Hundreds Attend Pro-Second Amendment Town Hall Meeting

PARKTON, Md. (WJZ) -- The state's gun rights struggle continues. Republican lawmakers, who are set to vote on the bill, say it may be an issue voters will have to face at the polls.

Gigi Barnett explains the push to block tougher gun laws began with a town hall meeting.

The American Legion in Parkton was packed. The topic of a weekend town hall meeting brought out hundreds.

High-powered weapons decorated the front table. This meeting comes just a few weeks after the state Senate passed a gun control bill that would ban some assault weapons and require gun owners to get a permit before buying a handgun.

A handful of the state's Republican delegates organized the session, wanting to hear from gun owners first.

"This has become the Barbie gun of anti-gun people and I think they're using this as a crutch to get a hold of our Second Amendment rights," said a supporter of the Second Amendment.

"Go after the mental case people, not the people who are honest, paying their bills and so forth. We just want to be left alone," said another supporter.

"I've had over 9,000 emails and letters sent to my office," said Harford County Delegate Pat McDonough.

McDonough says pro-gun activists want to know how they can block tougher gun laws. He believes voters will have the final say at the polls.

"You see all of these people turning out early on Saturday morning. That tells us that this referendum drive, this petition drive, is going to be successful," McDonough said.

Republican state lawmakers say the next step now is to possibly organize voter registration drives to get any new gun laws on a referendum next year.

Polls show that banning assault weapons and requiring a license to buy handguns have sweeping support from voters across the state.