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A bombshell federal district court ruling in Maryland could pave the way for further Second Amendment challenges of state and local gun laws because the judge ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is not confined to one’s home, and that citizens do not need to provide a “substantial” reason for obtaining a carry permit, because the right to bear arms is all the reason one needs.
It’s another victory for the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, where Monday morning, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb was ecstatic. He told this column that SAF's slogan, "Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time" is certainly proving to be the case.
The 23-page ruling, written by U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg for the U.S. District Court of Maryland has some hammers for Second Amendment opponents. Judge Legg was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, demonstrating the importance of who is in the White House.
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‘The Court finds that the right to bear arms is not limited to the home..’—Judge Benson E. Legg
Gottlieb issued a statement that pulled no punches.
“The federal district court has carefully spelled out the obvious, that the Second Amendment does not stop at one’s doorstep, but protects us wherever we have a right to be.”—Alan Gottlieb
He also gave ample credit to Virginia attorney Alan Gura, who argued both the Heller and McDonald Second Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. The latter case was a SAF undertaking, which overturned the Chicago handgun ban and incorporated the Second Amendment to the states.
Today’s ruling, in a case called Woollard v. Sheridan, was filed on behalf of Raymond Woollard, whose application to renew his handgun carry permit was arbitrarily turned down by Maryland officials, even though he could clearly demonstrate that his life may be in danger. Woollard had been attacked in his home by a man who went to prison for the offense, Kris Lee Abbott. Woollard aimed a shotgun at Abbott, who wrestled it away, but let go when Woollard’s son aimed a second gun at him.
Now, here’s the detail that underscores why increasing numbers of Americans are buying guns: It took Maryland police 2½ hours to respond to the call, according to court documents.
After Abbott was released from prison, he moved to within a few miles of Woollard’s home. Making matters worse, Woollard had previously been issued a carry permit, and it was his renewal that was rejected on the grounds that he could not show a “good and substantial” need. Judge Legg put that requirement in the bull’s eye.
“A citizen may not be required to offer a good and substantial reason why he should be permitted to exercise his rights. The right‘s existence is all the reason he needs.”—Judge Benson E. Legg
But Judge Legg also seriously damaged the continuing contention by gun prohibitionists and even some federal judges that both the Heller and McDonald rulings have limited the right to keep and bear arms to the confines of one’s home. In a single sentence, he demolished that notion:
“In addition to self-defense, the (Second Amendment) right was also understood to allow for militia membership and hunting. To secure these rights, the Second Amendment‘s protections must extend beyond the home: neither hunting nor militia training is a household activity, and ‘self-defense has to take place wherever [a] person happens to be’.”—Judge Benson E. Legg
This ruling is big news in Maryland, as well it should be. After all, the Legg ruling just found that “Maryland’s requirement that a permit applicant demonstrate ‘good and substantial reason’ to be unconstitutional.” This is causing tremors right down to the core of the gun control movement, and it has huge implications for similar laws, and lawsuits, in New York, New Jersey and California.
Those who drafted and ratified the Second Amendment surely knew that the right they were enshrining carried a risk of misuse, and states have considerable latitude to channel the exercise of the right in ways that will minimize that risk. States may not, however, seek to reduce the danger by means of widespread curtailment of the right itself. [E]ven the most legitimate goal may not be advanced in a constitutionally impermissible manner.—Judge Benson E. Legg
It is no wonder that the phones were been ringing constantly at SAF’s Bellevue headquarters, with calls from Maryland media, in the wake of the ruling. Judge Legg’s ruling amounts to a legal hand grenade dropped into the middle of a debate in which gun prohibitionists had become all-too-comfortable with their argument that a constitutionally-protected civil right might be limited to the confines of one’s home.
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Continue reading on Examiner.com Maryland ruling a huge victory for CCW and SAF - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com Link Removed
A bombshell federal district court ruling in Maryland could pave the way for further Second Amendment challenges of state and local gun laws because the judge ruled that the right to keep and bear arms is not confined to one’s home, and that citizens do not need to provide a “substantial” reason for obtaining a carry permit, because the right to bear arms is all the reason one needs.
