Williams v. State
Court of Appeals of Maryland · No. 44/24
👎Unfavorable to gun rights
Conviction affirmed on the merits, with the court holding permitless public carry outside the Second Amendment's scope.
GunMapUSA assessment of the outcome's direction, not a statement that the court decided rightly or wrongly.
What the court held
Charles Williams was convicted under Maryland law of wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun in public without a permit, and argued the state's handgun scheme violated the Second Amendment after Heller and McDonald. Maryland's high court affirmed the conviction, holding that carrying a handgun outside the home without a permit falls outside the scope of the Second Amendment, which it read Heller and McDonald as addressing possession in the home. The court further held that because Williams never applied for a carry permit, he lacked standing to challenge the state's permitting statutes and regulations. Judge Murphy concurred, preferring to hold that the Second Amendment applies to street carry but is satisfied by reasonable restrictions.
Summarized from the court's opinion.
What this case is about
scope of the Second Amendment right to bear arms as applied to a Maryland handgun-carry conviction
GunMapUSA summary of the issue, not a quotation from the court.
Key Dates
- 2025-07-30 — Decided
Sources
- CourtListener — retrieved 2026-08-08
Summary of public court records. Not legal advice.