A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down Maryland’s handgun licensing law, finding that its requirements, which include submitting fingerprints for a background check and taking a four-hour firearms safety course, are unconstitutionally restrictive.
In a 2-1 ruling, judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond said they considered the case in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.”
The underlying lawsuit was filed in 2016 as a challenge to a Maryland law requiring people to obtain a special license before purchasing a handgun. The law, which was passed in 2013 in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, laid out a series of necessary steps for would-be gun purchasers: completing four hours of safety training that includes firing one live round, submitting fingerprints and passing a background check, being 21 and residing in Maryland.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said he was disappointed in the circuit court’s ruling and will “continue to fight for this law.” He said his administration is reviewing the ruling and considering its options.
Ridiculous. Throwing out 250+ years of settled law because of a radical Supreme Court with two bullshit appointments.
The earliest hand gun licensing systems weren’t implemented until the just before the Civil War in the South (for the exact reasons you’d think the South would do that).
True. Before that you needed to have a certain job. Purposive open carry laws. The other gun law at the time was breach of peace, which is what you’d have been charged with for open carrying. The idea that guns cannot be regulated is a modern invention by people who want Americans to kill each other, and who don’t give a fuck about rights.
Seriously. People had to register their guns since the country was founded. There were also safe storage laws and bans on concealed and open carry.