Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN Legal & Legislation

Federal Judge Upholds Maryland Handgun Licensing Scheme

Thursday, August 19, 2021

Federal Judge Upholds Maryland Handgun Licensing Scheme

On Thursday, a federal judge upheld a Maryland law requiring anyone seeking to obtain a handgun to first acquire a Handgun Qualification License. This process requires Marylanders to do far more than pass a background check: before exercising their Constitutional right to self-defense, applicants must first pay potentially hundreds of dollars in fees, overcome all sorts of red tape, attend mandatory training, all while waiting up to 30 days. This is on top of another seven-business-day waiting period and background check when acquiring a handgun, and the NICS check that must be completed when the firearm is transferred. 

This decision follows the previous dismissal and reinstatement of the case by the Fourth Circuit. Gun owners should note the court’s admission that “[Maryland’s handgun requirements], undoubtedly burden this core Second Amendment right…and ‘make it considerably more difficult for a person lawfully to acquire and keep a firearm.’” Despite these difficult burdens and “‘conflicting views’” of the data used to justify this law, the court applied a weak version of intermediate scrutiny to uphold the law.

This decision came in the shadow of the pending Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen, which will be argued on November 3rd. This NRA-ILA-backed case challenges New York’s restrictive concealed-carry-licensing regime, and will give the Supreme Court the opportunity to affirm the individual right to bear arms outside of the home and, hopefully, to provide clarity to the lower courts how to address Second Amendment challenges moving forward.

While this decision is frustrating, NRA-ILA remains dedicated to protecting the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens everywhere. NRA-ILA will examine this decision in the days to come and will determine the best method to pursue that goal.

The case is captioned Maryland Shall Issue v. Hogan.

Please stay tuned to www.nraila.org for future updates on NRA-ILA’s ongoing efforts to defend your constitutional rights.

TRENDING NOW
One Big Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, and Heads Back to House

News  

Tuesday, July 1, 2025

One Big Beautiful Bill Clears Senate, and Heads Back to House

Earlier today the U.S. Senate passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This bill contained a provision that would, among other things, eliminate the burdensome $200 excise tax imposed by federal law on suppressors, short-barreled firearms, and “any ...

Congress Passes the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Now Headed to President Trump

News  

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Congress Passes the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” Now Headed to President Trump

Earlier today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This bill contained a provision that would, among other things, eliminate the burdensome $200 excise tax imposed by federal law on suppressors, short-barreled firearms, ...

U.S. House Sends Reconciliation Bill to President Trump

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, July 3, 2025

U.S. House Sends Reconciliation Bill to President Trump

NFA Tax on Suppressors, Short-Barreled Firearms, and Other Arms Reduced to $0

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

News  

Second Amendment  

Thursday, May 22, 2025

U.S. House Passes Reconciliation Bill, Removing Suppressors from the National Firearms Act

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R.1 the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included Section 2 of the Hearing Protection Act, completely removing suppressors from the National Firearms Act (NFA).

U.S. Senate Adds Pro-Gun Tax Relief Language Back into Reconciliation Bill

News  

Saturday, June 28, 2025

U.S. Senate Adds Pro-Gun Tax Relief Language Back into Reconciliation Bill

Overnight, the U.S. Senate added pro-gun tax relief language back into the Reconciliation bill after the Senate Parliamentarian struck out an earlier provision.  While this new provision is not as expansive as the language we advocated for which ...

Armed Churchgoers Prevent Mass Attack as State Lawmakers Plot More Gun Control

News  

Monday, June 30, 2025

Armed Churchgoers Prevent Mass Attack as State Lawmakers Plot More Gun Control

Just over an hour away from the state capitol in Lansing, Michigan – even as lawmakers worked feverishly to pass various gun control measures, including expansion of “gun free” zones – a chilling reminder unfolded of the ...

Canada’s Big Ugly Gun Grab: An Update

News  

Monday, June 30, 2025

Canada’s Big Ugly Gun Grab: An Update

Canada’s Liberal government is pressing on with its harebrained gun ban and confiscation program for “assault style weapons,” but, true to form and precedents, it has been far from smooth sailing.

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Tuesday, June 24, 2025

North Carolina: Update on Gun Bills Moving through the General Assembly

Recently, House Bill 193 (H193) was reported favorably out of both the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Rules Committee, with amendments.

Urge the U.S. Senate to Pass the One Big Beautiful Bill – Contact Your U.S. Senators Today!

News  

Monday, June 30, 2025

Urge the U.S. Senate to Pass the One Big Beautiful Bill – Contact Your U.S. Senators Today!

The U.S. Senate has cleared a number of procedural hurdles and is preparing to vote on the One Big Beautiful Bill. This vote will likely come within the next day. The One Big Beautiful Bill includes ...

U.S. Senate Forced to Remove Pro-Gun Language from Reconciliation Bill

News  

Friday, June 27, 2025

U.S. Senate Forced to Remove Pro-Gun Language from Reconciliation Bill

Today, the U.S. Senate was forced to remove the pro-gun language that had been previously included in the Reconciliation Bill currently making its way through the chamber. We explained in a previous article that this language would, ...

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.