2024 Firearms Update – Part II
Courts continue to decide Second Amendment issues at a rapid pace since SCOTUS’s Bruen decision in 2022. In this blog, I will briefly discuss two recent Second Amendment decisions interpreting Maryland gun laws.
Maryland “assault weapons” ban:
In Bianchi v. Brown, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Maryland Firearms Safety Act of 2013, which prohibits military-style “assault weapons.” The issue in the case was whether the general prohibition on the sale and possession of certain military-style “assault weapons” is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. The court held that:
“[t]he assault weapons at issue fall outside the ambit of protection offered by the Second Amendment because, in essence, they are military-style weapons designed for sustained combat operations that are ill-suited and disproportionate to the need for self-defense. Moreover, the Maryland law fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation. It is but another example of a state regulating excessively dangerous weapons once their incompatibility with a lawful and safe society becomes apparent, while nonetheless preserving avenues for armed self-defense.”
This was decided around the same time that the Supreme Court decided not to hear a case involving a request to enjoin enforcement of Illinois’s “assault weapons” ban pending an appeal to the Seventh Circuit. The case is Bevis, et. al. v. City of Naperville, and the case is expected to be heard by the Seventh Circuit in the coming months. If the Illinois “assault weapons” ban is struck down, that would create a circuit split among federal appellate courts.
Maryland’s carry restrictions partially struck down
Maryland’s Gun Safety Act of 2023 was enacted in response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen that invalidated Maryland’s requirement that a person applying for a carry permit have a “good and substantial” reason for doing so. After Bruen, it opened the door for many more people to apply for and obtain carry permits. The Gun Safety Act of 2023 restricted the locations where a person may lawfully carry a firearm.
On August 2, 2024, a U.S. District Court judge struck down certain portions of the law as violating the Second Amendment. Though the judge struck down provisions barring a person from carrying a firearm in an establishment that serves alcohol (such as restaurants and bars), near a public demonstration, or on private property without the owner’s consent, much of the law remains intact. Maryland still prohibits carrying firearms at amusement parks, state parks, schools, government buildings, hospitals, and several other locations.
For more information, please read our prior post regarding the 2024 Firearm Laws Updates.
Consult an attorney experienced in firearm laws:
The firearm laws are changing rapidly throughout the country. Since gun offenses can carry stiff penalties, including jail time, make sure that you speak with an experienced firearms law attorney so that you can ensure your compliance with national and local laws. Please contact our office to speak with a criminal defense attorney. These convictions carry collateral consequences that may affect immigration, employment, and receipt of public assistance.
