Howard County lawmakers introduced an emergency bill Wednesday that would lift a ban on electronic weapons in response to a federal lawsuit that challenges the county’s longstanding restrictions on the use and sale of Tasers and stun guns.
In the lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Maryland in late January, Leah Baran, a Marriottsville resident, is suing Baltimore City and Baltimore and Howard counties — which have electronic weapons bans in effect — to allow her to carry a stun gun.
The Council is scheduled to vote on the proposal Feb. 21.
Baran argues Tasers are essential for self defense. Unlike weapons like batons or knives, Tasers allow individuals to apprehend an attacker at a close proximity.
Her argument is bolstered by a U.S. Supreme Court decision in March, which questioned the constitutionality of stun gun bans and suggested Second Amendment protections applied to electronic weapons. The decision did not declare stun gun bans were wholly unconstitutional; instead, the court rejected the arguments of a Massachusetts court for upholding the ban.
Anne Arundel County — the first county to ban stun guns in the state — lifted its restriction in 2013.
In 2014, a Howard County Circuit Court judge sentenced Baran’s former boyfriend Joseph Dwayne Caudill to 30 years in prison for sexually assaulting Baran in 2012 in her Marriottsville home.
Baran said Caudill threatened to harm her after he was released from prison.
"When he says he’s going to do something, he’s going to do it," Baran said. "Going to jail won’t change that."
She is trained to use firearms and has a handgun qualifications license from Maryland State Police. But she argues using a Taser is a less lethal defense option than using a gun.
Baltimore police cut their use of Tasers nearly in half in 2016, a year when commanders put new limits on when officers can fire the stun guns, officials said.
Officers reported 181 Taser incidents in 2016, a 46 percent decline from the record high of 347 in 2015, the Baltimore Police Department…
Baltimore police cut their use of Tasers nearly in half in 2016, a year when commanders put new limits on when officers can fire the stun guns, officials said.
Officers reported 181 Taser incidents in 2016, a 46 percent decline from the record high of 347 in 2015, the Baltimore Police Department…
The company she tried to buy a Taser from, Taser International, won’t ship one to her house because she lives in Howard County, according to the lawsuit.
Baran also worries about the psychological impact of using deadly force against an attacker. She said she left her job as an emergency room nurse after the 2012 attack because of her physical injuries.
"I think a lot slower and you can’t be like that in the ER. You have to be on top of your game and I wasn’t. I didn’t want to hurt anybody," Baran said.
Although Howard’s ban is enshrined in county law, local police do not fully enforce it. In April 2016, Howard County Police Chief Gary Gardner barred his officers from bringing criminal charges against individuals for violating the county’s stun gun ban. At a monthly meeting with the Council that month, Gardner said the police department does not enforce the ban.
George Lyon, Baran’s attorney, said Howard’s repeal is "long overdue." Lyon has been involved in challenging the stun gun ban in Washington, D.C., and his law firm, Arsenal Attorneys, represents gun owners and the firearms industry.
"Howard County residents should be able to have the tools necessary to protect themselves and their families including Tasers and stun guns," Lyon wrote in a statement.
This story will be updated.
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