A federal appeals court on Tuesday struck down Maryland’s handgun licensing law, finding that its requirements, which include submitting fingerprints for a background check and taking a four-hour firearms safety course, are unconstitutionally restrictive.
In a 2-1 ruling, judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond said they considered the case in light of a U.S. Supreme Court decision last year that “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.”
The underlying lawsuit was filed in 2016 as a challenge to a Maryland law requiring people to obtain a special license before purchasing a handgun. The law, which was passed in 2013 in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, laid out a series of necessary steps for would-be gun purchasers: completing four hours of safety training that includes firing one live round, submitting fingerprints and passing a background check, being 21 and residing in Maryland.
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, a Democrat, said he was disappointed in the circuit court’s ruling and will “continue to fight for this law.” He said his administration is reviewing the ruling and considering its options.
Seriously. People had to register their guns since the country was founded. There were also safe storage laws and bans on concealed and open carry.
Source? Pre '64 there wasn’t even mandated serialization of commerical sold firearms so a registration system would have been difficult to implement.
You literally had to hand in your guns when you came into town. Don’t need numbers when the sheriff is keeping them in a safe with ownership tags on them.
https://theconversation.com/five-types-of-gun-laws-the-founding-fathers-loved-85364
Not difficult at all since there were a lot fewer people and most people knew each other. Because the militia was supposed to be our main defense, being a part of it meant your guns had to be inspected to be well-regulated.
We did quickly move away from the militia focused model though when there was a big loss against Natives due to terribly coordinated militias.
That law is about ensuring the militia’s guns were of adequate quality to fight. If they came to your house and found you didn’t have a good fighting gun at hand you’d get in trouble. I’m not sure that’s the parallel you want it to be.
It’s exactly the parallel it should be. Because there is no militia anymore. That doesn’t mean you ignore half the amendment. It means no one qualifies for the second amendment anymore.
Did you actually read your “source”? The article claims a lot but offers no substantiation to many of the claims.
And after we moved away from militias, people stopped acting like the 2nd amendment applies to anything, right? If a militia isn’t required anymore, the basis for the 2nd amendment is gone, so it doesn’t apply.
I wish logic was used by people more often…