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.

  • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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    10 months ago

    If gun owners were an issue…the 500 million firearms in civ hands means you’d know about it.

    • PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee
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      10 months ago

      It’s the pro-gun crowd that insist no systems are enacted to separate “idiots” and “domestic terrorists” from “responsible gun owners”, so you’re either going to have to take responsibility for them or finally agree to changes that single them out.

      Maybe if you can’t come to an agreement with the rest of the country, you could come to some kind of agreement with the mass shooters instead?

      They want to shoot children, the pro-gun community has children, and the pro-gun community believes that some children should be shot if it means maintaining the current gun laws.

      That should settle things down until you’ve finished building your mental health utopia where its safe to give a gun to any man, woman or child, at any time, because you’ve completely cured violent impulses forever.

      If gun owners were an issue…the 500 million firearms in civ hands means you’d know about it.

      We do know about it. The entire world knows about it. That’s literally what this whole conversation is about.

      • SupraMario@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        It’s the pro-gun crowd that insist no systems are enacted to separate “idiots” and “domestic terrorists” from “responsible gun owners”, so you’re either going to have to take responsibility for them or finally agree to changes that single them out.

        Yes, please in your Almighty wisdom tell us how you would enact this?

        Maybe if you can’t come to an agreement with the rest of the country, you could come to some kind of agreement with the mass shooters instead?

        The rest of the country? You do realize that people who are gun owners are the majority right? There are way more people who own them, then not. Mass shootings are a recent phenomenon, not something that has been happening for forever and it’s all the guns fault. We’ve been armed for a long time, hell kids used to bring their rifles to school so they could go hunt afterwards, and this was less than 40 years ago that kids were doing this.

        They want to shoot children, the pro-gun community has children, and the pro-gun community believes that some children should be shot if it means maintaining the current gun laws.

        Ah yes here it comes the tried and true method of dehumanizing your opponent…you think an AWB will stop school shootings…and because I don’t think it will and that we need to focus on why they happen and solve that, you slam down the “ok with kids being shot”…how original.

        That should settle things down until you’ve finished building your mental health utopia where its safe to give a gun to any man, woman or child, at any time, because you’ve completely cured violent impulses forever.

        You know the thing that bothers me most about you anti-2a types?..you automatically assume you’re debating a white right wing republican…

        My wishlist of how to heavily curb all violence in this country starts with:

        Single payer

        Ending the war on drugs

        Ending for profit prisons

        Ending qualified immunity

        Paying teachers more

        Building more schools and hiring more teachers so class sizes can get back down to like 10-15 kids a classroom vs 30+

        Making sure everyone has safety nets in place (think ubi)

        Making sure all kids are heavily protected by these safety nets, so they don’t turn to gangs

        I’ve got more but this is a good start.

        We do know about it. The entire world knows about it. That’s literally what this whole conversation is about.

        No…no you don’t…2/3rds of our gun deaths are suicides…the remaining 3rd has around 85% as gang/drug violence, then domestic violence and then police killing people and self defense… the last tiny bit is mass shootings… it’s basically a rounding error it’s so small.

        • PoliticalAgitator@lemm.ee
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          10 months ago

          Yes, please in your Almighty wisdom tell us how you would enact this?

          Most mass shooters have a history of domestic violence, but the pro-gun community opposes disarming domestic abusers.

          Most mass shooters have a history of red flags, but the pro-gun community opposes disarming people with red flags.

          But really, you seem to have misunderstood whose problem this is to solve. It’s not the people who support gun control doing all the mass shootings, its legal gun owners (or the children of legal gun owners).

          If you want me to solve it, I’m more than happy to, bur you’re not going to like it.

          The rest of the country? You do realize that people who are gun owners are the majority right?

          The majority of Americans support stricter gun legislation. basically any time they’re asked.

          Mass shootings are a recent phenomenon, not something that has been happening for forever and it’s all the guns fault

          You mean the last 20 years, during which you’ve let the problem spiral further and further out of control, despite insisting that you have the answers?

          That percentage also won’t be going down as all the children you sold out graduate and have to face sending their own children off to play mass-shooting roulette.

          We’ve been armed for a long time, hell kids used to bring their rifles to school so they could go hunt afterwards, and this was less than 40 years ago that kids were doing this.

          Then jump in your time machine and fuck off back there, because that America no longer exists.

          If you think you can rebuild it, go right ahead. Until then, gun legislation isn’t even remotely close to handling the America of today and needs to be addressed immediately.

          Ah yes here it comes the tried and true method of dehumanizing your opponent…you think an AWB will stop school shootings

          Oh no, you’re mistaking me for a politician tip-toeing around a death cult. I’d ban all semi-automatic firearms from being privately owned, because they’re the weapons of choice for criminals and terrorists.

          It’s not even remotely close to worth it. All the pro-gun promises turned out to be lies and fantasies.

          because I don’t think it will and that we need to focus on why they happen and solve that, you slam down the “ok with kids being shot”…how original.

          How many innocent lives are your gun laws worth then? Because we’ve got the numbers and you’ve done nothing, so I just assumed it was more than that.

          My wishlist of how to heavily curb all violence in this country starts with

          Damn, looks like you’ve got a fuckload of work ahead of you before it’s safe to sell guns to people again. Better get started.

          2/3rds of our gun deaths are suicides

          Means reduction has worked for every form of suicide it’s targeted.

          the remaining 3rd has around 85% as gang/drug violence

          The they get their guns from the magic gun fairy, or did they steal then from “responsible gun owners” who left their guns poorly secured?

          Or did they just buy one because “haven’t been convicted of a felony yet” is a trivial bar to clear? Or maybe they just bought one privately without a background check at all, because that’s a feature that pro-gun cultists insist on?

          then domestic violence

          Which again, the gun lobby doesn’t consider grounds for disarming someone.

          the last tiny bit is mass shootings… it’s basically a rounding error it’s so small.

          Weren’t you objecting to the “okay with kids being shot” label just a few sentences ago? Because calling murdered people a “rounding error” sounds exactly like someone who is okay with kids getting shot.

          As long as they’re not yours apparently.