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Legal Information: Maryland

Restraining Orders

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Laws current as of August 27, 2025

Can the abuser have a gun?

Once you get a protective order, there may be laws that stop the abuser from having a gun. You can learn more about this in a few ways:

  1. Check the questions on this page about the protections you can get to see if Maryland judges can take away guns as part of a temporary or final order.
  2. Go to our State Gun Laws section to read about your state’s gun laws.
  3. Look at our Federal Gun Laws section to learn about national laws that apply in every state and can make it illegal for an abuser to have a gun in some situations.

You can read more about keeping an abuser from accessing guns on the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms’ website. For ideas on how to protect yourself, go to I’m worried the abuser has a gun or is planning to get one. What can I do to protect myself?

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