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NRA-Endorsed Incoming GOP Governor Will Keep State's Sweeping Gun Control Law
Governor-elect Larry Hogan, of Maryland, talks about recent Republican party gains during a press conference at the Republican governors' conference in Boca Raton, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. The organization's annual conference began Wednesday in a luxury oceanside resort where the nation's Republican governors are celebrating their party's recent success in the midterm elections while privately jockeying for position as the 2016 presidential contest looms. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

NRA-Endorsed Incoming GOP Governor Will Keep State's Sweeping Gun Control Law

A spokesman for Maryland Governor-elect Larry Hogan said the Republican will not attempt to repeal the state’s sweeping gun control law that's received opposition from 21 states.

Governor-elect Larry Hogan, of Maryland, talks about recent Republican party gains during a press conference at the Republican governors' conference in Boca Raton, Fla., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014. The organization's annual conference began Wednesday in a luxury oceanside resort where the nation's Republican governors are celebrating their party's recent success in the midterm elections while privately jockeying for position as the 2016 presidential contest looms. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter) Maryland Governor-elect Larry Hogan speaks during a press conference at the Republican Governors Association conference in Boca Raton, Fla., Nov. 19, 2014. (AP/J Pat Carter)

“If we get bogged down on tinkering around with law in Maryland on controversial issues, we’re never going be able to work together across party lines to fix our broken economy,” Hogan spokesman Adam Dubitsky told the University of Maryland campus newspaper, the Diamondback.

Twenty-one states have filed a brief in support of a lawsuit brought by gun owners, arguing that Maryland’s restrictions affect the Second Amendment rights of their residents.

Hogan spokeswoman Erin Montgomery told TheBlaze last month that the incoming governor wouldn't have an announcement about the law until after he took office. Montgomery declined to comment Thursday on whether Hogan would support funding the state’s defense of the lawsuit.

Hogan was endorsed during the campaign by the National Rifle Association, which said: “This endorsement is based on Hogan’s support for and commitment to the Second Amendment. Larry Hogan respects the rule of law and the Second Amendment rights of Maryland’s law-abiding citizens.”

An NRA representative did not comment on the new word from Hogan.

Democrats pounced after the NRA's endorsement, saying Hogan would take away the post-2013 gun control signed by outgoing Gov. Martin O’Malley (D). The Maryland Firearms Safety Act bans 45 assault weapons, limits magazines to 10 rounds and requires fingerprint licensing for the purchase of handguns.

Hogan said during the campaign that he wouldn’t attempt to roll back the law through the state legislature. In a blue state with an overwhelmingly Democratic legislature, such a feat would be difficult.

In November, a bipartisan coalition of 21 state attorneys general, led by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey, filed an amicus brief to the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting a suit brought by Maryland gun owners.

The Maryland law does not directly affect gun laws in other states, but the attorneys general contend the law was written so broadly that it affects the Second Amendment rights of citizens in other states.

Joining West Virginia are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.

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