Politics & Government

Supreme Court Lets Restrictive Maryland Gun Law Stand

An appeals court earlier ruled Maryland's rules do not infringe Second Amendment rights.

By Adam Bednar

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case challenging the legality of Maryland’s restrictive gun law requiring residents to make a case for carrying a weapon that can then be denied.

The move lets stand an appeals court ruling that the law does not infringe upon Second Amendment rights, according to The Baltimore Sun.

The newspaper reports most states have a "shall issue" standard that means a permit is issued if a resident meets certain requirements, but Maryland has a "may issue" standard that makes it easier for the state to deny granting a permit. 

The court did not issue a reason for its decision.

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Maryland has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the country. Those laws became even stricter on Oct. 1 when a new law banning certain kind of weapons, restricting clip capacity and requiring safety training before purchasing a handgun went into effect. 

But the new laws have had some unintended consequences.

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In fact, so many residents rushed to purchase guns ahead of the new law that it caused a backup of applications to be processed by the Maryland State Police. The backlog was so severe other state employees were used to help clear the logjam.

But that move prompted privacy concerns from some residents, who worried about non-police employees having access to sensitive information included on purchase applications.

Gun rights groups sought an injunction to keep the new laws from going into effect, but the judge didn’t grant it because advocates waited too long to make the request. 


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