Moore inked SB 1 and HB 824 as what supporters ridiculously touted as steps towards slashing Maryland’s notorious crime rate. The statutes also add further burdens to the process citizens must undertake to acquire a carry license.
The application fee for a carry license increased from $75 to $125, and the renewal cost from $50 to $75. More stringent requirements for firearm training courses are now in place, two sets of fingerprints must be submitted, and the legal age to possess a weapon rose from 18 to 21.
The state’s unconstitutional acts are so broad and overreaching that they result in law-abiding Maryland citizens being unable to carry weapons for self-defense virtually anywhere.
The NRA was quick to note the optics surrounding the new laws, especially concerning Baltimore. The city is one of the murder capitals of the nation, and it is well-documented that criminals have an easy time getting away with their crimes while the good residents of the city suffer.
As Randy Kozuch, executive director of the association’s legal arm NRA-ILA explained, “it is vital for law-abiding Marylanders to have an effective means of defending themselves and their loved ones. Our laws should burden criminals and aid good, lawful people.” He added, “It is evident that those in power in Maryland care more for criminals and less for the law-abiding.”
Under the new law, it is now illegal for citizens to carry in an astonishing array of locales. For example, carrying firearms is prohibited in state parks and forests, state highway rest areas, Maryland transit facilities, public school properties, state public buildings, Maryland Racing Commission properties, Camden Yards, any video lottery location, and public infrastructure.
Furthermore, carry is illegal in vehicles within 1,000 yards of a demonstration, health care facilities, stadiums, amusement parks and even all private property unless the owner expressly grants permission for individuals to do so.
There are many other prohibitions on the freedom to carry, but the gist is clear. Maryland does not want you to carry a firearm anywhere.
This list of so-called “sensitive” places flies directly in the face of the Supreme Court’s clear intent in last year’s monumental Bruen decision. The new case, Kipke v. Moore, bears close watching as it will almost certainly result in the state’s dramatic imposition on Second Amendment rights being shot down.
As the NRA noted, “Maryland deceitfully responded by amending its laws concocting a scheme where law-abiding Marylanders will not be able to legally carry anywhere in the state.”
D.J. Spiker, NFA-ILA’s Maryland state director, clearly explained why the group immediately pounced on the new state laws.
“The NRA is suing because this is illegal under the U.S. Constitution, but it’s also important to note these laws defy common sense.” Spiker added, “You know who isn’t going to do all of this to get a permit? And who isn’t going to worry about where it’s legal to carry? Criminals. This law will only prevent law-abiding people from exercising their rights.”
Whatever the attributes of anti-gun zealots are, subtlety is not one of them. As the Maryland laws prove, those with an agenda do not care how unconstitutional their actions are. Lawmakers instead chose to egregiously violate the law of the land to pursue their obvious goals.
Those goals include stripping Second Amendment rights away from citizens who uphold the law. If the legislature was truly concerned with violent crime, they would make laws and direct resources towards getting criminals off the streets and behind bars where they belong.
