The legislation bans the sale of 45 types of assault weapons in Maryland, specifically guns that have been linked to at least 461 deaths in the U.S. in the last seven years.
The new gun control law in Maryland, besides reducing gun magazine capacity from 20 rounds to 10 rounds, also bans people, who have been involuntarily committed to mental health facilities, from owning a gun.
It also prohibits violent offenders on probation from purchasing a gun.
Among other measures, the law requires mandatory reporting of lost or stolen firearms and increases the powers of the state in regulating gun dealers.
Reduction of gun magazine capacity has also been adopted earlier by Connecticut and New York following the Connecticut massacre, and by Colorado following a massacre in a movie theater.
O’Malley, a Maryland Democrat said, “We’ve chosen to take action by advancing the strategies that work to save lives.”
In February, a poll conducted by the Washington Post had shown that 85 percent of Maryland residents supported the gun control measures proposed by O’Malley.
The NRA has announced that it would be challenging the new gun control measures in Maryland.
Criticizing the stand of NRA, Senate President Thomas Miller stated at a news conference in Annapolis that NRA would “look for a conservative, right-wing-leaning judge, rather than going to the people of the state of Maryland …”
A Maryland woman has already launched a campaign and filed paperwork last month to put the bill to a referendum.