Maryland passed a strict gun licensing law after Sandy Hook. An appeals court just struck it down
By Josh Campbell, CNN
(CNN) — A federal appeals court struck down Maryland’s licensing requirements for handgun owners Tuesday, citing a 2022 landmark ruling by the conservative-majority US Supreme Court.
Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013, passed in the wake of the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was deemed unconstitutional in the 2-1 ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
At issue were key components of the state law, which imposes strict standards to qualify for a license to own a handgun.
Tuesday’s ruling comes nearly 11 years after 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary and as the US remains gripped by an epidemic of deadly shootings. This year alone, more than 38,400 people have been killed by gun violence in a nation that has seen 612 mass shootings, per the Gun Violence Archive.
Under the Maryland law, an applicant for a handgun license must meet four requirements. They must be at least 21 years old, a resident of the state, complete a gun safety course and undergo a background check to ensure they are not barred under federal or state law from owning a firearm.
An applicant must then fill out an application, pay a processing fee, and wait up to 30 days for a state official to issue a license.
The appeals court ruled that requiring applicants to wait up to 30 days for a handgun permit violated the constitutional rights of citizens, and “the law’s waiting period could well be the critical time in which the applicant expects to face danger.”
In its ruling, the court noted the 2022 Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.”
That ruling changed the framework judges must use to make decisions, indicating modern gun control laws are only constitutional if a similar law was in effect at the founding of the nation. The appeals court on Tuesday held that Maryland’s handgun law failed to meet the “historical” test outlined in the Supreme Court’s ruling.
The state had provided no compelling historical law requiring “advance permission” before a citizen can purchase a firearm, the appeals court noted.
“We are weighing options for next steps in this case, which prevents us from any further comment at this point,” said state attorney general’s office spokesperson Jennifer Donelan, when asked if Maryland planned to appeal Tuesday’s decision to the US Supreme Court.
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