In a move described as an effort to shield abused women, the Senate approved last night a bill allowing a judge to order subjects of temporary protective orders to surrender any firearms they possess.

The vote was 29 to 17, with opponents arguing that the measure is an unwarranted infringement of a person's constitutional right to have a gun.

Under the bill, a district or circuit court judge would be authorized to require that any firearms be surrendered when a temporary order is issued requiring a person to stay away from another.

Such orders typically last for a week but may be up to a month long, said Sen. Brian E. Frosh, a Montgomery County Democrat who was the bill's chief sponsor.

Courts have lacked clear legal authority to confiscate all firearms in such cases, advocates say. But many temporary protective orders are issued on an emergency basis, after the court hears from only one side of the relationship in dispute.

Opponents objected to gun owners' being required to give up their firearms, even temporarily, without the right to a hearing.

"Here we are taking people's gun rights, based on nothing more than an accusation," said Sen. Alex X. Mooney, a Frederick County Republican.

Frosh said there have been many cases of women killed by their spouses or boyfriends when they tried to separate, and that guns were involved in about half of those cases.

A recent case involved a Howard County woman and her three children who were shot to death in a Montgomery County park last Thanksgiving by her former husband, who then killed himself. The woman had asked Frederick County courts to confiscate his .22-caliber rifle, but they did not.

"When you balance a woman's life against the right to have firearms for a week or even four weeks, it's a pretty easy call to make," Frosh said.

A similar bill is pending in the House.

tim.wheeler@baltsun.com