Maryland Governor Orders State Police to Drop "Good and Substantial Reason" Requirement for Carry Licenses

Governor Larry Hogan's statement:

Over the course of my administration, I have consistently supported the right of law-abiding citizens to own and carry firearms, while enacting responsible and common sense measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill.

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a provision in New York law pertaining to handgun permitting that is virtually indistinguishable from Maryland law. In light of the ruling and to ensure compliance with the Constitution, I am directing the Maryland State Police to immediately suspend utilization of the "good and substantial reason" standard when reviewing applications for Wear and Carry Permits. It would be unconstitutional to continue enforcing this provision in state law. There is no impact on other permitting requirements and protocols.

Today's action is in line with actions taken in other states in response to the recent ruling.

You can see the similar reactions from California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey; for New York's legislative reaction, see here; haven't seen any official statements yet from Hawaii or D.C. (which I think had been required to go shall-issue by a D.C. Circuit decision). Thanks to reader Ed Shell for the pointer.

Comments

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Gun nuts seem remarkably tone-deaf.

There must be a reason so many gun absolutists struggle with basic human interactions and a moral compass.

We would all be better off had they chosen fur rather than guns.

[Nisiiko]

Given your side's fanatical support for killing babies, grooming children for your sick fantasies, and importing third world poverty, that's pretty funny.

[Mr. Bumble]

Get ready for the "clinger" comeback.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

One side fanatically supports killing babies, grooms children for sick fantasies, and imports povery.

The other side consists mostly of half-educated racists, rural misogynists, superstitious gay-bashers, gullible Islamophobes, economically inadequate immigrant-haters, gun nuts, autistic white nationalists, and disaffected incels.

Where is the hope for America?

[BravoCharlieDelta]

The hope for the future lies in the fact that most of you Democrat tyrants choose a lifestyle that doesn’t lead to procreation or have sterilized yourselves being Big Pharma fan boys and girls.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

Still persisting with hope (or, worse, belief) that conservatives are going to reverse the tide of the culture war?

That's dumb even for a right-winger. Are you praying on it a spell, expected Talladega Nights Jesus to save you and the other bigoted, obsolete Republicans?

[BravoCharlieDelta]

Once we completely outlaw grooming in government schools, LGBTQP won't be able to procreate.

You people are already mostly sterile from all the COVID Big Pharma experiments.

We just gotta wait it out. Time, and history, are on our side.

[Rev. Arthur L. Kirkland]

This is your audience, Volokh Conspirators.

Racists. Antisocial dopes. Misogynists. Disaffected, on-the-spectrum IT desk jockeys. Immigrant-hating culture war losers. People who hate gays to flatter fairy tales. Poorly educated hayseeds. White nationalists.

And this blog is apparently the best that right-wing legal academia can generate these days.

Ouch. Very ouch.

[Michael Ejercito]

I wonder if you are willing to say that to the faces of people in Compton, California, Liberty City, Miami, Florida, or Camden, New Jersey.

Some of us will miss you if you did that.

[BravoCharlieDelta]

What is it about those places you find so dangerous? The skin color of the residents?

[Michael Ejercito]

The criminal homicide rate.

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

What is it about those places you find so dangerous? The skin color of the residents?

It's telling that when someone refers to a list of locations with extremely high violent crime rates your first thought is about the skin color of the people who live in those places.

[Michael Ejercito]

Civil rights enable the street thug and the gangbanger, as pointed out by Paul Harding.

All of your Constitutional Rights come at the cost of safety.

For example, you would be much safer if I could search houses, cars, and people whenever I wanted to, for any reason, or no reason at all. I'd catch more real bad guys. You know those stories about creeps who keep sex slaves locked in their basements for years? I'd find those victims and rescue them. That neighbor of yours who might have a meth lab that is going to send poisonous fumes into your child's bedroom window, or explode and burn down your house? I'd find out for sure whether a lab was there.

How about all those guys who are probably child molesters, and we've got some evidence, but it isn't enough to convict in front of a jury, especially with that defense attorney throwing doubt all over our evidence? Those guys are on the street right now, and a child you love may be their next victim.

Give up your rights under the 4th, 5th, and 6th amendments, and I'll make the world safer for you. No question about it.

The only problem is that if you give up all those rights, which are really just restrictions on the things I'm allowed to do to you, what's going to keep you safe from me?

Every right you have increases your danger from other people who share that right. Free speech? It allows monsters to spread hateful messages, possibly about a group to which you belong, just the same as it allows you to petition your government with legitimate grievances.

That free speech even allows you to argue in favor of discarding freedom and liberty as just too dangerous to trust in the hands of ordinary people. Now that, my friend, is what scares me - that people with opinions like that will spread them to weak-willed individuals who haven't really thought through the consequences. I won't argue for taking that right away, though, despite the dangers. That would be even more scary than you are.

Yes, some people in a free society are always going to abuse those freedoms. Criminals are going to hide behind the 4th amendment to conceal the evidence of their crimes. People who commit horrific acts are going to hire excellent defense attorneys who can convince a jury that doubt exists. And, yes, some people are going to use guns to commit murders.

Freedom is scary, but lack of freedom is scarier.

Who among us will give up our civil rights and trust that the police will only go after the street thug and the gangbanger?

[apedad]

You know there are no absolutes...right?

[Crossdraw]

So what? And how does that address the argument advanced by others?

[apedad]

There's no absolute freedom and there's no absolute lack of freedom.

Harding's little story is just scare-mongering - which Michael E. was more than happy to fall into.

[Ed Grinberg]

There's no absolute freedom and there's no absolute lack of freedom.

I agree with your first assertion.
As for your second assertion: What about those millions of people murdered by Lenin & Co., Hitler & Co., Mao & Co.? Those "counter-revolutionaries" tortured and shot by NKVD, those "deported" Jews, those Chinese peasants buried alive -- weren't they absolutely deprived of freedom?
https://reason.com/volokh/2022/06/09/guns-kill-people-and-tyrants-with-gun-monopolies-kill-the-most/

[Crossdraw]

Can you point me to a link to that article by Paul Harding?

[Michael Ejercito]

https://www.quora.com/How-can-a-gun-enthusiast-still-claim-their-right-to-bear-arms-is-more-important-than-public-safety/answer/Paul-Harding-14

[MoreCurious]

The more guns the better, right, Professor? What's the harm?

[Michael Ejercito]

Better than locking people up for victimless crimes.

[Jerry B.]

Larry Hogan for President.

[David Nieporent]

Unfortunately he's not a Trumpkin, so he has about as much chance of winning the GOP nomination as AOC does.

[WuzYoungOnceToo]

Unfortunately he's not a Trumpkin

He's also not much of a Republican...but I know that doesn't make you giggle like a little girl as much as saying, "Trumpkin" does.

[LadyTheo]

Did you miss the part where he asks the reader: What is going to keep you safe from me?

[bevis the lumberjack]

“Let’s bet the entirety of our party’s future on the malignant narcissist!!!!”

[David Nieporent]

Saying Hogan's a RINO is not saying "Trump4Evah!" or some such.

Well, it's saying that one doesn't know anything about politics, and there's substantial overlap there.

[bevis the lumberjack]

I think the Biden admin is horribly incompetent and dishonest. Their energy plan is a disaster and they threaten our first and second amendment rights.

If it’s Trump vs Biden again let’s do a quick amendment to temporarily suspend the presidency for four years.