CEO DATELINE - Court strikes down association challenge to Maryland gun law
CEO DATELINE - Court strikes down association challenge to Maryland gun law
- February 23, 2017 |
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Walt Williams
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A federal appeals court has upheld a Maryland law restricting the sale of certain assault weapons and large-capacity magazines, which has been challenged by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and gun owners.
The gun control law was passed by Maryland lawmakers following the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., which is also where NSSF's headquarters is located. The ban largely applied to the sale of rifles that can shoot multiple rounds in quick succession. (Critics call such weapons "assault rifles," but NSSF objects to the term.)
In a 10-4 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overturned an earlier appellate court ruling determining that Maryland had overstepped its constitutional authority in enacting the ban. The majority cited the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision District of Columbia v. Heller, in which the high court rule governments could place restrictions on assault weapons, Newsweek reported.
"We are convinced that the banned assault weapons and large-capacity magazines are among those arms that are ‘like' ‘M-16 rifles'—‘weapons that are most useful in military service'—which the Heller Court singled out as being beyond the Second Amendment's reach," the appellate court said in its majority opinion.
In a statement to the publication, NSSF said it was evaluating its legal options.
"We strongly disagree with the court's unfortunate mischaracterization of the most popular rifles that have been sold for many years to law-abiding Americans for such perfectly lawful uses as target shooting, personal protection and hunting," the association said.
Seven states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws banning assault weapons. http://bit.ly/2kQBepq
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