Annapolis, MD (January 23, 2024) - Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman issued the following statement on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision to affirm the district court’s ruling upholding the county’s gun safety literature bill:
“Today's ruling from the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upholding the work that came out of our Gun Violence Prevention Task Force was a win for the people of this county.
“The court upheld our right to require gun shop sellers to distribute suicide prevention and conflict resolution pamphlets to customers. That right was challenged by Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. and four local gun shops.
“Anne Arundel County has led jurisdictions across the country in addressing gun violence as the public health crisis that it is. Our Gun Violence Intervention Team, modeled after our Opioid Intervention Team, is working within the law to educate, intervene, and prevent the shootings that have become the number one cause of death for young Americans.
“I want to thank Attorney General Anthony Brown, American Medical Association, MedChi, American Academy of Pediatrics, Maryland Psychiatric Society, Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence, Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, and our outstanding Anne Arundel County Office of Law with outside counsel at Hogan Lovells for their hard work in support of our case.”