Maryland Shall Issue, Inc. v. Wes Moore
Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · No. 21-2017
👎Unfavorable to gun rights
En banc Fourth Circuit upheld the handgun qualification license, vacating the panel decision that had struck it down.
GunMapUSA assessment of the outcome's direction, not a statement that the court decided rightly or wrongly.
What the court held
Maryland requires anyone acquiring a handgun to first obtain a handgun qualification license, which involves a training course, fingerprinting, a background investigation, a fee, and a waiting period. A three-judge panel held the requirement unconstitutional in November 2023, but the Fourth Circuit reheard the case en banc and on August 23, 2024 upheld the license. The en banc court reasoned that the requirement is a 'shall-issue' licensing law, which infringes the Second Amendment only if it effectively denies the right, and that a delay in obtaining a handgun is not a denial — so the requirement does not implicate the Second Amendment at all.
Summarized from the court's opinion.
What this case is about
Maryland handgun qualification license requirement for handgun purchasers
GunMapUSA summary of the issue, not a quotation from the court.
Key Dates
- 2023-11-21 — Panel holds the license requirement unconstitutional (later vacated)
- 2024-08-23 — En banc Fourth Circuit upholds the license requirement
- 2024-01-11 — Decided
- 2024-03-21 — Argued
Sources
- CourtListener — retrieved 2026-08-09
- NRA-ILA — retrieved 2026-08-09
Summary of public court records. Not legal advice.