Northeast
Gun rights groups ask Supreme Court to rule on sweeping Maryland firearm ban lower bench upheld
Two major Second Amendment groups called on the Supreme Court to hear a case challenging Maryland’s stringent “Assault Weapons Ban of 2013,” after a lower court ruled the ban constitutional.
The Firearms Policy Coalition filed a petition to the high bench asking them to hear Snope v. Brown – alternatively Bianchi v. Frosh – which the Richmond, Va.-based Fourth Circuit upheld in a 10-5 decision earlier this month.
That decision, written by Reagan-appointed Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III, said the Old Line State’s ban on certain semi-automatic rifles and pistols “fits comfortably within our nation’s tradition of firearms regulation.” Two residents of Baltimore County, Md., and one from Anne Arundel County first filed suit against Maryland in 2021.
The California-based Firearms Policy Coalition (FPC) and Washington State-based Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) filed petitions for certiorari, asking the Supreme Court to make a superseding ruling on the Fourth Circuit’s decision.
SAF founder Alan Gottlieb said the appeals bench is trying to flip the landmark “Heller” decision nixing the District of Columbia’s gun ban “on its head.”
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Semiautomatic rifles now banned for sale in the state of Illinois are displayed at Freddie Bear Sports on Jan. 11, 2023, in Tinley Park, Ill. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)
“They are essentially arguing the arms protected by the Second Amendment are limited only to certain state-approved firearms, which would make it no right at all, but a government-regulated privilege,” Gottlieb said in a statement.
“This is the third time we have petitioned the high court in this case,” Gottlieb added.
Meanwhile, in a separate release, FPC President Brandon Combs argued the case is an “ideal vehicle for the Supreme Court to resolve exceptionally important issues.”
Combs said AR-15s and other similar arms prohibited in Maryland are otherwise very commonly owned.
“There is no legitimate basis for the Fourth Circuit to have concluded that the most widely owned semiautomatic rifles in the United States are not arms protected by the Second Amendment,” he said.
“The Court must provide more guidance on which weapons the Second Amendment covers and they should do so in this case. This immoral and abusive gun control regime must end here.” Proponents also cited the recent Bruen decision overturning New York’s open-carry ban.
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In his majority decision, Wilkinson argued the AR-15 and Barrett .50 cal and “gangster-style” guns are not protected by the Constitution due to their “excessively dangerous” nature, according to Maryland Matters.
He then listed mass shootings in Blacksburg, Va., Las Vegas, Nev., Parkland, Fla., Thousand Oaks, Calif., and about a dozen other cities.
Meanwhile, writing in dissent, Trump-appointed Judge Julius Richardson countered that the “Second Amendment is not a second-class right subject to the whimsical discretion of federal judges.”
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown, a Democrat, is the named defendant in the suit – which formerly named his Democratic predecessor Brian Frosh. Brown’s office declined to comment on the filings.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is seen during his tenure as lieutenant governor. (Getty)
Fox News Digital also reached out to Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., who spearheaded the ban while serving in the state Senate at the time.
The Takoma Park lawmaker was listed as the first sponsor of the legislation, which also named Frosh – then a state senator from Potomac – as one of its co-sponsors.
The law’s text orders that “certain firearms” be designated as “assault weapons” and prohibits sale, transfer or purchase of such weaponry. It also called upon an Annapolis board to create a roster of prohibited weapons.
Fox News Digital also reached out to Maryland Gov. Wes Moore for comment but did not hear back by press time.
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It’s not just great white sharks that are taking stripers from fishermen these days.
Porbeagle sharks — which stick around the Bay State all year — have been spotted several times in the last week chomping on striped bass that fishermen caught.
Those on a recent whale watch off the Cape even got a front-row seat to the action.
“We hope you lunge after your Fourth of July hot dog like this porbeagle going after a striped bass on our Provincetown whale watch yesterday!” Captain John Boats posted.
“It was incredible to see this top predator in its element in this National Geographic moment,” Captain John Boats added. “Our naturalist said it may have even been his favorite whale watch he has ever been on… Thanks to MA Sharks for your support and for showing us how to ID different shark species!”
MA Sharks is run by shark researcher John Chisholm, who on the day before July 4th received four different reports of porbeagle sharks taking striped bass.
“It was a busy day for porbeagle shark sightings yesterday,” Chisholm posted. “This is one of four reports we received yesterday of them taking striped bass from the N Shore to Nantucket. If you have an encounter like this, please let me know.”
Meanwhile over the holiday weekend, great white sharks were spotted all across the region.
In Cape Cod Bay, an 8-foot white shark was seen about two miles west of Wellfleet’s Jeremy Point.
On the South Shore, a dead seal with shark bites was found along Rexhame Beach in Marshfield.
And up on the North Shore, a small white shark was spotted about five miles off Marblehead.
Then much farther north, a beach was closed to swimming in Maine after a report of two sharks near Reid State Park.
“Swimming areas currently have been cleared,” the Maine town of Georgetown posted Sunday morning. “Be safe, stay alert, and enjoy Georgetown.”
A couple hours later, the swimming area at Reid was reopened.
“If you are in or on the water, please stay alert,” the town added.
White sharks come to the region every summer and fall to hunt for seals close to shore.
Before heading into the water, Chisholm urges people to review shark safety guidelines, including: be aware that sharks hunt for seals in shallow water; stay close to shore where rescuers can reach you; don’t isolate yourself; avoid areas where seals are present; avoid areas where schools of fish are visible; avoid murky or low-visibility water; limit splashing; and follow all signage and flag warnings at beaches and instructions of the lifeguards.
Chisholm also encourages beachgoers to use the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy’s Sharktivity app to view shark activity, get shark alerts and report sightings.
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A South Jersey summer camp is bringing Black history to life through hands-on learning centered on the Underground Railroad.
The Lawnside Historical Society kicked off its Underground Railroad summer camp Monday, giving middle school students the opportunity to visit sites tied to the fight for freedom and learn beyond the classroom.
“I was excited,” 10-year-old summer camper Harlan Jenifer III from Lawnside said. “I was happy to learn about my heritage and history.”
On Day 1, the Lawnside Historical Society brought students to the home of Peter Mott, a free Black man who opened his house as a place of refuge for freedom seekers escaping enslavement.
“The most interesting thing I learned so far was that this house was in Lawnside,” 13-year-old summer camper Stacey Johnson from Somerdale said. “I didn’t realize that the Underground Railroad was connected to New Jersey at all at one point.”
The weeklong camp includes scavenger hunts, tours and writing activities designed to deepen students’ understanding of what they learn in school.
“You will not find Peter Mott’s name most likely in the history books, but I want students to know that Lawnside, alongside Free Haven and Snow Hill, had a big part in the Underground Railroad,” Joyce Fowler, vice president of the Lawnside Historical Society, said.
Camp leaders said the program goes beyond traditional classroom lessons, highlighting details such as coded communication and the ways enslaved people navigated their journey to freedom.
“A lot of times the teachers don’t go into the study of the communication that enhanced and actually had to do with the struggle for freedom,” camp director Jacqueline Miller Bentley said.
Throughout the week, students will visit additional Underground Railroad sites across South Jersey, including Mt. Zion AME Church in Woolwich, Gloucester County, and museums.
Harlan said the camp has already changed his perspective.
“I just thought it was a history of something that was back in the past that I didn’t need to care about,” Harland said. “But right now, it’s making me want to learn more about it.”
The camp runs through Friday, when students will present paintings, poems and other creative projects inspired by what they’ve learned.
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