State legislative leaders announced a package of gun control measures Wednesday. At the center of the effort is a bill that would ban guns and other weapons from public college and university campuses.
The goal of the measure is not to stop mass shootings. Sen. Rich Madaleno, a Montgomery County Democrat and sponsor of the legislation, said he aims to stop the shootings that occur in one-on-one situations.
“One of the leading causes by handgun is suicide. It’s not murder," Madaleno said. "We’re trying to say, look, this is a place where so many other things are going on in one's life. Guns do not belong in this atmosphere.”
Other bills in the package would require courts to order domestic abuse offenders to turn in their guns and prevent the State Police from issuing gun permits to people on the FBI’s terrorist watch list.
The package follows extensive gun control legislation passed in 2013. Attorney General Brian Frosh was a driving force behind that effort. He gave his support to the new measures Wednesday.