Maryland Shall Issue
A civil rights victory. Judge says that residents no longer need to show a reason. I always thought because I fucking can was reason enough. So, in 14 days, maybe the residents won’t have to beg permission from the state to have the most effective means of self defense.
July 25th, 2012 at 9:02 am
Wonder what the next bit of bureaucratic foot-dragging is going to be?
Staff is “overwhelmed” by flood of applications?
July 25th, 2012 at 9:14 am
Simply being overwhelmed is an admission of bureaucratic failure and will never be done. For one thing, it would be far too easy. You have to understand that Maryland local and state officials read Kafka’s works as an operating manual and regard Solzhenitsyn as a comedy writer.
Look for MD officials to try something like, “It will take 6 to 18 months to process each application. And we will process them one at a time.” Take the state to court if you don’t like it, because that buys them another 6-12 months. But remember, you can’t get standing to file suit until your application has been processed….
I thank God daily that I was able to move from Maryland to Texas in 2000. I curse myself just as often for not doing it sooner.
July 25th, 2012 at 9:20 am
I fully expect the Political Hacks who are running Maryland to waste Taxpayer money appealing this ruling all the way up the Judicial Ladder.
July 25th, 2012 at 9:20 am
The law states that a decision must be made within 90 days. Period. But that’s not the worst part of the application process. The application is so intrusive that I doubt it would pass judicial scrutiny if challenged. Among thing like demanding you employer’s name and phone number, it requires 3 personal references to your “good character”, along with the names of their employers and employers phone numbers.
The final straw is the demand that you sign a release for them to access ALL of your personal information. This includes everything a credit reporting agency may have as well as all of your medical records.
This is just the beginning of this fight.
July 25th, 2012 at 1:03 pm
You need a justification/
How about, “I live in a crime-infested sewer next door to Washington D.C.”?
July 25th, 2012 at 1:31 pm
Darn, I was so looking forward to my permit fight with MD State Police next year when my permit expires…
July 25th, 2012 at 1:42 pm
Les, the hard-headed mayor of DC insisted on running Heller v. DC all the way up the ladder, when his contemporaries were begging him to take his lumps at the district court level and shut up.
Hoping this case does the same.
July 25th, 2012 at 3:11 pm
Now can we get this in California?
July 25th, 2012 at 4:53 pm
Treefroggy, that “intrusive” application process sounds about the same as in relatively gun-friendly states like Alabama. Same employer information, same background checks, same three references. Just for perspective.
July 25th, 2012 at 5:23 pm
Erick – Don’t need any of that even in gun-unfriendly California. No employer info needed, and no “three references” either. And under HIPA the medical data should be forbidden by Federal law.
July 25th, 2012 at 9:19 pm
Erick – Did you have to give them permission to obtain any and all of your medical records as well as any school records and credit reports ?
July 25th, 2012 at 9:33 pm
I’ll believe it when I see it.
July 25th, 2012 at 10:02 pm
@ Dirtcrasher
Kali wants three letters from folks as to your bitchiness.
July 26th, 2012 at 8:45 am
New York requires four character references and, depending on which county you live in, they may need to be non-family residents of the county and/or have known you for a specified period of time (New to the state? F— your rights).
The county also has six months to approve/disapprove your permit, although it appears that this limit is routinely broken. In my county, they currently have a ten month wait to turn in your application (the six month countdown starts once you turn in the app), so it could be over 16 months to get your permit.
Oh, and you require a permit to buy, own, or even handle a handgun.