Supreme Court turns back challenge to strict gun licensing law in Maryland

WASHINGTON — WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Monday turned back a challenge to a strict gun licensing law in Maryland.

The high court declined to hear the case in a brief order handed down without elaboration, as is typical.

The challengers argued that the handgun law violates the Second Amendment by making it too hard for people to get guns. The law, passed after the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, requires people to get safety training, submit fingerprints and pass a background check before buying a handgun. The state says those are reasonable safety measures.

The law was struck down by a three-judge appeals court panel after a landmark 2022 Supreme Court ruling that expanded gun rights and said firearm laws must have strong roots in the country’s historic traditions. It was later revived, though, by the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The majority found that it does fit within historic firearm regulations.

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