“Good and Substantial” Ain’t Good Enough
Bat One
SayAnythingBlog
3/6/2012
In a carefully worded, well-reasoned decision, US Fourth District Court Judge Benson Everett Legg has overturned the state of Maryland’s requirement that an applicant for a concealed carry handgun permit must show a “good and substantial” reason for the issuance of that permit.
The judge’s opinion in the case, Wollard v. Sheridan, can be found here. Some excerpts:
The Court finds that the right to bear arms is not limited to the home…
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’…
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.
The requirement that a permit applicant demonstrate “good and substantial reason” to carry a handgun does not, for example, advance the interests of public safety by ensuring that guns are kept out of the hands of those adjudged most likely to misuse them, such as criminals or the mentally ill…
Rather, the regulation at issue is a rationing system…
The article continues at SayAnythingBlog.
Related: Court: Students can carry guns on campus
The Colorado Supreme Court has struck down a gun ban by the University of Colorado Board of Regents that had prevented students from carrying concealed handguns on campus.
The court sided with opponents of that ban who argued that the ban is illegal because it was never approved by the state legislature.
The Concealed Carry Act, passed in 2003, prohibits local governments from limiting concealed carry rights with a few exceptions: K-12 schools, places where guns are banned by federal law, public buildings with metal detectors and private property.
College campuses were not accepted under the law…
Readers are directed to the court’s ruling at the link.
