by Gilbert Ambler
Hi, I'm firearms attorney Gilbert Ambler, and we're back today to talk about how one of the usual suspects of states that really doesn't like firearms changed their rules with a Supreme Court decision, a state Supreme Court decision that actually made them a bit more firearms friendly. And we're talking about the state of Maryland in this video. And what specifically we're talking about is the way that Maryland likes to take away gun rights at the state level from people that are not prohibited federally and that have recently moved into the state. Before we dive into this subject, however, if you have not yet hit that subscribe button, what are you waiting for? Hit the subscribe button, like comment with your thoughts and share with your friends. That way you and your friends can keep getting this important Second Amendment related content. Now, what we're talking about is the fact that Maryland analyzes, and of course there have been plenty of anti-gun decisions lately in the federal courts overseeing Maryland in the Fourth Circuit.
Okay? Fourth Circuit just upheld Maryland's assault weapons ban. They upheld their handgun qualification license. So there's been some crappy fourth circuit cases involving Maryland, but the Maryland Supreme Court actually issued a pro-gun ruling, and it's not the best ruling ever, but it is a pro-gun ruling, and we're going to talk about it today. What we're talking about is the fact that Maryland likes to take gun rights away from Maryland residents saying they can't possess regulated firearms in Maryland if they were convicted of an out-of-state offense that had they been convicted in Maryland would prevent them from owning guns in Maryland. And I know that might not sound like a big deal, but I'm going to describe it because it can be a big deal, especially if you move into Maryland. And of course, my firearms legal advice is no one should be moving into Maryland, but assuming your job takes you to Maryland or you otherwise have to settle in Maryland, and you have an out-of-state conviction, that doesn't prohibit you federally, you need to worry whether had that conviction occurred in Maryland, would it prohibit you under Maryland law?
And this can be pretty extreme. I'll give you a quick example here in Virginia, a simple assault is punishable by up to a year in jail. So unless it's against a family member, it does not restrict your firearm rights. Same with a brandishing brandishing in Virginia, punishable by up to a year in jail. If however, you were convicted of an assault in Maryland, if it was a second degree assault, it's punishable by up to 10 years. And of course, if you were convicted of a misdemeanor punishable by up to 10 years in Maryland, that would affect your gun rights, not only under state law in Maryland, but also federally. Now, Maryland can't force the feds to take away your gun rights, but what they do, if you move into Maryland having an out-of-state conviction on your record, they say, sure, that simple assault in Virginia might not have taken away your gun rights, but had it happened in Maryland, it would.
And so we're not going to give you gun rights here in Maryland. And on that note, for what it's worth, the brandishing would probably be a first degree assault in Maryland. Brandishing, remember, in Virginia, punishable by up to a year in Maryland, a felony punishable by up to 25 years, so viewed very, very differently. Now, it used to be that the Maryland State Police who implemented the test to decide is an out-of-state conviction similar enough to a Maryland conviction that you would've been prohibited under Maryland law. They used to use a reasonable minds test. Essentially, would a reasonable mind conclude that the out-of-state conviction if that conduct had occurred in Maryland would've resulted in a Maryland conviction and therefore a Maryland prohibition on firearms? The Maryland Supreme Court said, this is far too subjective of a standard. What they said is, if you're going to consider an out-of-state conviction, the first thing you need to figure out is the Maryland analogous conviction.
Is it narrower in scope or wider in scope? Essentially, what they're asking here is everything that you would be convicted for in Maryland, would you have also been convicted in that other state? Or are there some things that you might've been convicted for in Maryland that you wouldn't have been convicted for in that other state? So if it is narrower in scope, then we know that you would've also been convicted in Maryland based on that out-of-state conviction. The second question is whether they can conclude based on facts that they can conclusively establish. Essentially what they're saying is facts that were actually in evidence. We don't get to look at things that were not proven in that case. Can they conclude by facts in evidence that were proven that were not in dispute, that you would've been convicted had the conduct occurred in Maryland? So again, this is not a wonderful test.
It's not like Maryland is saying this is totally a ridiculous concept, and in my opinion, it is a ridiculous concept. I already gave you some example, so I'll give you one more example. I spoke with somebody at one point that had been convicted of a misdemeanor and a southern state that had a max punishment of 30 days. He did no jail time. He took the conviction because, hey, it wasn't a big deal, and it was just easier to take the conviction rather than fight it. He then moved to Maryland and Maryland concluded that had that conduct occurred, had that crime occurred in Maryland, it would've been punishable by up to 10 years, and therefore, he was prohibited as a Maryland resident from getting the firearms that he wanted in Maryland. So it can be a very, very big deal if you are moving into Maryland, if you live in Maryland that previously lived in another state, or if you think you might ever want to move to Maryland, and frankly, it might become a bigger deal because when Maryland gets away with stuff like this, other anti-gun states are likely to follow. So an incremental step in the right direction, but nonetheless, a step in the right direction for Maryland Supreme Court. If you enjoyed this content, hit that subscribe button. Otherwise, give us a follow, let us know. Share your comments with us. Until next time.
YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh8DWB2vO5I
Credit: Gilber Ambler, ESQ, The Commonwealth's Gun Rights