By Andrellos Mitchell
There shall be no abridgment of the Second Amendment right to bear arms. Period!
On Nov. 21 a federal appeals court struck down Maryland’s licensing requirements for handgun owners, citing a 2022 landmark ruling by the conservative-majority US Supreme Court.
Maryland’s Firearm Safety Act of 2013, passed in the wake of the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., was deemed unconstitutional in the 2-1 ruling from the US Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit.
At issue were key parts of the state law, which imposes strict standards to qualify for a license to own a handgun.
Maryland law requires an applicant for a handgun license to meet four requirements. They must be at least 21 years old, a resident of the state, complete a gun safety course and undergo a background check to ensure they are not barred under federal or state law from owning a firearm.
The applicant must then complete an application, pay a processing fee and wait up to 30 days for a state official to issue a license.
The court of appeals judges on the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, in a 2-1 ruling, found that the 30-day wait period was a violation of constitutional law and that the 30-day wait period could be a period in which the applicant faced danger to their life.
The court’s ruling was based in part on the 2022 Supreme Court decision in the case titled “New York State Rifle and Pistol Association Inc. v. Bruen,” which it says “effected a sea change in Second Amendment law.” That ruling changed the guidelines judges are required to use when making decisions about gun ownership. The ruling essentially asserts that modern gun control laws are only constitutional if a similar or comparable law was in place at the founding of America. The appeals court on Nov. 21 found that Maryland’s handgun laws failed to meet the “historical” test defined in the Supreme Court’s decision.
U.S. Circuit Judge Barbara Milano Keenan, an Obama appointee, dissented, calling the ruling a “hyper aggressive view of the Second Amendment” that would render the gun permit laws of most states unconstitutional.
That’s exactly right.
The Second Amendment does not say anything about 30-day waiting periods or background checks. It says: A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. The word infringed means: to act in a way that is against a law or that limits someone’s rights or freedom.
So, you see, it’s very simple. Neither the state nor federal government can come up with laws to limit an American’s right to own a gun. Laws that infringe on our Second Amendment Rights are unconstitutional, and thus, illegal.
For the record, I am very proud of Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and excited about his election. He’s a member of my brotherhood, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and I wish him the very best. Regarding the recent court decision on gun laws, Moore states that he will continue to fight for common sense gun laws.
Well, that’s a part of the problem. Many Democrats lack common sense on issues of crime and gun laws– especially in the inner cities. Many of the people like Wes Moore and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser grew up in privileged, comfortable, safe environments. From what I’ve read, they don’t seem to have much common sense regarding the realities of violent crime in the inner city. They don’t have first-hand experience from places like Alabama Avenue or Southeast D.C.’s Shipley Terrace during the 1980s. Their biographical information indicates they didn’t grow up around drugs, guns, violence, daily crime and shootings. So, their answer to crime is always the same: hire more police. In reality, outside of television and the movies, in nearly all cases police do not stop crimes in progress. Police do clean-up and try to find the person or persons who committed the crime.
Common sense would tell the politicians that the police can’t be everywhere all the time. Thus, it only makes sense that citizens should be allowed to arm themselves for protection– in their homes and outside of their homes.
Otherwise, the politicians and lawmakers continue to create a class of victims. These victims are disproportionately minorities, especially Black people in inner cities of so-called “Blue-States.” My younger brother was one of those victims. He was murdered by a criminal with a gun. It was a person who already had a criminal past that killed my brother. The prosecutor on the case told me it was only by “luck” that they caught my brother’s killer, due to his involvement in another unrelated crime. I can’t speak for anyone else, but I don’t want to rely on luck.
I want the right to keep and bear arms that is given to me in the Second Amendment of the United States Constitution. I want the same protection that Muriel Bowser and Wes Moore get from their armed security teams. The Constitution does not give me the right to a private or public security guard–but it does give me the right to bear arms. I want that right unabridged by the obstacles and requirements put in place by lawmakers that make it so difficult to own a gun, that the right is practically worthless.
Moore says, “I am determined to do more than just give thoughts and prayers and attend funerals — and that’s why this law is vital to our administration’s commitment to keeping guns out of the wrong hands and saving lives.” With all due respect brother, that’s one of the silliest things I’ve ever heard a politician say. It’s a typical Democrat talking-point. Doesn’t he get it? Gun laws don’t stop criminals from getting guns. That’s why they are called criminals.
If a criminal wants to get a gun, the person is going to get it regardless of any gun laws. In fact, most guns used by criminals to commit crimes were not lawfully purchased by that criminal. Stop the gas-lighting. The gun laws pushed by Wes Moore, Muriel Bowser and other Democrat politicians in Blue States and in Washington, D.C., do absolutely nothing to stop criminals from getting guns. It’s all a political argument to make voters think the politicians are doing something to help stem the flow of crime.
It’s all done to make the voters and politicians feel good about their victimization. The only thing that is going to stem the flow of crime is when law-abiding-citizens are allowed to arm themselves and prove that self-defense is more than a quaint notion you hear about on television and in the movies.
If Democrat politicians had common sense, they would know that by embracing criminal activity they create an environment of lawlessness.
When you give excuses for crime you embrace criminality. Being anti-police only encourages criminals to engage in more criminal activity. You can protect the civil rights of citizens from corrupt police officers without being anti-police. Black leadership has become anti-law and order and is embracing criminality– and it’s destroying the race.
The most common-sense aspect of gun ownership is knowing that an unloaded gun is just a tool. In order for it to work, someone has to load it and use it. An unloaded gun by itself is not dangerous. You see, “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” And it’s time for our politicians and leaders to stop making excuses for those killers, while trying to keep good citizens from owning guns. It’s that simple.
Like most D.C. residents, I’m a transplant– a proud Louisiana native who can’t stomach the rough climate due to asthma. I came to D.C. when I was four and a half years old, before politicians like Muriel Bowser were born. Some think that being born in D.C. alone is enough to qualify them for public office– it’s not. Elected officials must keep in mind that they work for the people– including those calling for more common-sense gun legislation. I’ve heard horror stories from D.C. residents who have tried to own a gun, and while there is a process for gun ownership in D.C., that process– like in Maryland– is designed to intimidate and discourage gun ownership.
I don’t expect things will get better in D.C. In fact, I expect them to get a lot worse. The police chief seems clueless. Mayor Bowser’s main concern seems to be creating overpriced housing developments. She doesn’t seem to be concerned with finding effective, reasonable solutions to fighting crime, helping homeless people on the streets, and securing loans and grants for struggling small businesses, etc. I mean if you’re a part of her inner circle, it might not be so bad, but if you’re not- prepare for the daily struggle to survive in the violent, crime infested jungles of D.C.
I like to give credit where it’s due. The mayor did a good job during the pandemic. I’ll give her that. However, a mayor should be able to function at a high level during non-health emergencies as well. D.C. residents aren’t getting what they deserve from its mayor and city council.
Even after the 4th Circuit’s ruling, I expect more resistance from the liberal politicians. Maybe it’s time to move across the street to Maryland, where it might be easier to exercise my constitutional right to own a gun, and the criminals will know it might not be so easy to make law-abiding citizens their next victim.
Andrellos Mitchell can be reached at apexlegalcounsel@aol.com.
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