United States – On Friday in another major split verdict, in the 4th U S Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond Virginia upheld Maryland’s handgun licensing provisions 14-2 . This decision negates a 2-1 panel decision made the previous year in regards to the state’s 2013 licensing law that was considered unconstitutional. According to the law every citizen in Maryland has to obtain a license, undergo training as well as pass through a Criminal Background check in an effort to acquire a handgun, as reported by Reuters.
The restrictions are outlined in the Firearm Safety Act of 2013 passed in the wake of the elementary school shooting in Newtown Connecticut in which 26 children, and six teachers, were killed. The law also requires that he should be forced to take a background check according to his fingerprints in addition to having to take four hours firearms safety course, and may take up to 30 days to be licensed.
Legal Debate
Early last year, a 2-1 panel of the same court agreed with the gun rights activists and decided that Maryland ran afoul of the Second Amendment by enacting the law. The panel relied on the recent supreme court ruling of New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v, Bruen in that any contemporary regulation of firearms must find its roots and justification in the early periods of American history to be constitutional.
Majority Opinion
Majority opinion U. S. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan also quoted a footnote in the Supreme Court’s decision in 2022 which stated that “shall-issue” licensing regimes such as that operated in Maryland are presumed to be constitutional. Judge Keenan contended that, albeit these licensing procedures may amount to preconditions as a hindrance, they are vital in ensuring that only responsible citizens who wish to exercise their Second Amendment rights are permitted, as reported by Reuters.
Similar Licensing Laws
Maryland’s law conforms with more than forty other states that have “shall-issue” licensing laws that compel the issuance of a handgun qualification license to any lawful applicant. Even so, the National Rifle Association, the organization that funded and backed the lawsuit, has not released a statement regarding the court’s ruling.