US Supreme Court declines to hear Maryland handgun license case

Hannah Gaskill, The Baltimore Sun on Jan 13, 2025

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The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday said it will decline to hear a case regarding handgun licensing requirements in Maryland.

“This is great news for Maryland and common-sense gun laws. This law helps prevent tragedies and keeps families safe, by keeping guns away from those who want to harm our communities,” Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, said in a statement Monday. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough — Maryland’s Handgun Qualification Licensing Law is a key tool in our fight to end gun violence.”

Among a list of denied cases released by the court on Jan. 13 was a case brought in 2017 against the governor by the gun-rights group Maryland Shall Issue. The group claimed that requiring residents to apply for and obtain a handgun license violates the Second Amendment.

The lawsuit was filed initially against former Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, to challenge a 2013 law signed by former Gov. Martin O’Malley that requires people to submit fingerprints, undergo a background check and complete a training course before they can purchase a handgun.

It is also illegal to sell, rent, gift or transfer a firearm to a person without a license under that law.

Only state residents 21 or older can apply for a handgun qualification license. The licenses are issued by the Maryland State Police.

Applicants are required to pass a firearm safety course and undergo a background check to ensure they aren’t prohibited from owning a gun under state or federal law.

The application review process can take up to 30 days.

In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the law after the state appealed a November 2023 decision by a three-judge panel of the 4th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which ruled this provision of the law unconstitutional in a split 2-1 decision.

Mark Pennak of Maryland Shall Issue said the organization would be filing a petition to have the decision to uphold the law reviewed.

“With respect to the [handgun qualification license] case, that is the end of the road for this particular case, but it is far from the final word on the issue,” Maryland Shall Issue wrote in a statement posted to Facebook Monday afternoon, noting that other firearms policy cases, including assault weapons bans, may be relisted on the court’s order list in coming days. “So, we wait.”

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