BALTIMORE, MD—The National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action sued the state of Maryland on Tuesday after Governor Wes Moore signed a pair of gun control bills into law.
The NRA says the new laws will “prevent law-abiding citizens from carrying for self-defense purposes.”
Governor Moore signed SB 1 and HB 824 into law on Tuesday after Democrat lawmakers championed the bills as ones that would cut back on crime and violence, according to Fox News. The laws further restrict where residents can legally carry while making the application processes to obtain a carry license more burdensome.
“The new bill signed into law vastly expand the number of places where carry is prohibited — even for those who have carry permits,” the NRA said in a press release.
Senate Bill 1 carries tight restrictions on where citizens can possess a gun in public even with a valid carrier permit, according to WMAR.
SB 1 prevents residents – even if they have a permit – from carrying or transporting a firearm on private property without permission, and it also bans people from carrying firearms in areas such as schools, polling places, sports complexes, or where alcohol is served.
HB 824 also makes getting a carry license more burdensome. It raises the application fee from $75 to $125 for initial applications, and from $50 to $75 for renewals. Applicants must now submit two sets of fingerprints. There are new subjective character requirements. The training course is also now more burdensome, and an eight-hour course must be completed every three years when the license is renewed. There are also no deadlines by which a permit application must be approved.
“In total, Marylanders now must go through an unduly burdensome and lengthy application process to get a carry permit that effectively does not permit them to carry anywhere in the state,” reads the NRA-ILA’s press release. “This cannot stand under the Constitution.”
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