by AWR Hawkins
On Tuesday, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit found that Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License requirement violated the constitution.
Plaintiffs in the case include Maryland Shall Issue, Inc., Atlantic Guns, Inc., Deborah Kay Miller, and Susan Brancato Vizas.
The case reached the Fourth Circuit panel on appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore
The judges on the panel were Donald Trump appointee Julius N. Richardson, George W. Bush appointee G. Steven Agee, and Barack Obama appointee Barbara Milano Keenan.
Richardson and Agee agreed in the majority against the handgun license requirement and Keenan dissented.
Richardson wrote the majority opinion, noting numerous gun controls surrounding firearm purchases in Maryland and then pointing to a specific gun control — the Handgun Qualification License — pertaining to handguns:
For handguns specifically…there is an additional, preliminary step: You must also obtain a “handgun qualification license.” … Getting that license requires, among other things, submitting fingerprints to undergo a background “investigation” and taking a four-hour-long “firearms safety training course” in which you must fire at least one live round. Then, after submitting your application for this extra license, you must wait up to thirty days for approval before you can start the rest of the process.