Second Amendment to the US Constitution text on parchment paper
(January 13, 2025) – Attorney General Anthony G. Brown issued the following statement after the Supreme Court of the United States declined to hear a challenge of Maryland’s law requiring most residents to obtain a license before purchasing a handgun.
In Maryland, most applicants for handgun qualification licenses are required to submit fingerprints, undergo a background check, and complete a training course, among other requirements.
Maryland’s Handgun Qualification Licensing law was enacted in 2013 after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adults. On August 23, 2024, in a 14-2 decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Maryland Shall Issue v. Wes Moore rejected a Second Amendment challenge to a state law requiring a Handgun Qualification License (or HQL) to purchase a handgun.
The plaintiffs in that case appealed the decision to the highest court of the land, which today declined to hear the case. “This is great news for Maryland and common-sense gun laws.
This law helps prevent tragedies and keeps families safe, by keeping guns away from those who want to harm our communities,” said Attorney General Brown. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough – Maryland’s Handgun Qualification Licensing Law is a key tool in our fight to end gun violence.”
(August 23, 2024) – Attorney General Anthony Brown issued the following statement after the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit today upheld Maryland’s law requiring most residents to obtain a license before purchasing a handgun.
In a 14-2 decision, the court in Maryland Shall Issue v. Wes Moore rejected a Second Amendment challenge to a state law requiring a Handgun Qualification License to purchase a handgun.
Applicants for the license are required to submit fingerprints, undergo a background check and complete a training course. Certain residents, including current or retired law enforcement officers in good standing and current or retired members of the United States military are exempt.
Maryland’s Handgun Qualification Licensing law was enacted in 2013 after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, in 2012 that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adults.
Today’s decision comes after hearing before the full court of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit earlier this year. “This is a great day for Maryland and for common-sense gun safety. We must ensure guns stay out of the hands of those who are not allowed, under our laws, to carry them. The application for a gun license and the required training and background check, are all critical safety checks. Common-sense gun safety laws protect all Marylanders and can prevent tragedies that leave our communities scarred and broken from ever happening in the first place. I have said it before and I will say it again, hopes and wishes do not stop deadly violence from erupting on our streets, but common-sense gun laws can.”
