT IMP OSES ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS 23
ON THE OWNER OR CUSTODIAN OF THE FIREARM. 24

Article – Public Safety 25

5–133. 26

(b) Subject to § 5 –133.3 of this subtitle, a person may not possess a regulated 27
firearm if the person: 28
6 HOUSE BILL 1608

(1) has been convicted of a disqualifying crime; 1

(2) has been convicted of a violation classified as a common law crime and 2
received a term of imprisonment of more than 2 years; 3

(3) (i) has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a second or 4
subsequent violation of § 4–104 of the Criminal Law Article; or 5

(ii) has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a violation of § 6
4–104 of the Criminal Law Article if the violation resulted in the use of a loaded firearm by 7
a minor causing death or serious bodily injury to the minor or another person; 8

(4) subject to subsection (b –1) of this section, is on supervised probation 9
after being convicted: 10

(i) of a crime punishable by imprisonment for 1 year or more; 11

(ii) for a violation of § 21–902(b) or (c) of the Transportation Article; 12
or 13

(iii) for violating a protective order under § 4–509 of the Family Law 14
Article; 15

(5) is a fugitive from justice; 16

(6) is a habitual drunkard; 17

(7) is addicted to a controlled dangerous substance or is a habitual user; 18

(8) suffers from a mental disorder as defined in § 10 –101(i)(2) of the 19
Health – General Article and has a history of violent behavior against the person or 20
another; 21

(9) has been found incompetent to stand trial under § 3–106 of the Criminal 22
Procedure Article; 23

(10) has been found not criminally responsible under § 3 –110 of the 24
Criminal Procedure Article; 25

(11) has been voluntarily admitted for more than 30 consecutive days to a 26
facility as defined in § 10–101 of the Health – General Article; 27

(12) has been involuntarily committed to a facility as defined in § 10–101 of 28
the Health – General Article; 29

HOUSE BILL 1608 7

(13) is under the protection of a guardian appointed by a court under § 1
13–201(c) or § 13 –705 of the Estates and Trusts Article, except for cases in which the 2
appointment of a guardian is solely a result of a physical disability; 3

(14) except as provided in subsection (e) of this section, is a respondent 4
against whom: 5

(i) a current non ex parte civi l protective order has been entered 6
under § 4–506 of the Family Law Article; or 7

(ii) an order for protection, as defined in § 4–508.1 of the Family Law 8
Article, has been issued by a court of another state or a Native American tribe and is in 9
effect; [or] 10

(15) if under the age of 30 years at the time of possession, has been 11
adjudicated delinquent by a juvenile court for an act that would be a disqualifying crime if 12
committed by an adult; OR 13

(16) HAS BEEN CONVICTED: 14

(I) THREE OR MORE TIMES OF A VIOLATION OF § 4–112(D) OF 15
THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE; OR 16

(II) ONE OR MORE TIMES OF A VIOLATION OF § 4–112(E) OF THE 17
CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE. 18

5–306. 19

(d) (1) The Secretary may not issue a permit to a person if the person: 20

(i) has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a second or 21
subsequent violation of § 4–104 of the Criminal Law Article; [or] 22

(ii) has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a violation of § 23
4–104 of the Criminal Law Article if the violation resulted in the use of a loaded firearm by 24
a minor causing death or serious bodily injury to the minor or another person; OR 25

(III) HAS BEEN CONVICTED: 26

1. THREE OR MORE TIMES OF A VIOLATION OF § 27
4–112(D) OF THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE; OR 28

2. ONE OR MORE TIMES OF A VIOLATION OF § 4–112(E) 29
OF THE CRIMINAL LAW ARTICLE. 30

8 HOUSE BILL 1608

(2) Subject to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the Secretary may not issue 1
a permit to a person who has been convicted on or after October 1, 2023, of a violation of § 2
4–104 of the Criminal Law Article for 5 years following the date of the conviction. 3

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall take effect 4
October 1, 2026. 5