FOX 5 Washington DC
By Josh Rosenthal
Lili Zheng:
After years of legal battles today, a federal court struck down a controversial Maryland gun law. The law required people to obtain a special license before buying a handgun.
Marina Marraco :
Fox five's Josh Rosenthal in the newsroom tonight with reaction to this ruling. Josh?
Josh Rosenthal):
Yeah, guys, one side is calling this ruling of victory for common sense. The other is calling it flat out crazy. Here's the deal. Back in 2013, in the wake of the Sandy Hook, mass shooting, Maryland passed a handgun licensing law. Among other things, it required people to submit fingerprints for background check, take a firearm safety course, and then wait up to 30 days to get this license. The group Maryland shall issue challenge the law in court in 2016, calling it unconstitutional. And now about seven years later, in a two to one ruling, a federal appeals court agreed. We talked to the president of Maryland shall issue tonight. He pointed out that today's ruling does not impact Maryland's pre-existing background check system, which includes a seven day waiting period to actually receive a handgun after you've purchased it.
Mark W. Pennak:
The ringing of hands over the public safety is at best mislead and at worse, allright false. So people ought to look at the details before they jump to the conclusion that this somehow endangers the public safety. It does not.
Josh Rosenthal:
As you can imagine, plenty of others disagree. That includes Maryland Governor West Moore, who released a statement saying, in part this law is not about stripping away rights from responsible gun owners. It's about every Marylander having the right to live free from fear Governor added that'll continue to fight for this law and that his administration is currently considering their options. Guys.
Also, check MD HQL Requirement Deemed Unconstitutional