Maryland handgun ownership clarified by judge ++

[ttousi]

BALTIMORE – Maryland residents do not have to provide a "good and substantial reason" to legally own a handgun, a federal judge ruled Monday, striking down as unconstitutional the state's requirements for getting a permit.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2012/03 ... z1oHr0l95Y

[Hammer99...]

Will MD become shall issue?

[Norsesmithy]

MD permits are to own, not carry. It'd take a miracle for them to become Shall Issue.

[FredsBank]

MD permits are to own, not carry. It'd take a miracle for them to become Shall Issue.

Are you sure about that? Until I read your post and doubt started to creep into my head, I was sure they were talking about a carry permit.

[ex-LT]

MD permits are to own, not carry. It'd take a miracle for them to become Shall Issue.

Are you sure about that? Until I read your post and doubt started to creep into my head, I was sure they were talking about a carry permit.

From the first paragraph in the article...

Maryland residents do not have to provide a "good and substantial reason" to legally own a handgun, a federal judge ruled Monday, striking down as unconstitutional the state's requirements for getting a permit.

Makes it sound like they're referring to a permit to own.

However, if you read further in the article....

...but Maryland's objective was to limit the number of firearms that individuals could carry...

...The suit filed in 2010 claimed that Maryland didn't have a reason to deny the renewal and wrongly put the burden on Woollard to show why he still needed to carry a gun.

...In his ruling, Legg wrote that Second Amendment protections aren't limited to the household.

"In addition to self-defense, the (Second Amendment) right was also understood to allow for militia membership and hunting. To secure these rights, the Second Amendment's protections must extend beyond the home: neither hunting nor militia training is a household activity, and 'self-defense has to take place wherever (a) person happens to be,'" Legg wrote.

Based on those quotes, I would say the permit they're referring to is a permit to carry. However, given the abysmal quality of what passes for reporting these days, I could be wrong.

[dismal]

From the horse's mouth...

http://saf.org/viewpr-new.asp?id=395

A federal court ruling in Maryland, that the Second Amendment right to bear arms extends beyond the home and that citizens may not be required to offer a “good and substantial reason” for obtaining a concealed carry permit, is a huge victory, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.

[FredsBank]

However, given the abysmal quality of what passes for reporting these days, I could be wrong.

How are we supposed to know what they are talking about when they don't even know themselves.

[whiteox]

I thought this section of the opinion was especially interesting. Note the police response time.

An individual whose permit application has been denied may appeal the decision to the
Handgun Permit Review Board (the “Board”). MD. CODE ANN., PUB. SAFETY, § 5-312. The
Board may sustain, reverse, or modify the Permit Unit’s decision. Id.
Plaintiff Raymond Woollard lives on a farm in a remote part of Baltimore County,
Maryland. On Christmas Eve, 2002, Woollard was at home with his wife, children, and
grandchildren when an intruder shattered a window and broke into the house. The intruder was
Kris Lee Abbott, Woollard’s son-in-law. Abbott, who was high on drugs and intent on driving
into Baltimore city to buy more, was looking for his wife’s car keys. Woollard grabbed a
shotgun and trained it on Abbott, but Abbott wrested the shotgun away. Woollard’s son restored
order by pointing a second gun at Abbott. Woollard’s wife called the police, who took two-anda-
half hours to arrive.
Abbott was convicted of first degree burglary and sentenced to three years’ probation.
He was later incarcerated after he violated his probation by assaulting a police officer and by
committing another burglary.

http://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/Opinions/Opinions/WoollardMemo.pdf

[Snakeman721]

Well, why would the police hurry over? It's obvious that the family had the perp under control....more than enough time for a doughnut run first. But on a serious note, where the heck in MD does it take 2.5 hours to get anywhere? That state is smaller than the Arrowhead region of MN.