CKBA Urges SCOTUS to Review Maryland Rifle Ban   

Denver, ColoradoFebruary 14, 2022 — MSLF’s Center to Keep and Bear Arms on Friday filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Bianchi v. Frosh, a case challenging Maryland’s ban on so-called “assault weapons” – a misleading public relations term – which was upheld by the Fourth Circuit based on a gross misreading of Supreme Court precedent.  

In a blatant misinterpretation of the Supreme Court’s landmark D.C. v. Heller decision, the Fourth Circuit denies any Second Amendment protection to weapons it subjectively and erroneously deems more appropriate for use by the military than civilians. In the D.C. v. Heller decision, the Supreme Court already upheld the Second Amendment’s protection of arms in common use for lawful purposes—an accurate description of the extremely popular and commonly owned and used arms at Maryland prohibited.  Contrary to the Fourth Circuit’s misinterpretation, that decision does not allow an entire category of commonly owned and possessed firearms to be banned based on an arbitrary determination that they are more appropriate to the military than civilians. 

Follow this link to read our case page 

Follow this link to read our brief 

“Many lower courts have found ‘creative’ ways to sidestep the Supreme Court’s clear rulings on gun rights, but the Fourth Circuit’s test is among the worst,” explains CKBA’s Cody J. Wisniewski. “If a court thinks a weapon is more appropriate for the military than for civilians, they exclude it completely from Second Amendment protection.” Wisniewski said that it’s “startling to think how this standard could be applied—especially given the number of public officials who regard all guns as ‘weapons of war,’ and see no place for them in our everyday lives.”   

“The fear of so-called ‘assault weapons’ is irrational—they’re peaceably owned by millions of Americans in the vast majority of states,” Wisniewski concluded.  “These are effective tools for self-defense, and the Constitution protects the People’s natural right to acquire and use them.”   

Now it’s up to SCOTUS to determine whether to hear Bianchi’s case and review the constitutionality of Maryland’s ban on commonly owned and possessed firearms.