Bruen claims another victim.
On November 21, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit struck down Maryland’s preliminary handgun licensure requirement. The law required residents to get a “handgun qualification license” before obtaining a handgun.
Acquiring that license required submitting fingerprints for a background investigation and taking a four-hour-long firearms safety training course in which the applicant had to fire at least one live round. Then, after applying for this preliminary license, applicants had to wait up to thirty days for approval before beginning another gun registration process.
The plaintiffs sought to enjoin the provision of the statute requiring the preliminary handgun qualification license, arguing that the regulation violated the Second Amendment. The Fourth Circuit agreed, citing the Supreme Court’s decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, 142 S. Ct. 2111 (2022).
The Fourth Circuit ruled that the plaintiffs proved that the handgun licensure law regulated a course of conduct protected by the Second Amendment, and Maryland did not establish that the law was consistent with the Nation’s historical tradition. Therefore, the Court enjoined the state from enforcing the law.
Trial lawyers, if the authorities are prosecuting your client for violating a gun licensure statute, it is for you to cite Bruen, arguing that the law unconstitutionally restricts the ability of law-abiding adult citizens to possess handguns and the state has not presented a historical analog that justifies its restriction.
