Senate President Mike Miller has been attacked for accepting donations from the National Rifle Association (NRA). The last donation to Sen. Miller from the NRA occurred in 2009. As Senate President, Miller has a lot of power to derail initiatives he doesn’t like. So what has happened since then?
Maryland now has some of strictest gun control laws on the books. Here are some of the gun safety initiatives that not only passed the Senate on Miller’s watch but also received his vote.
- SB281 of 2013 – Firearm Safety Act of 2013
- SB707 of 2018 – Bump Stocks
- HB1302 of 2018 – Red Flag Bill
- SB224 of 2017 – Closing the Domestic Violence Loophole
- SB512 of 2012 – Allowed MD State Police to Deny a Gun Dealer License
- SB640 of 2012 – Banning Convicted Violent Criminals from Owning a Gun If Convicted Federally or in Another State
- SB248 of 14 – Extended the Statue of Limitations for Possession in a Crime of Violence
Since 2012, he voted against one bill, HB 209, which was a crossfile of SB 640 listed above. It nonetheless passed the Senate.
In short, characterizing Miller as an enemy of gun safety laws isn’t accurate. Miller has not been a barrier to the passage of new gun safety laws and has supported many of the key provisions.
