Federal Lawsuit Challenges Maryland ‘Assault Weapons’ Ban

The Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland challenging the state’s “assault weapons” ban.

The Firearms Policy Coalition, Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, and a number of individual private citizens constitute the other Plaintiffs in the case.

In the suit, Bianchi, et al. v. Frosh, et al, Plaintiff’s claim Maryland’s prohibition against “assault weapons” is effectively a ban on “common semiautomatic firearms.”

Plaintiff’s contend: “The State of Maryland’s laws, regulations, policies, practices, and customs individually and collectively deny millions of individuals who reside in Maryland, including Plaintiffs, their members and supporters, and others like them, their fundamental, individual right to keep and bear common arms.”

SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb commented on the suit, saying:

Maryland has instituted laws that ban scores of firearms simply because they look like other guns, and that cannot be allowed to stand. As we note in the lawsuit, the right to keep and bear arms includes, but is not limited to, the right of individuals to acquire, transport, possess, purchase, and receive common firearms for all lawful purposes, including self-defense. Maryland bans such firearms and there is no basis for such a ban, so we’re taking the state to court.

Firearm Policy Coalition’s Adam Kraut said:

So-called ‘assault weapons’ are some of the most commonly owned semi-automatic firearms, all of which are excellent for self-defense. Maryland’s ban on these firearms robs its citizens of their right to choose, forcing them to purchase and use firearms that may not be what is best for them, including defending their homes and their families. All law-abiding adults have a constitutional right to purchase any of the semi-automatic firearms on the market today. Maryland’s laws are unconstitutional and we look forward to vindicating the rights of our clients and all individuals in Maryland and across the United States in this case and others.

There are a growing number of lawsuits against state-level gun controls/Second Amendment restrictions being filed around the country.

For example, SAF and the Firearm Policy Coalition are Plaintiffs in a suit against New Jersey’s restrictive carry laws. That suit, Bennett vs. Davis, was filed in United States District Court, District of New Jersey. It states that “individuals who are legally eligible to possess and acquire firearms, have a fundamental, constitutionally guaranteed right to carry loaded, operable handguns on their person and outside their homes, including in their vehicles, places of business, and otherwise in public, for the purpose of self-defense.”

The National Rifle Association (NRA) just filed a suit against New Jersey restrictions as well. That suit, Mazahreh v. Grewal, challenges New Jersey’s arbitrary, “May Issue” process for concealed carry permit issuance.

AWR Hawkins is an award-winning Second Amendment columnist for Breitbart News and the writer/curator of Down Range with AWR Hawkins, a weekly newsletter focused on all things Second Amendment, also for Breitbart News. He is the political analyst for Armed American Radio. Follow him on Twitter: @AWRHawkins. Reach him at awrhawkins@breitbart.com. You can sign up to get Down Range at breitbart.com/downrange.