BALTIMORE, MD (March 25, 2021) — Firearm Policy Coalition (FPC) announced today that FPC’s Call v. Jones lawsuit challenging the State of Maryland’s laws that prevent law-abiding people from exercising their right to carry firearms in public is quickly moving up to the Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.
In the complaint, the Plaintiffs acknowledged “that the result they seek is contrary to Woollard v. Gallagher,” a 2013 case in which the Fourth Circuit ruled that Maryland’s handgun carry regulatory scheme complied with the Second Amendment, “but, for the reasons explained in Wrenn v. District of Columbia… that case was wrongly decided.” Thus, the plaintiffs “institute[d] this litigation to vindicate their Second Amendment rights and to seek to have Woolard overruled.”
In an order issued last week, Federal District Court Judge Deborah K. Chasanow agreed, holding that Woollard controlled, and dismissed the case. Because Woollard is the law of the Fourth Circuit, only an en banc panel, which is unlikely, or the Supreme Court may overturn the wildly wrong Fourth Circuit precedent. The District Court’s dismissal means the case will proceed in an expeditious manner to the ultimate decision on correcting the state of the law.
“Once again, we are delighted that the District Court issued a quick ruling, allowing this important case to move up to the Court of Appeals without having the need to engage in wasteful litigation,” said Adam Kraut, FPC’s Senior Director of Legal Operations. “We look forward to litigating this case to the Supreme Court and will continue to work towards restoring the fundamental, individual right to bear arms in Maryland and throughout the United States.”
Firearms Policy Coalition and its FPC Law team are the nation’s next-generation advocates for the right to keep and bear arms and adjacent liberties, actively litigating dozens of major lawsuits including federal Second Amendment challenges to California’s ban on “assault weapons” (Miller v. Becerra), Maryland’s ban on “assault weapons” (Bianchi v. Frosh), California’s handgun “roster” and self-manufacturing bans (Renna v. Becerra), Maryland’s firearm carry ban (Call v. Jones), New Jersey’s firearm carry ban (Bennett v. Davis), New York City’s firearms carry ban (Greco v. New York City), the federal ban on the sale of handguns and handgun ammunition by federal firearm licensees (FFLs) to adults under 21 years of age (Reese v. BATFE), and others, with dozens more cases being prepared. To follow these and other legal cases FPC is actively working on, visit the Legal Action section of FPC’s website or follow FPC on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube.
Firearms Policy Coalition (firearmspolicy.org) is a 501(c)4 nonprofit organization. FPC’s mission is to protect and defend constitutional rights—especially the right to keep and bear arms—advance individual liberty, and restore freedom through litigation and legal action, legislative and regulatory action, education, outreach, grassroots activism, other programs. FPC Law is the nation’s largest public interest legal team focused on Second Amendment and adjacent fundamental rights including freedom of speech and due process, conducting litigation, research, scholarly publications, and amicus briefing, among other efforts.