By: Friedrich Seiltgen
Copyright © 2023
Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013 was passed after the Sandy Hook shooting. It required that applicants for a handgun permit were at least 21 years of age, were a Maryland resident, had completed a gun safety course, and had passed a background check.
After that, the applicant could fill out an application, pay a fee, and wait up to 30 days for their permit.
The law was struck down in a 2-1 vote by the Federal Appeals Court for the 4th Circuit.
The court ruled that waiting up to 30 days for a handgun permit violated the Constitution, and “the law’s waiting period could well be the critical time in which the applicant expects to face danger.”
The most significant factor in the court’s ruling was the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen, which “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.”
The Bruen ruling changed the model judges use to make decisions, namely, that modern gun control laws are only constitutional if a similar law was in effect at the nation’s founding. The appeals court held that Maryland’s handgun law failed to meet the “historical” test outlined in the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The court ruled that Maryland provided no compelling historical law requiring “advance permission” before a citizen can purchase a firearm, the appeals court noted.
Judge Julius Richardson wrote, “The challenged law restricts the ability of law-abiding adult citizens to possess handguns . . . But even though Maryland’s law does not prohibit Plaintiffs from owning handguns at some time in the future, it still prohibits them from owning handguns now.”
“In other words, though it does not permanently bar Plaintiffs from owning handguns, the challenged law deprives them of that ability until their application is approved, no matter what they do,” he continued.
The Maryland attorney general declined to comment on the ruling, stating they are “weighing options” over whether to appeal it.
That’s all for now, folks! Please keep sending in your questions, tips, and article ideas. And as always – “Let’s Be Careful Out There.”
Friedrich Seiltgen is a retired Master Police Officer with 20 years of service with the Orlando Police Department. He conducts training in Lone Wolf Terrorism Counterstrategies, Firearms, and Active Shooter Response.
His writing has appeared in RECOIL, www.floridajolt.com, The Counterterrorist Magazine, American Thinker, Soldier of Fortune, Homeland Security Today, Off Grid, and The Journal of Counterterrorism & Homeland Security International.
Contact him at [email protected].