Maryland Democrats unveil 2 bills on gun laws

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Maryland Democrats have announced a pair of measures they say will help protect residents from gun violence.

One of the measures highlighted Thursday would ban bump stocks. Those are devices that can increase the rate of fire of a semi-automatic rifle to that approaching the firing rate of a fully automatic weapon. Bump stocks were used in the mass shooting in Las Vegas last year that killed 58 people and wounded more than 800.

Another measure would repeal the state's Handgun Permit Review Board and turn its functions over to administrative law judges.

The five-member board is designed to review Maryland State Police decisions on wear and carry permits. Board members are appointed by the governor, but critics say the decisions shouldn't be left to politically appointed board members.