Colt M4 Carbine and AR-15-style rifles are on display during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas on May 28, 2022. A Maryland man is raising concerns. for carrying an AR-15-style rifle near the school bus stop.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Colt M4 Carbine and AR-15-style rifles are on display during the National Rifle Association (NRA) Annual Meeting in Houston, Texas on May 28, 2022. A Maryland man is raising concerns. for carrying an AR-15-style rifle near the school bus stop.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Gun control issues escalated in Maryland after a man began frequently standing at a school bus stop with an AR-15-style rifle in hand.
Over the past few weeks, 20-year-old J’Den McAdory has been walking around his neighborhood in Severn, Md., with a long gun he said was in protest of the state’s recent gun control laws.
Police said his actions were legal.
McAdory has yet to respond to NPR’s request for comment, but he said WBAL-TV, which first reported on the controversy, “Guns can be safe if controlled by the right people.” He added, “I’m not really here for the kids. I’m here to show people that this is legal.”
McAdory’s outcry has stoked fear in families and raised concerns about public carrying, especially when around children.
McAdory has a problem with Maryland’s Gun Safety Act of 2023, issued on Tuesday. It states that a person is no longer allowed to carry a gun in a school, health care facility, or place where alcohol or marijuana is licensed such as a stadium, museum, or race track.
Gun rights activists criticized the law. The National Rifle Association describes the law as “unconstitutional” and sued government.
Governor Wes Moore’s office condemned McAdory’s conduct, adding that it would not change his stance on gun control.
“Threatening our children and threatening our communities will not keep Maryland safe. The Governor will not allow these tactics to prevent his administration from taking reasonable steps to protect our communities. me,” the office said in a statement.
Local families were disturbed when McAdory displayed his rifle near children. Little can be done legally to stop McAdory even though Maryland has some of the strictest gun laws in the country.
Jamie Sparrow, a parent of an elementary school student, told WBAL-TV: “I feel like if we don’t do something now we will talk again and then it will be too late.” . “I think lives could be lost (or) people could be harmed.”
Anne Arundel County Sheriff said the department has received “numerous” calls about an armed community member who is a legal gun owner and is authorized to carry a rifle openly.
“Officials are in the area to help alleviate growing concerns between students and parents,” the department said in a statement. declare.
Similarly, the principal of a nearby elementary school told parents that the local police department and the state attorney’s office had clarified: “This man did nothing illegal while carrying a long firearm. . He is exercising his constitutional rights, because he is free to do so.” “
Isaphine Smith, principal of Severn Elementary, added that McAdory had agreed to stop visiting elementary school bus stops after the school’s Office of Communications “please.”
Smith also provides Recommendations about how to “relieve fear and anxiety” if McAdory returns.
Tips include: “Advise your students that they should ask the man to leave them alone” and “stay away from him if he approaches them.”
