Essex-Middle River Responds to Gun Ruling

The phone at Mark Burger's won't stop ringing this week.

The reason, he said, is people are wondering what a ruling released Monday by a federal judge that calls Maryland’s concealed handgun carrying process unconstitutional means for gun owners.

U.S. District Judge Benson E. Legg ruled that Maryland’s requirement that those seeking a handgun carry permit needed to display a “good and substantial reason” to carry a weapon violated the Second Amendment.

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“A citizen may not be required to offer a ‘good and substantial reason’ why he should be permitted to exercise his rights,” wrote Webb in a 23-page opinion. “The right’s existence is all the reason he needs.”

Burger said the ruling has dominated discussion by his customers, with many seeking guidance on what the ruling means.

Currently, owners of handguns in Maryland without a carry permit can only transport the weapons from the place of purchase to their home and to shooting ranges and/or competitions, Burger said.

“This ruling just makes common sense,” Burger said. “The Second Amendment clearly gives the right to bear arms to the citizens, not just to those who display they need protection. Who are we as a society to decide who does and does not need protection?”

Legg’s opinion followed a lawsuit filed by Raymond Woollard, a Baltimore County man who had his carry permit renewal denied in 2009 by the Maryland State Police and the state’s Handgun Permit Review Board.

Woollard originally received a carry permit in 2003 after his son-in-law broke into his home, which led to an armed altercation. Woollard’s permit was approved in 2006 before being denied three years later.

Legg cited two recent Supreme Court cases—District of Columbia v. Heller in 2008 and McDonald v. City of Chicago in 2010—in making his ruling. Both cases ruled that the right to carry guns extended outside the home.

FreeState Gun Range co-owner Randy Farmer believes the constitutionality of Maryland’s carry laws will also eventually end up being ruled upon by the Supreme Court. There, Farmer said, he expects Legg’s ruling to be upheld.

“The Second Amendment is the Second Amendment, pure and simple,” Farmer said. “There shouldn’t be an argument. Law-abiding citizens should have the right to defend themselves outside the home.”

Many state lawmakers, including some that represent the Essex-Middle River area, share that sentiment. Dels. Rick Impallaria, Kathy Szleiga and Pat McDonough are among those that have co-sponsored legislation to do away with Maryland’s “good and substantial reason” clause as it pertains to the right to carry a concealed weapon.

But Impallaria said those bills will be put on hold as the state plans on appealing the ruling to the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals.

“This ruling was a great first step, but it was just a step,” Impallaria said. “For those that support the Second Amendment in Maryland, we have to remain vigilant in order to defend those rights guaranteed by the Constitution.”

Are Maryland's right to carry laws too restrictive? Tell us your opinions in the comments section below.