Politics

Maryland’s laws prohibiting many semi-automatic rifles, including some AR- and AK-style weapons, could be in jeopardy. Federal judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit are weighing arguments between a plaintiff representing a group of Maryland gun owners and Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) over whether the state’s current gun laws are unconstitutional in light of a recent Supreme Court ruling. The case now hinges on whether these semi-automatic rifles are “in common use for self-defense today,” as claimed by the plaintiffs. The Fourth Circuit heard around 45 minutes of oral arguments for the case Dominic Bianchi v. Brian Frosh last week.

Baltimore City Councilman John Bullock spent four years sitting on the city’s Inclusionary Housing Board, an opportunity he thought would involve working with developers to create more housing units for low- and moderate-income residents. In those four years, however, Bullock barely recalls developers setting aside any affordable units. Instead, his tenure was spent granting waivers. Many, many waivers. “We’d get these requests for waivers and, looking at the numbers and where folks were, we didn’t have an option,” Bullock said. “Our hands were literally tied.” Baltimore’s inclusionary housing policy, adopted in 2007, was a failure. Few affordable units were built, and the city missed an opportunity to potentially claw back tens of millions of dollars in tax breaks from developers who declined to include housing for low-income residents in their projects as the law required.

Nearly two years later, U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin is still processing the surreal scenes he saw inside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as a mob loyal to then-President Donald Trump forced its way in as lawmakers were finalizing the 2020 presidential election results. The Maryland Democrat watched as the Secret Service hustled the vice president out of the Senate, heard loud noises outside the chamber and was implored by police to “run as quickly as we can” with colleagues down two levels and through the Capitol tunnels to an undisclosed safe location.

The Prince George’s County Council held its annual gavel exchange session Tuesday to appoint new leadership, but this year came with a bit of a twist. Outgoing council chair Calvin Hawkins nominated councilmember Jolene Ivey to become the new chair. However, Ivey made a “substitute motion” and recommended Tom Dernoga instead.

Baltimore’s newly approved term limits for its mayor, comptroller and the City Council will not to be effective until 2024, but a member of council is already calling for their repeal. Councilman Ryan Dorsey introduced a bill Thursday proposing a charter amendment that would remove term limits from city law. The legislation would have to be passed by the council and agreed to by the mayor before it could be placed on the ballot for voters to consider in the 2024 election.

The possibility of having same-sex marriage rights ripped away has been weighing heavily on the mind of Myoshi Smith — and her clients. “This has definitely been a huge fear of mine,” said Smith, a pansexual relationship enhancement specialist based in Baltimore’s Pigtown community. “I work with 40% to 50% of my clients who consider themselves to be queer. There’s been a lot of raised anxiety and fear about their rights being taken away.” Same-sex couples and advocates in the Baltimore area felt a sense of relief Thursday when the U.S. House of Representatives voted 258 to 169 to pass legislation to protect both same-sex marriage and interracial marriage.