The Maryland state House Republican Caucus on Thursday requested the Justice Department review Maryland’s “Glock Ban” for potentially violating the Second Amendment.
In a letter to the Civil Rights Division, the GOP lawmakers referenced the department’s Wednesday letter to California warning of court action regarding similar legislation that goes into effect next week.
They requested that the office review Maryland’s “Glock Ban,” which goes into effect Jan. 1, expressing “concerns of constitutionality and potential violations of the Second Amendment rights of Marylanders.”
“As the firearms targeted in this bill are commonly owned and widely used for lawful purposes by thousands of Maryland residents, we do not believe [the bill] meets this threshold,” the Maryland Republicans wrote.
The caucus, which fought against passage of the legislation and urged Democratic Gov. Wes Moore to veto the bill, said that like California’s ban, “we do not believe the Maryland ban will withstand constitutional scrutiny.”
A 2022 landmark Supreme Court decision struck down New York’s “proper cause” requirement for obtaining a concealed-carry license. The 6-3 ruling established that the Second Amendment protects the right to carry handguns in public for self-defense and mandated that modern gun restrictions must be consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation.
California’s “Glock Ban” would make it illegal for the state’s firearms dealers to sell certain semiautomatic pistols. To be sold at retail in California, a handgun also must be listed on the state’s official “Handgun Roster.”
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon’s letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta, both Democrats, said that because handguns are the “most popular weapon chosen by Americans for self-defense,” prohibiting their use is invalid.
“California’s ban on the sale of the most popular handgun in America violates the Second Amendment,” she wrote in the letter notifying them of his complaint in federal district court against California.
“The complaint will allege that the Glock Ban and the Handgun Roster statute violate the State’s citizens Second Amendment rights by making it a crime to acquire constitutionally protected arms from firearms dealers, and that state law enforcement agencies’ implementation of the prohibition and threat of criminal enforcement constitute a pattern or practice of law enforcement misconduct,” Ms. Dhillon wrote.
She said the department will consider deferring the filing of the lawsuit if California is willing to enter pre-suit negotiations to resolve this matter.
“Although the specific provisions are open to discussion, a resolution must at a minimum require that the State: (1) immediately cease enforcement of the laws identified above; (2) acknowledge the unconstitutionality of these laws; and (3) agree to enter into a court-enforceable consent decree permanently enjoining the State from violating its citizens’ constitutional rights through these or any similar laws,” the letter stated.
