The U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling on the state of New York’s concealed carry handgun laws, deeming it so severe that it was unconstitutional.
From Maryland’s newspaper of record, The Baltimore Sun:
A 6-3 opinion written by Justice Clarence Thomas found that a New York law requiring applicants to demonstrate “proper cause” to successfully receive a concealed carry permit violated the Second and Fourteenth amendments by prohibiting Americans from practicing “ordinary self-defense needs.”
Maryland has the same concealed carry handgun law that New York has. Unless you can show a specific need to carry a concealed handgun for your self protection, Maryland will deny your request to get a concealed carry permit. Because of the Supreme Court’s ruling, that’s about to change.
Personally, I don’t have a problem with this ruling. Thugs and criminals carry concealed handguns. Why shouldn’t law-abiding citizens do the same?
If the recent mass shootings have shown us anything, it’s that normal citizens cannot count on the police to protect them against those who would try to do them harm. The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives all Americans the right to keep and bear arms. Laws that attempt to nullify this constitutionally granted right are immoral.
Pennsylvania, only a few miles north of me, already grants law abiding gun owners the ability to conceal carry a handgun without putting unreasonable obstacles in their way. You complete an application and pay a small fee. You don’t have to beg and plead for your constitutional afforded right to bear a handgun. Pennsylvania does not ask you the reason you want to carry a gun for self defence.
There are currently 1,522,264 licence to carry (LTC) permits in Pennsylvania. The last time I checked, Pennsylvania has not turned into a violent hellscape where everyday citizens engage in epic gunfights over the slightest transgression.