Federal court overturns Maryland law requiring handgun qualification licenses

[Democrats fail again]

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday that a state law requiring
Marylanders to obtain a handgun qualification license before purchasing or
receiving a firearm is unconstitutional.

“This is a significant ruling for the Second Amendment and every American
who cherishes our constitutional freedoms,” said Randy Kozuch, the
executive director of the National Rifle Association Institute for
Legislative Action, in a statement.

In a split 2-1 decision, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court
of Appeals found a portion of the state’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013 to be
unconstitutional. That part of the law prohibits Marylanders from
purchasing, renting or receiving a handgun unless they have received a
valid handgun qualification license.

It is also illegal to sell, rent, gift or transfer a firearm to a person
without a license under that law.

To receive a handgun qualification license, applicants must be Maryland
residents aged 21 or older. They are required to pass a firearm safety
course and undergo a background check to ensure they aren’t prohibited
from owning a gun under state or federal law. The licenses are issued by
the Maryland State Police. The application review process can take up to
30 days.

The case, brought on behalf of the firearms rights organization Maryland
Shall Issue, two individual plaintiffs and a gun store, was filed
initially against former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican. Hogan met his
term limit earlier this year and was replaced by Democratic Gov. Wes
Moore, who is now considered the defendant in the case.

Moore said he is “disappointed” by Tuesday’s decision.

“This law is not about stripping away rights from responsible gun owners —
it’s about every Marylander having the right to live free from fear,” the
governor said. “I am determined to do more than just give thoughts and
prayers and attend funerals — and that’s why this law is vital to our
administration’s commitment to keeping guns out of the wrong hands and
saving lives.”

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, a Democrat, said he is “incredibly
frustrated,” and that Tuesday’s ruling “threatens the safety of our
communities.”

State Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, called the
ruling “crazy.”

“Every responsible gun owner supports basic firearm training and keeping
guns out of criminals’ hands,” Ferguson said. “This decision will
unequivocally lead to more gun violence and firearm-related deaths.”

The law was upheld when it was initially challenged in 2016.

Tuesday’s opinion, written by U.S. Circuit Judge Julius Richardson,
reversed that ruling. Richardson, an appointee of former President Donald
Trump who clerked for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William
Rehnquist, cited the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the New York State
Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which overturned New York state’s
gun licensing policy and disrupted the licensing process in Maryland,
California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

The state has two weeks to ask for a review of the decision by the entire
14-judge 4th Circuit. It also may ask the Supreme Court to review the
decision.

The New York law that the Supreme Court deemed unconstitutional in 2022
required people applying for permits to carry guns in public to
demonstrate “proper cause” to successfully receive a concealed carry
permit.

In his opinion, Richardson wrote that the Bruen decision “effected a sea
change in Second Amendment law” and that, in order for the law to be
constitutional, the state must demonstrate that the challenged law is
similar enough to “a historically recognized exception to the right to
keep and bear arms.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, said that the ruling is
“yet another disastrous consequence of the absurd new Supreme Court
standard that today’s gun laws need to match those from centuries ago.”

In a statement issued after the release of the opinion, William Taylor,
the deputy director of Second Amendment litigation at Everytown Law, a
group that advocates for gun safety, said that the now-stricken licensing
process is “not only common sense, it is entirely consistent with the
Second Amendment and the new test established by the Bruen decision.”

“While today’s decision is a setback to public safety, we fully expect
that the full 4th Circuit, or if necessary, the Supreme Court, will
reverse this dangerous decision and uphold Maryland’s critical gun safety
law,” he said.

The three-judge panel ruled Tuesday that the state’s argument for
upholding the law did not meet the Bruen case’s historical standard.

“The 4th Circuit Court’s decision to overturn Maryland’s restrictive gun
license law sends a clear message: Law-abiding Marylanders’ fundamental
right to self-defense must not be infringed,” Kozuch said.

https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-fourth-circuit-overturn-
guns-20231121-oraonacw3rh3dgx3njwnei5voa-story.html