Maryland's handgun permit law unconstitutional, judge rules

[QuietDan]

Maryland's handgun permit law unconstitutional, judge rules

A federal judge has ruled that Maryland's handgun permit law is unconstitutional.

In an opinion filed Monday, U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg says a requirement that residents show a "good and substantial reason" to carry a handgun infringes their Second Amendment right to bear arms. He says it isn't sufficiently tailored to the state's public safety interests.

Plaintiff Raymond Woollard was denied a renewal of his permit in 2009 because he could not show he had been subject to "threats occurring beyond his residence." Woollard obtained the permit after fighting with an intruder in his Hampstead home in 2002.

The lawsuit, which names the state police superintendent and members of the Handgun Permit Review Board, was also filed on behalf of the Bellevue, Wash.-based Second Amendment Foundation.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/breaking/bs-md-handgun-law-20120305,0,6504189.story

[Glock30]

Encouraging. Is that portion of the law going to be struck, or does this require a complete re-write of the law? Does it invalidate the law outright for now?

Hopefully this ruling can used as a precedent to nudge other states (namely, New England area) to have a more reasonable permit process.

[Guest 6.8 AR]

I imagine the decision may have to go up the chain a bit more for Marylanders to get a reprieve

from their commie gun laws. They're pretty bad from what I hear and the region goes to the left

quite a bit.