By Shawn Soper The effort to make Maryland’s gun control laws among the toughest in the nation moved closer to becoming reality when the House passed the governor’s legislation by a 78-61 vote. After hours of often contentious debate, the House of Delegates last week passed Governor Martin O’Malley’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013 by more than enough votes to cover the 71 needed to pass the legislation. The bill passed the Senate in March by a vote of 28-19 and with the passage by the House last week, the legislation is now headed back to the Senate for a reconciliation of some relatively … [Read more...]