Maryland – -(Ammoland.com)- Carry Cases That Are Pending in Maryland:
While the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit may have sustained the farcical constitutionality of Maryland’s “good and substantial reason” requirement for a carry permit in the Woollard case, that ruling has not gone unchallenged elsewhere.
Most recently, Massachusetts carry permit licensing scheme has been challenged. After losing in district court, that case is now before the Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Gould v. O’Leary, No. 17-2202 (1st Cir.). The First Circuit is the only circuit left that includes a state that imposes a “may issue” licensing regimen. The briefing is almost completed in that case. Of particular note are the briefs filed by the NRA (here) and by the appellants (here).
Maryland’s Attorney General Frosh has, of course, joined with other “may issue” states to file an amicus brief in support of the Massachusetts statute.
That amicus brief can be found here. The NRA brief details how many nineteenth and early twentieth century statutes restricting public carry were aimed at disarming African Americans and how that history does not support a prohibition against law-abiding citizens. The racist roots of gun control are also detailed in this article by Clayton E. Cramer. We see the same racist roots of gun control in Maryland.
Other carry cases are also pending. The D.C. Circuit’s decision in Wrenn v. DC, 864 F.3d 650 (D.C. Cir. 2017), struck down DC’s “may issue” carry permit statute under the Second Amendment. That Wrenn decision created a conflict in the circuits between DC and decisions in the Fourth Circuit (Woollard), the Third Circuit (Drake) and the Second Circuit (Kachalsky). In light of that circuit conflict, new district court challenges were filed in each of these adverse circuits. Those cases acknowledge binding circuit precedent but seek to overturn those decisions. A decision in one of those cases, Rogers v. Grewal, 18-1544 (D.N.J.) in New Jersey (in the Third Circuit) was just reached on May 21, 2018. Not surprisingly, the district court followed circuit precedent in Drake and dismissed the complaint. That decision is here. On June 18, 2018, the plaintiffs filed a notice of appeal to the Third Circuit. We expect that the Third Circuit will likewise follow its prior decision in Drake. That will set up the issue for a petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, seeking resolution of the circuit conflict. So stay tuned.
VOTE: The Maryland primary elections are being held on Tuesday, June 26, 2018. Get involved, get informed and please vote. In some areas in Maryland, one party is so predominant that the primary election will effectively determine who will win the general election. So voting in the primary may be your only opportunity to influence that choice.
Sincerely, Mark W. Pennak, President, MSI
You Can Help Us Too!
This is an election year and the primary election is June 26 and the general election is the first Tuesday in November. Every seat in the General Assembly is up as is every state-wide office, including the Governor and the Attorney General. We encourage everyone to exercise their First Amendment rights to vote and involve themselves in these elections by giving their time, money and efforts in support of candidates that they favor. Both the primary and general elections are very important. An unusually large number of legislators are not seeking reelection this year and those open seats are thus unencumbered by existing office holders.
Volunteers Needed
Maryland Shall Issue has a lot of great volunteers that come and help us educate the public at gun shows held around the region. We need more volunteers to help out the gun-show veterans. If you are an MSI member and can volunteer a few hours at one of our upcoming events, send us an email. We would deeply appreciate your help. Come on down and spend some time observing the other volunteers. When you feel ready, step in and let other gun owners know what MSI can do for them. We also need volunteers to help manage the table, hand out literature and help people fill out membership applications. There are many ways that you can help! Did we mention you get FREE admission to the gun show?
Maryland Wear & Carry Permit
For those interested in obtaining a Maryland Wear & Carry Permit, join Maryland Shall Issue at Elements – Eatery & Mixology 46580 Expedition Drive Lexington Park, MD 20653 for a seminar on how YOU qualify. Our primary focus in this meeting is on US Military Veterans, to include Active Duty, NG, Reserve and Retired – your DD 214 or active military ID exempts you from the MSP training requirements.
We will discuss how you qualify for a permit under existing law (Good and Substantial Reason required) and some of the legal requirements you should be aware of, under Maryland law. For non-Veterans, we will also discuss 7 other “G&S” reasons that may apply to you that you are unaware of, and how to draft an application that is likely to succeed in obtaining an unrestricted Permit.
Please register before July 9 by clicking (HERE) for the event
Current Members of Maryland Shall Issue admitted free with current membership card(s). Those interested in joining Maryland Shall Issue may do so at www.marylandshallissue.org, and/or may join (cash) at the door for $20.
About Maryland Shall Issue:
Mission Statement: Maryland Shall Issue is an all volunteer, non-partisan effort dedicated to the preservation and advancement of all gunowners’ rights in Maryland, with a primary goal of CCW reform to allow all law-abiding citizens the right to carry a concealed weapon; and to the education of the community to the awareness that ‘shall issue’ laws have, in all cases, resulted in decreased rates of violent crime. www.marylandshallissue.org