Appeals Court Strikes Down Maryland’s Handgun Licence Requirement

In a victory for gun rights advocates, a federal appeals court has struck down Maryland’s rules for obtaining a handgun as unconstitutionally restrictive. In a 2-1 split decision from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond on Nov. 21, Maryland’s handgun qualification license (HQL) requirement—which a gun rights advocacy group denounced as “draconian”—was found to be unconstitutional under the Second Amendment. “In Maryland, if you are a law-abiding person who wants a handgun, you must wait up to thirty days for the state to give you its blessing. Until then, there is nothing you can do; the issue is out of your control,” Judge Steven Agee wrote for the majority, with Judge Julius Richardson joining....