Ridge, MD – On Feb. 4, Delegate Deborah Rey [R-District 29B], delegation chair for St. Mary’s County held a Town Hall Meeting at the Ridge Volunteer Firehouse located for members of the community. A sizable audience came out to hear the details of the latest legislative update from Annapolis.
Del. Rey was elected to the House of Delegates in 2014 and has been a member of the House since 2015. Many of her constituents are aware of the top issues she has been working on this legislative session have been related to alcohol and firearms.
Twenty-two bills were presented to the legislature team by the Commissioners of St. Mary’s County to be heard by the General Assembly in Annapolis, said Rey. Three of the top priorities for the commissioners’ budget were funding for education, the Garvey Senior Center, and the Leonardtown Public Library, Rey told the group, adding that all were funded.
Rey began her two-hour slide presentation by first giving a thorough explanatio
n of her role as the representative for District 29B and her duties as a member of the House. It took Delegate Rey longer than anticipated to get through the topics of discussion due to the size of the crowd and the hottest topic of the week, ‘Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones.’
Rey told the audience about a firearm-related bill which would change the process to giving preliminary approval or denial from the Maryland State Police to a person applying to carry a weapon. She said, “This just made sense to a lot of people.” Rey said many delegates agreed the ceremonial live shooting of one-round that has been a part of the handgun licensing process does not prove competence. “There is a bill in place to eliminate the required one-round live fire because we don’t know what kind of gun you are going to purchase, so it is irrelevant if you can shoot the gun you are given. It is the gun owner’s responsibility to be properly trained on whatever gun he or she chooses to purchase,” she said.
Debate began to rise as this subject unfolded, many members of the audience could not believe there would be less requirements for the gun appl
icant instead of more. One woman said, “Do you mean to tell me if this bill passes a person could get a permit without ever firing a weapon?” Rey said, “Yes, that is correct.” A member of the audience stood up and said, “You are taught the general safety of guns in these courses, owner’s rights and laws. If you want to learn how to operate a gun, then you have to be trained on that type of gun because they all fire differently.”
Rey told the audience, “I am glad to see so many people here today for the Town Hall, usually there is only a handful of people that show up. I take it everyone is here because of my email about HB 159, Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones?” Many in the audience confirmed by saying, “Yes!”
Members of the audience identified themselves before sharing and represented a wide range of voting districts around St. Mary’s County, not just District 29B. There were several members of the audience who mentioned their affiliation with St. Mary’s College of Maryland and concern about Rey’s position on HB159. A young gentleman in the audience said, “More guns on campus has never made campus safe.”
There are many different parts of the firearms legislation that are being considered during this legislative session. Rey tried to address the concerns of the audience as it related to the training of potential gun holders and the safety of our college campuses. After a long discussion and many comments, 
the key points Rey made on the subject of handguns in general and in school zones was, “If this law passes, anyone caught with a gun will have their rights to carry taken away forever, and I am not in favor of that.” She made a very concise closing statement, “That is why I sent the email earlier in the week to come to Annapolis and testify – the Democrats are coming for our guns.”
She said, “let me discuss some of the issue and concerns that people in the community have been contacting my office about. Top constituent concerns have been the Clean Energy Act; Convention of States; Weapon-Free Higher Education Zones, and Presidential Votes,” said Rey. She said the Clean Energy Job Act was overridden in the House last week. It will require energy providers to get more of their energy from solar and wind.
A resident of Great Mills asked, “It seems like last year there was concern about wind having an impact on the base. It that related to this same bill and does that mean we are at risk of losing some of our testing ability on base because of that being overwritten?” Del. Rey responded, “Hopefully not, but I can’t say it for certain. It says the energy companies must provide more energy sources from wind, and solar, either within or outside the state. A lot of people believe this will create jobs, however, Republicans do not.”
Several members of the audience questioned Del. Rey about the Convention of States and her support and understanding of how it operates. “I think it is a good idea to come together to have a conversation about changes to the Constitution,” he said. A member of the audience shouted, “I thought that it was a way to circumvent the process and not consider the input of your constituents.” Rey responded, “That is not what I understand the Convention to be about, but I will ask more questions to be certain.”
“The next Town Hall Meeting will be held March 11 and it will be in another district. I will send out reminder emails,” said Rey.
Contact Shertina Mack at S.Mack@TheBayNetcom.