It’s another victory for the Bellevue-based Second Amendment Foundation, where Monday morning, SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb was ecstatic. He told this column that SAF's slogan, "Winning Firearms Freedom One Lawsuit at a Time" is certainly proving to be the case.
The 23-page ruling, written by U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg for the U.S. District Court of Maryland has some hammers for Second Amendment opponents. Judge Legg was appointed to the court by President George H.W. Bush in 1991, demonstrating the importance of who is in the White House.
Advertisement
‘The Court finds that the right to bear arms is not limited to the home..’—Judge Benson E. Legg
Gottlieb issued a statement that pulled no punches.
“The federal district court has carefully spelled out the obvious, that the Second Amendment does not stop at one’s doorstep, but protects us wherever we have a right to be.”—Alan Gottlieb
He also gave ample credit to Virginia attorney Alan Gura, who argued both the Heller and McDonald Second Amendment cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. The latter case was a SAF undertaking, which overturned the Chicago handgun ban and incorporated the Second Amendment to the states.
Today’s ruling, in a case called Woollard v. Sheridan, was filed on behalf of Raymond Woollard, whose application to renew his handgun carry permit was arbitrarily turned down by Maryland officials, even though he could clearly demonstrate that his life may be in danger. Woollard had been attacked in his home by a man who went to prison for the offense, Kris Lee Abbott. Woollard aimed a shotgun at Abbott, who wrestled it away, but let go when Woollard’s son aimed a second gun at him.
Now, here’s the detail that underscores why increasing numbers of Americans are buying guns: It took Maryland police 2½ hours to respond to the call, according to court documents.
After Abbott was released from prison, he moved to within a few miles of Woollard’s home. Making matters worse, Woollard had previously been issued a carry permit, and it was his renewal that was rejected on the grounds that he could not show a “good and substantial” need. Judge Legg put that requirement in the bull’s eye.
“A citizen may not be required to offer a good and substantial reason why he should be permitted to exercise his rights. The right‘s existence is all the reason he needs.”—Judge Benson E. Legg
But Judge Legg also seriously damaged the continuing contention by gun prohibitionists and even some federal judges that both the Heller and McDonald rulings have limited the right to keep and bear arms to the confines of one’s home. In a single sentence, he demolished that notion:
“In addition to self-defense, the (Second Amendment) right was also understood to allow for militia membership and hunting. To secure these rights, the Second Amendment‘s protections must extend beyond the home: neither hunting nor militia training is a household activity, and ‘self-defense has to take place wherever [a] person happens to be’.”—Judge Benson E. Legg
This ruling is big news in Maryland, as well it should be. After all, the Legg ruling just found that “Maryland’s requirement that a permit applicant demonstrate ‘good and substantial reason’ to be unconstitutional.” This is causing tremors right down to the core of the gun control movement, and it has huge implications for similar laws, and lawsuits, in New York, New Jersey and California.
Those who drafted and ratified the Second Amendment surely knew that the right they were enshrining carried a risk of misuse, and states have considerable latitude to channel the exercise of the right in ways that will minimize that risk. States may not, however, seek to reduce the danger by means of widespread curtailment of the right itself. [E]ven the most legitimate goal may not be advanced in a constitutionally impermissible manner.—Judge Benson E. Legg
It is no wonder that the phones were been ringing constantly at SAF’s Bellevue headquarters, with calls from Maryland media, in the wake of the ruling. Judge Legg’s ruling amounts to a legal hand grenade dropped into the middle of a debate in which gun prohibitionists had become all-too-comfortable with their argument that a constitutionally-protected civil right might be limited to the confines of one’s home.
..
Continue reading on Examiner.com Maryland ruling a huge victory for CCW and SAF - Seattle gun rights | Examiner.com Link Removed
