Gun rights advocacy groups filed a reply brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday in an ongoing legal challenge against Maryland’s firearm restrictions in designated “sensitive places.”
The lawsuit, Novotny v. Moore, was initiated by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) alongside Maryland Shall Issue, the Firearms Policy Coalition, the Maryland State Rifle and Pistol Association, and four individual residents. The coalition originally petitioned the high court in May to review the constitutionality of Maryland’s law, which bars permitted gun owners from carrying firearms across an array of public locations.
Maryland lawmakers passed the restrictions following the Supreme Court’s landmark Bruen decision, which required states to issue concealed carry permits without subjective “good cause” requirements. The state law designated locations such as mass transit systems, restaurants and establishments serving alcohol, state parks, healthcare facilities, museums, and sports stadiums as off-limits to firearm carry.
In the reply brief, the plaintiffs argued that the state’s broad categorization conflicts with historical precedent.
“This scheme is fundamentally incompatible with the American tradition, which ‘does not broadly restrict arms use by the public generally,’ subject to limitations in ‘exceptional circumstances,’” the brief stated. “There is nothing ‘exceptional’ about visiting a park or riding public transit. That Maryland’s bans sweep so broadly shows that they are built on faulty foundations.”
Advocates contend the restrictions undermine the practical utility of state-issued permits.
“The Supreme Court has been clear that the Second Amendment protects a right for individuals to carry for self-defense as they go about their daily lives,” said SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut. “Put bluntly, when forced by the Supreme Court to issue carry permits, Maryland simply made those permits useless everywhere. Today’s reply makes clear that neither Maryland, nor the other jurisdictions that passed similar laws, should be allowed to so blatantly thumb their noses at the Supreme Court or the Constitution.”
SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb echoed those arguments, stating that the law penalizes ordinary citizens seeking personal protection.
“Not wanting to let something like a Supreme Court decision stand in their way of infringing on the Second Amendment rights of citizens, lawmakers in Maryland passed this carry ban that essentially makes residents carrying a firearm for self-defense a criminal,” Gottlieb said. “This circumvention of the Second Amendment is becoming commonplace and cannot be allowed to stand. Citizens deserve to fully exercise all their constitutional freedoms, but as we are well aware, there are those who feel the Second Amendment is a second-class right. That’s not the way the Constitution works, and we will continue to fight these idealogues at every turn to ensure the right to keep and bear arms is defended, secured and restored.”
READ: Jury In Lindsay Clancy Murder Trial Deadlocked For Second Time As Deliberations Hit Day 5
Please make a small donation to the Tampa Free Press to help sustain independent journalism. Your contribution enables us to continue delivering high-quality, local, and national news coverage.
Sign up: Subscribe to our free newsletter for a curated selection of top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
