"Dangerous & Misguided Decision": Maryland Democrats Angered By Federal Court Overturning Handgun Licensing Law
Democratic lawmakers in Maryland expressed discontent following a decision by a federal appeals court to overturn a firearm regulation in the progressive state, which mandated that residents must acquire a license before purchasing a handgun.
In a 2-1 ruling, a panel of the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland lawmakers can no longer pile on additional regulations for purchasing handguns. The court said the law was unenforceable following the pro-2A ruling in the Supreme Court last year.
Circuit Judge Julius N. Richardson wrote in an opinion with Judge G. Steven Agee, "The challenged law restricts the ability of law-abiding adult citizens to possess handguns, and the state has not presented a historical analogue that justifies its restriction; indeed, it has seemingly admitted that it couldn't find one."
The judges continued, "Under the Supreme Court's new burden-shifting test for these claims, Maryland's law thus fails, and we must enjoin its enforcement."
They said the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling in the case New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen has led to a "sea change in Second Amendment law."
Firearms blog website Bearing Arms provided a summary of just how complex Maryland Democrats have made it for law-abiding taxpayers to purchase a pistol for self-defense:
A decade ago, Maryland lawmakers imposed a new burden on residents hoping to exercise their Second Amendment right to keep and bear a handgun by creating a "Handgun Qualification License." Before any would-be gun owner can take possession of a pistol, they must first jump through several state-mandated hoops, from submitting fingerprints as part of a background check investigation to taking a four-hour-long "firearms safety training course" that includes the firing of at least one live round of ammunition. After waiting 30 days or more for approval, the would-be gun owner then has to go through another background check and an arbitrary seven-day waiting period before they can take possession of their pistol, though they must run another bureaucratic gauntlet before they're actually allowed to carry the sidearm in self-defense.
How absurd? Democrats have imposed some of the strictest gun restrictions in the country while failing to enforce 'common sense' law and order in metro areas like Baltimore City as violent crime spreads to surrounding counties.
Meanwhile, local media outlet The Baltimore Banner received a statement from Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, who was truly disappointed in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals' 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."
Moore said his team would "continue to fight for this law." The state could appeal the case to the Supreme Court.
The media outlet, of course, reached out for comment to anti-gunner Everytown for Gun Safety, who called the ruling a "dangerous and misguided decision."
"Requiring handgun purchasers to pass a background check and undergo gun safety training prior to purchasing a gun is not only common sense, it is entirely consistent with the Second Amendment and the new test established by the Bruen decision," William Taylor, a deputy director with Everytown Law, said in a statement.
It should also be noted that billionaire Michael Bloomberg funds Everytown with the goal of disarming America.
"Today's decision is crazy," Senate President Bill Ferguson, a Baltimore Democrat, said in a statement.
Crazy, how? Throwing up barriers to deter law-abiding folks from owning guns while Democrats fail to enforce law and order is crazy. People want to defend themselves from the chaos in Democrat cities.
"Even the liberal Fourth Circuit must recognize the broad popularity of the Bruen decision to maintain its legitimacy," Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed stated.