CCRKBA FILES AMICUS BRIEF IN MARYLAND INTERSTATE CARRY CASE

BELLEVUE, WA – The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has submitted an amicus brief to the Maryland State Supreme Court in support of a District of Columbia man who has a valid D.C. carry permit, but was arrested in Maryland for carrying a concealed pistol.

Joining CCRKBA are the Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, Maryland Shall Issue, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Law Center and the Cato Institute. They are represented by attorneys Mark W. Pennak of Baltimore and Konstadinos T. Moros of Bellevue, Wash.

“The right to keep and bear arms applies to all citizens everywhere in the United States,” noted CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “As we explain in our amicus, this right cannot tolerate each state having the power to force individuals from every other state to jump through time-consuming and often costly hoops before it allows them to carry a firearm within its borders.

“Darius Duvall is a responsible citizen, and he possessed a valid District of Columbia carry permit, which is not easy to obtain, demonstrating his willingness to comply with the law,” Gottlieb continued. “He was traveling at the time of his arrest, and we note that interstate visitors are still Americans, yet states like Maryland treat them as suspicious foreigners that need to be re-vetted before exercising a fundamental right. This condition defies the historical tradition of our country, which demands that such state-by-state restrictions be set aside.

“We do not leave our other constitutional rights at each state border,” he added, “yet, laws like the one in Maryland prevent traveling citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights simply by crossing from one state to another. Maryland’s law unquestionably regulates conduct that is protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment and is thus ‘presumptively unconstitutional.’ Maryland must—at minimum— recognize carry permits issued by other states to law-abiding adults in line with the historical traveler’s exception laws.”The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has submitted an amicus brief to the Maryland State Supreme Court in support of a District of Columbia man who has a valid D.C. carry permit, but was arrested in Maryland for carrying a concealed pistol.

Joining CCRKBA are the Second Amendment Foundation, National Rifle Association, Maryland Shall Issue, California Rifle & Pistol Association, Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus, Second Amendment Law Center and the Cato Institute. They are represented by attorneys Mark W. Pennak of Baltimore and Konstadinos T. Moros of Bellevue, Wash.

“The right to keep and bear arms applies to all citizens everywhere in the United States,” noted CCRKBA Executive Director Andrew Gottlieb. “As we explain in our amicus, this right cannot tolerate each state having the power to force individuals from every other state to jump through time-consuming and often costly hoops before it allows them to carry a firearm within its borders.

“Darius Duvall is a responsible citizen, and he possessed a valid District of Columbia carry permit, which is not easy to obtain, demonstrating his willingness to comply with the law,” Gottlieb continued. “He was traveling at the time of his arrest, and we note that interstate visitors are still Americans, yet states like Maryland treat them as suspicious foreigners that need to be re-vetted before exercising a fundamental right. This condition defies the historical tradition of our country, which demands that such state-by-state restrictions be set aside.

“We do not leave our other constitutional rights at each state border,” he added, “yet, laws like the one in Maryland prevent traveling citizens from exercising their Second Amendment rights simply by crossing from one state to another. Maryland’s law unquestionably regulates conduct that is protected by the plain text of the Second Amendment and is thus ‘presumptively unconstitutional.’ Maryland must—at minimum— recognize carry permits issued by other states to law-abiding adults in line with the historical traveler’s exception laws.”