House Democrats are expected to unveil proposals to curb gun violence Thursday.

The measures, which include an assault weapons ban, are their first response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Conn.

The news comes just one day after Vice President Joe Biden addressed the House Democratic Issues Conference.

"I'm not asking you to vote for something you don't believe, but I don't want to hear about, 'Well, we can't take it on because it's too politically dangerous,'" Biden said. "The world has changed. The American public has changed."

In Maryland, gun owners hit the streets to protest restrictions proposed by the Democratic Gov. Martin O'Malley.

O'Malley has called for a ban on military-style assault weapons and he wants gun owners to re-register weapons every five years.

Gun rights advocates, like Connie Boswell, say their safety is being sacrificed.

"I am a five-foot-two, 115-pound female who is recently widowed, and I don't want anyone trying to tell me how I can defend myself in my own home," she said.

Gun control opponents say if gun control legislation passes in Maryland, they'll make the issue a state-wide referendum.