Maryland Attorney General joins coalition to hold firearm industry accountable for impact on gun violence
BALTIMORE -- Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown joined a coalition of 16 attorneys general to hold the firearms industry accountable for its impact on gun violence.
The first-of-its-kind, multi-state coalition aims to reduce gun violence by enforcing each state's civil liability and consumer protection laws to promote public safety, the AG said.
Each state that has joined the coalition shares the goal of holding firearm manufacturers, distributors and sellers accountable when their business practices result in unlawful sales of gun trafficking.
The coalition includes attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island and Vermont.
"Gun violence tears our communities apart and threatens Maryland families' safety," Attorney General Brown said. "The companies that make up the firearms industry must do their part to help us address this life-threatening epidemic."
A report published earlier in 2024 found that gun violence results in over $500 billion in economic losses annually in the U.S., the attorney general said.
Gun Violence in Maryland
The number of injuries and deaths involving firearms rose this year across the country, prompting the U.S. Surgeon General to declare gun violence a public health crisis in June.
At the time, a researcher with Johns Hopkins said gun violence numbers in Maryland were trending downward, though the problem remained at an all-time high.
In September, Maryland Attorney General Brown joined Washington, D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb in a lawsuit against three Maryland gun shops.
The lawsuit alleged that Engage Armament, LLC, United Gun Shop and Atlantic Guns, Inc. sold dozens of firearms to a man who trafficked them in and around the D.C. region.
The lawsuit further alleged that the shops participated in straw selling, which is when a shop sells to a customer who is buying for another person who is likely not allowed to own a gun.
This year, WJZ and the CBS News Data team launched a gun violence tracker for communities in Baltimore City, which shows that over the past year, over 3,000 people have become victims of gun violence.
