BELLEVUE, WA – Attorneys representing the Second Amendment Foundation and its partners in a federal court challenge of Maryland’s restrictive “sensitive places” gun control law have filed an appellants’ brief with the U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
Joining SAF in the case, which is known as Novotny v. Moore, are Maryland Shall Issue, Inc, the Firearms Policy Coalition and three private citizens, including Katherine Novotny, for whom the case is named. They are represented by attorneys David H. Thompson. Peter A. Patterson, Megan Marie Wold and William V. Bergstrom at Cooper & Kirk in Washington, D.C., and Mark W. Pennack in Chevy Chase, Maryland.
The state adopted a statute which bans concealed carry in a wide array of so-called “sensitive places” including museums, health care facilities, mass transit, state parks, entertainment facilities, school grounds and government buildings. However, there are no historical analogs to support such a broad ban.
“We maintain in our brief that Maryland’s carry bans violate the Second Amendment,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “The state has failed to meet its burden to affirmatively prove any of its restrictions are consistent with the nation’s historical tradition of firearm regulation. We contend the district court erred when it upheld the carry bans.”
“Maryland’s law essentially bans concealed carry virtually anywhere one might find people gathering for any legitimate purpose,” SAF Executive Director Adam Kraut noted. “The purpose of including all of these locations under the definition of ‘sensitive places’ is to essentially render the right of concealed carry to be meaningless. We’re asking the appeals court to remand the case back to the district court with instructions to enter a judgment for the plaintiffs.”
The Second Amendment Foundation (saf.org) is the nation’s oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group dedicated to safeguarding and promoting the fundamental rights of individuals enshrined in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. SAF engages in aggressive legal action to ensure the principles of armed self-defense, personal liberty, and the ownership of arms are defended, secured, and restored. Through public education initiatives, SAF teaches the importance of the Second Amendment to promote a society that values and exercises the right to keep and bear arms.
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