Appeals Court Rules Maryland’s Handgun Permit Law Constitutional

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld Maryland’s rules for obtaining a handgun, rejecting gun-rights groups’ arguments that the permit process infringes on people’s Second Amendment rights. In a 14–2 decision, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Maryland’s handgun qualification license (HQL) law—which requires submitting fingerprints, passing a background check, and completing four hours of training—is constitutional. Senior Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan said the law did not infringe on the Second Amendment because it allows any law-abiding person to obtain a handgun qualification license by completing the statutory requirements. The plaintiffs had argued that any delay resulting from compliance with the HQL statue constitutes an “infringement” on the Second Amendment, but the court rejected this argument....