The Supreme Court received a petition Wednesday that could have the justices debating concealed carry laws just four years after deciding a landmark case.
Shortly after the Supreme Court struck down New York’s discretionary system for issuing concealed carry permits in June 2022, Maryland and other states enacted laws that imposed extensive restrictions on where permit holders could carry. The Second Amendment Foundation filed the petition for a writ of certiorari with the high court along with Maryland Shall Issue, Firearms Policy Coalition, the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association and four private citizens.
“The bans on firearms on public transit, at public demonstrations, and in State parks and State forests predate this Court’s decision in Bruen. The rest are new carry limitations that were enacted as part of the sweeping ‘Gun Safety Act of 2023,’” the petition says. “Companion legislation enacted during that same legislative session removed the requirement that licenses to carry only be granted upon a showing of a ‘good and substantial reason,’ as Maryland courts had held that requirement unconstitutional in light of Bruen.”
Among the provisions Maryland enacted were prohibitions for carry on mass transit, restaurants, demonstrations and medical facilities, as well as “presumptively” banning concealed carry on private property open to the public, also called a “vampire rule,” citing the law’s requirement for permit holders to be invited in. The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit struck down portions of a similar law enacted by New York in response to Bruen in a decision issued Monday.
“Since the Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling in Bruen, states have found novel ways to circumvent not only the Court’s holdings, but to continue infringing on the core rights protected by the Second Amendment,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut said in Wednesday’s release.
“States that for many years refused to grant carry permits at all – and were forced to do so after Bruen – passed these so-called ‘sensitive places’ carry bans resulting in citizens continuing to have their right to bear arms trampled,” SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb said. “Even with permits, residents in Maryland still face five years in jail for carrying a firearm just about anywhere people actually need or want to go out in public.”
While the split between the Second and Fourth Circuits would make acceptance of the appeal likely, SAF Senior Director of Legal Operations Bill Sack told the Daily Caller News Foundation the high court had already heard a case touching on some of the provisions of the “sensitive places” laws.
“SCOTUS has already heard arguments on Wolford, the Vampire Rule case out of Hawaii, in which we filed an amicus brief,” Sack said. “So it’s probably more likely that the Wolford opinion has some material effect on all of the remaining Vampire Rule challenges.”
Democratic Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the DCNF.
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Republished with permission from Daily Caller News Foundation
