Maryland House Bill HB1287

Maryland 2025 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/7/25
• Refer: 2/7/25

Caption

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity - BURDEN Analysis (CHERISH Our Communities Act)

Summary

HB1287 would expand Maryland’s firearm prohibitions by creating a new offense related to “convertible pistols.” The bill defines a convertible pistol as any semiautomatic pistol that can be converted into a machine gun solely by attaching a switch/auto-sear, and it makes it unlawful to manufacture, sell, offer for sale, purchase, receive, or transfer such a firearm. The measure also updates the Criminal Law subtitle’s definitions to incorporate this new term alongside existing categories such as assault weapons, rapid fire activators, bump stocks, binary trigger systems, burst trigger systems, and switch/auto-sears. The bill leaves Maryland’s existing penalty structure in place for violations of the subtitle. A person who violates the subtitle is generally guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 3 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000, or both. The bill does not create a separate penalty section for convertible pistols; instead, it adds the new prohibited item to the list of regulated firearm-related conduct under the existing framework, with an effective date of October 1, 2025.

Impact

HB1287 would amend Maryland Criminal Law § 4-301 and add new § 4-305.2, thereby extending the state’s firearm-crime prohibitions to cover semiautomatic pistols that can be converted into machine guns with a switch/auto-sear. In practical terms, it would affect firearm manufacturers, dealers, purchasers, and private transferees by banning commercial and private transactions involving these weapons. The bill would also reinforce enforcement against conversion-ready handguns by placing them within the state’s existing prohibited-firearms regime.

Sentiment

Based on the bill text and the limited context provided, the measure appears to be a gun-control bill introduced by a large group of delegates and referred to the Judiciary Committee, with no recorded votes or committee testimony included here. The overall posture of the bill suggests support from sponsors for tighter regulation of firearms that can be readily converted to automatic fire. Because no hearing transcript or vote history is available, there is no documented public sentiment in the provided materials beyond the bill’s introduction and referral.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely the scope of the prohibition: supporters would view convertible pistols and switch/auto-sears as a public-safety threat because they can turn a semiautomatic handgun into a machine gun, while opponents may argue the bill further restricts lawful firearm ownership and could sweep broadly across pistols and accessories. Another likely issue is enforceability, since the bill targets both the firearms themselves and the ability to acquire or transfer them, which may raise questions about identification, compliance, and overlap with federal firearms law. No specific objections or counterarguments are included in the provided committee materials.