He attended the University of Maryland, College Park, from 1963 to 1964, afterwards serving in the Vietnam War as a sergeant in the U.S. Marine Corps.

He was appointed by Governor William Donald Schaefer as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates, succeeding Thomas A. Rymer in January 1988.

[8] Owings was appointed the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs on March 18, 2004, by Governor Bob Ehrlich.

[11] He announced his candidacy in January 2010, and ran on a platform criticizing O'Malley for raising taxes, cutting the state's budget, and repealing the death penalty.

[15] In December 2014, Governor-elect Larry Hogan announced that he would appoint Owings as Secretary of the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs.

[23][24] His funeral was attended by Hogan, Bob Ehlrich, U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer, and Maryland Veterans Affairs Secretary Anthony Woods.

[28] During the 1991 legislative session, Owings voted against a bill creating a referendum on codifying the right to abortion into the Constitution of Maryland.

[34] In September 2019, Owings ordered the removal of a plaque put up the by Sons of the Confederacy to honor Raphael Semmes, a Confederate Navy officer who had attended the Charlotte Hall Military Academy.

[35] During the 2004 legislative session, Owings voted against a bill to raise $1 billion in sales and income taxes to pay for education reforms.