County Council Considers Second-Hand Gun Dealer Licensing

The Anne Arundel County Council heard suggestions for a bill that would change the license process for second-hand dealers.

Bill 25-11 seeks to amend the definition of second-hand sales for the sake of licensing to exclude licensed firearms dealers.

Under the Title 12A Second-Hand Dealer License, “second-hand sales” is defined as a person who acquires commercially from the public and trades commercially with the public in tangible personal property.

Pawnbrokers, antique sales, charitable donation organizations, garage yard sales and consignment shops are not considered second-hand dealers.

The amended bill would add, “licensed firearms dealers,” to the list of businesses excluded from the category, thus requiring these shops to seek additional licensing.

Screening Second-Hand Gun Sales

Anne Arundel County Police Maj. Edward Bergin said there are five to six second-hand dealers that sell guns and sporting goods. He said there’s a need to tighten tracking on firearms that come through pawnshops that buy, sell and trade guns.  Shop owners keep individual records (ranging from paper to electronic formats) on their independent store books.

Bergin said the new process would require second-hand gun dealers to record the make, model, serial number of a firearm in a Maryland State Police computer database in an effort to recover property for victims of crimes.

“It’s immediately going into a database that’s accessible to law enforcement across the state,” Bergin said.

Bergin said such a system would bring Anne Arundel County up to speed with Prince George’s, Howard and Baltimore counties.

Councilman Jerry Walker questioned whether this expense would hurt cash-strapped small business owners who may not be able to pay for licensing personnel.

“It just feels like we’re punishing good people who want to run a business because bad people did something wrong,” Walker said.

Glen Burnie storeowner Robert Scarf of Scott’s Gunsmithing Service said he agrees tougher gun tracking is needed, but said he can’t afford additional licensing fees.

Scarf said if the county adopts such an idea, it should be prepared to put local second-hand gun dealers on the same screening system used by the local law enforcement.

The amended Bill 25-11 returns to the county council for further consideration on May 16.

 Chesapeake Bay Reforestation

The county council unanimously approved Resolution 25-11 calling for an application to the Chesapeake Bay Trust for a grant under the 2010-2011 Urban Greening Grant Program. The grant would allot $35,000 for reforestation along the bay and its tributaries.

“Reforesting areas whenever possible is critical for the Chesapeake Bay and I will support it,” said Annapolis resident Earl Bradley.

Radio Grant Program

The county council unanimously approved Resolution 26-11 from the fire department requesting permission to submit an application for a Radio Grant Program. The Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems program grant would allot $59,800 for radios that communicate with fellow fire departments statewide.

Ethics Committee Nominee

Resolution 31-11 was also approved after Councilman Chris Trumbauer (D-6th District) introduced the resolution for emergency consideration. The resolution nominated Scott Bowling to fill the vacancy in the Anne Arundel County Ethics Commission for the remainder of the term ending April 2012. Council Chairman Richard B. (“Dick”) Ladd said the nomination and possible appointment would bring the ethics committee up to full capacity at seven members.