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Maryland Supremes Weigh RKBA


Molly B.

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Maryland Supremes Weigh RKBA:

 

Maryland’s top court on Thursday grappled with whether the state’s laws restricting gun possession

outside the home remain valid in light of a June Supreme Court ruling that the constitutional right

“to keep and bear arms” extends to individuals. During arguments on the issue, Court of Appeals

Judge Sally D. Adkins indicated that Maryland’s restrictions survive because the Supreme Court held

in McDonald v. City of Chicago that the right applies only to gun possession inside one’s home. But

Judge Glenn T. Harrell Jr. voiced doubt, saying the Supreme Court’s “obtuse” language in the 5-4

decision could indicate that the Second Amendment right extends beyond the home.

 

The judges’ comments came as Maryland’s seven-member high court heard the appeal of Charles F.

Williams Jr., who was convicted of gun possession outside his home… But Hopewell disagreed, citing

two words in the McDonald decision as support for his position that the right is not so limited.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the majority in McDonald, stated that “the Second Amendment

protects a personal right to keep and bear arms for lawful purposes, most notably for self defense

within the home.” Alito’s use of the phrase “most notably” indicates that the right extends, albeit

less notably, beyond self defense within the home, Hopewell said. Had the justices wanted to limit

the right to the home they would have stated so more explicitly, he argued…

 

In a similar but unrelated case, Raymond Woollard of Baltimore County is challenging Maryland’s gun

permit law as a violation of his Second Amendment rights… Woollard is being assisted in the pending

case by the Second Amendment Foundation Inc., a Bellevue, Wash.-based group that supports gun rights.

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calguns.net posted a link to a video of the Maryland Supreme Court oral arguments. The lawyer for the appelant was very weak and the justices on the court were Anti. With no legal training, I could have done better than the appelant's lawyer. Plus this was a criminal case, not a lawsuit. Expect the Maryland Supreme Court to rule that guns must be kept at home.... until over-ruled by a superior court (US Supreme Court). There are better cases regarding Carry in DC and California.
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