By Mathew Schumer
Baltimore Sun
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld most of Maryland’s law banning firearms in designated “restricted areas,” rejecting a challenge from the Maryland chapter of the National Rifle Association while striking down select provisions.
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the state’s restrictions on where licensed gun owners can carry in public are largely constitutional, siding with Maryland in a dispute over the law passed in 2023.
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The legislation prohibits carrying firearms in government buildings, schools, health care facilities, public transportation, stadiums, museums, racetracks, casinos, and locations selling alcohol or cannabis. Certain groups — such as law enforcement, security personnel, and active-duty military — are exempt.
The lawsuit said the restrictions violated the Second Amendment. Attempts to reach the Maryland chapter of the NRA were unsuccessful by presstime.
Maryland defended the law by citing the “sensitive place exception” first outlined by the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Heller (2008).
That exemption refers to the Supreme Court’s decision that laws prohibiting the carrying of firearms in specific, sensitive locations are “presumptively lawful” and do not violate the Second Amendment.
One slight change
There were two things changed as a result of Tuesday’s decision. First, the court struck down the ban on carrying guns on private property open to the public without the owner’s consent. That includes things like private gardens or parks, with Baltimore’s Sherwood Gardens and Ladew Topiary Gardens in Monkton as examples.
A lower court’s injunction had blocked Maryland’s prohibitions on carrying firearms within 1,000 feet of protests and at establishments selling alcohol. Tuesday’s ruling reverses that.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court is hearing arguments in a related case, Wolford v. Lopez, involving similar firearm restrictions in Hawaii and California. The high court’s eventual ruling could impact Maryland’s law.
Gov. Wes Moore signed Maryland’s gun restrictions into law after the Supreme Court struck down previous concealed carry rules, prompting lawmakers to define new limits on licensed carry in public spaces.
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