More than 300 bills became law in Maryland on Monday.
The laws going into effect cover a wide range of topics, with some of the most noteworthy including “sextortion” and revenge porn, firearm ownership and bump stock regulations, conversion therapy and e-cigarette sales.
“Sextortion and Revenge Porn”
It’s now illegal to force an individual to participate in sex or the creation of porn under the threat of economic harm, physical injury, emotional distress or accusations that would bring shame to the person. Violators will be convicted of a misdemeanor and are subject to up to 10 years in prison, a $10,000 fine or both.
The law, entitled “Sextortion and Revenge Porn” was sponsored by Sen. Robert A. Zirkin (D-Baltimore County).
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Lisae Jordan, executive director of the Maryland Coalition Against Sexual Assault, said the bill came out of internet-based relationships where parties are pressured to provide explicit photos that the other party then threatens to share, according to The Baltimore Sun.
According to the Data & Society Research Institute, one in every 25 Americans has been the victim of revenge porn. Zirkin told the Sun that the legislation tightens up the state’s extortion law, which excluded sexual activity.
Gun restrictions
Following several gun violence incidents in the country over the past couple years, Maryland amped up its gun restrictions.
In June of this year, five people were killed in a mass shooting at The Capital Gazette in Annapolis. And before that, a student at Great Mills High School shot two students before killing himself.
One of them is a “red flag” law, which allows family members and law enforcement authorities to have a judge sign an order — called an extreme risk protection order — to temporarily remove firearms from people who may be a threat to themselves or others. This state is one of 13 states that have enacted red flag laws, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
The state is also banning the sale and possession of bump stocks, which are designed to increase the rate at which assault weapons can fire ammunition. In October 2017, Stephen Paddock shot 58 people who were attending a country music concert in Las Vegas using at least 12 rifles that had been modified with bump stocks.
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Another law outlined how gun owners who have been convicted of domestic violence are required to surrender their firearms. It’s not a new requirement, but the new law is the first of its kind to ensure the guns are actually removed.
When defendants are sentenced in court, they must now also provide proof that all firearms have been transferred to state or local law enforcement or to a federally licensed firearms dealer. A law enforcement agency or dealer must also provide written proof that they have taken possession of the weapons.
Between 2009 and 2016, 156 mass shootings — incidents where four or more people were killed — have occurred in the United States, according to Every Town for Gun Safety. More than half of those cases were related to domestic or family violence, Every Town reported.
Conversion therapy
The state is outlawing the use of conversion therapy — which is used to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender expression — on minors.
The bill references a 2009 American Psychological Association report that said attempting to change an individual’s sexual orientation can result in “critical health risks.” These risks included “confusion, depression, guilt, helplessness, hopelessness, shame, social withdrawal, suicidal intentions, substance abuse, [and] stress,” among others.
With this law, no state funds can be used to conduct conversion therapy or refer a person to conversion therapy, provide healthcare coverage for conversion therapy or provide grants to people who conduct or refer people to conversion therapy.
E-cigarettes
Maryland is also cracking down on e-cigarette use. A new law, sponsored by Dels. Samuel Rosenberg (D-Baltimore City) and Jeff Waldstreicher (D-Montgomery), prohibits the sale of e-cigarettes to minors.
E-cigarettes can come in multiple flavors and produce a vapor — and a recent study from the University of Maryland’s public health school said that these fruity flavors can get young people hooked on nicotine.
The study, released in September, found that 8 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 had used e-cigarettes in the previous month. 69 percent of those users choose sweet flavors, according to Julia Chen, the study’s lead researcher.
The sweet flavors “attract young adults who are not already cigarette smokers and get them addicted to nicotine,” Chen said in September.