Current Maryland Constitution

On this date (Aug. 17) the Maryland convention that wrote the current state constitution completed its work. Maryland is now governed by a constitution that is 148 years old.

Maryland's constitution is much longer than most others. It was written just 3 years after the earlier Maryland constitution, the one which was most noted for having abolished slavery in our state, the only one to do that voluntarily during the Civil War. The current constitution was adopted by a vote of about 27,000 to about 23,000, not exactly an overwhelming vote.

Some notable things in the current Maryland constitution are a lack of the right to bear arms, giving juries the right to judge law as well as facts which means they can vote against what the judge tells them the law is. 

Our current constitution has been amended almost 100 times. It contains a provision requiring that every 20 years the people vote on whether to call a constitutional convention. The last time this was on the ballot, in 2010, the people voted not to do so by a vote of 48% to 40%.