Legislation to restrict gun ownership is Maryland has generated a lot of controversy around the state.

One bill would require a licensing system be set up for handgun buyers. Supporters say it would go after "straw purchasers." That's where someone who can legally buy a firearm in Maryland purchases it for someone else who cannot. Delegate Mike McDermont (R-Wicomico & Worcester Counties) says there are very few incidents of that in Maryland. " Quite frankly, the deal is on the federal level. They've have basically zero convictions on straw purchases through their process," he says.

If passed, the legislation would require handgun purchasers to register at their local State Police barrack, undergo background checks and submit fingerprints. Opponents say it could hamper law abiding citizens from owning guns, if they choose. But supporters say it's a way to make it difficult for criminals to get weapons.

Another bill would prohibit residents from buying assault weapons. Those who support it say these types of weapons are meant to kill people, and they're not needed if all you do is hunt deer. But Delegate McDermont says very few assault weapons are used in crimes. "In Maryland last year, we only had, I think, two or three incidents where a rifle was used in a homicide," he says, noting that most of them were handguns. "The two or three {rifles}  that we had were not assault rifles, and they wouldn't have been banned."

This bill, along with one to limit the size of magazines, were introduced in the 2013 General Assembly sesison following the fatal shootings of 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut in December. The shooter took his own life. The guns he used were purchased legally by his mother.

Delegate McDermont was a guest on WFMD's Alex Mooney Show on Sunday afternoon.