Politics

Maryland’s top elected official is “considering all options” following a ruling last week by a federal judge that struck down parts of a 2023 firearms law. That law, passed in response to the U.S. Supreme Court U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, set limits on where firearms could be legally carried. The bill was challenged in court the same day that it was signed into law by Gov. Wes Moore (D).

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore joined former U.S. Senator Elizabeth Dole on Tuesday to announce that Maryland will work with her foundation to support military and veteran caregivers. Moore, who served as a paratrooper and captain in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, said joining the Elizabeth Dole Foundation Hidden Heroes campaign will help raise awareness about resources available for families of veterans and to expedite those resources to them.

Four incumbents and six challengers are running this year for seats on the Hagerstown City Council, which includes five members elected to four-year terms. The positions on the council are nonpartisan and elected at-large during presidential election years. The council is responsible for adopting policies, ordinances and resolutions for the city, including annual operating and capital budgets. Annual compensation for council members is $8,000.

The Baltimore County Council has created a pathway for some affordable housing to be built in areas where the council is further limiting new development because of overcrowded schools. The council last month overrode County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr.’s veto of a companion measure to the county’s adequate public facilities ordinance, or APFO.

Maryland supporters of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said they submitted 26,000 signatures to get the independent presidential candidate’s name on the ballot, more than twice the required amount, by Monday’s deadline. If at least 10,000 signatures are verified by election officials over the next three weeks, Kennedy would join Republican Donald Trump, Democrat Kamala Harris and Libertarian Chase Oliver as the options for president on Maryland ballots this fall.

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris selected Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz — a military veteran, union supporter and former high school teacher and football coach — to be her running mate Tuesday. Hours after the announcement, Walz appeared with her during a Philadelphia campaign stop, saying: “I couldn’t be prouder to be on this ticket.”

The Baltimore County Council has amended some parts of a controversial law passed in June that would curb development in areas with overcrowded schools. On Monday, the council passed 4-3 a “clarifying” bill to supplement the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance. The ordinance institutes an advisory committee to recommend changes to alleviate school overcrowding, an ongoing issue in Baltimore County schools.

The heat was suffocating when 70 Democratic politicians and activists gathered on a Frederick parking lot the other day for a rally organized by a national Democratic youth group. But the Democrats saw a hopeful metaphor. “Are we on fire?” April McClain Delaney, the Democratic nominee in the 6th Congressional District, asked the crowd.

Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign launched a “Republicans for Harris” initiative over the weekend, as her campaign looks to court moderate GOP voters and others opposed to former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid. The Harris team said the effort will be a “campaign within a campaign,” in which prominent Republicans will aim to attract moderates, independents and Republicans who voted for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley when she challenged Trump for the nomination.