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Gun rights groups ask Supreme Court to rule on sweeping Maryland firearm ban lower bench upheld

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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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LAWMAKERS INVOKE HUNTER BIDEN, SECOND AMENDMENT WHILE OFFERING VARYING DEFENSES OF GUN LAWS

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.”

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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.

OBAMA JUDGE’S RULING ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS OWNING GUNS HELPS THE LEFT BLUR THE LINES OF CITIZENSHIP: RUBIO

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.

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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)

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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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Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania State Police on scene of ‘active incident’ in Marysville

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Pennsylvania State Police on scene of ‘active incident’ in Marysville


Authorities are responding to what state police described as an “active incident” in Marysville Monday afternoon.

The incident is ongoing on Church Street, where law enforcement on scene told CBS 21 that troopers are trying to get someone inside a home there to come out.

Crisis mitigation is also on scene trying to deescalate the situation.

Law enforcement outside a home on Church Street in Marysville, Pa., July 6, 2026.

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It’s unknown at this time if anyone has been injuries or what the nature of the response is. CBS 21 is working to learn more.

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Rhode Island

Rhode Island participates in ‘New England Drive to Save Lives’ campaign

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Rhode Island participates in ‘New England Drive to Save Lives’ campaign


The six New England states are joining forces to help reduce speeding-related crashes and deaths on highways across the region.

Officials announced the “New England Drive to Save Lives” campaign on Monday morning, saying that they were hoping to help shift drivers’ mindsets and foster community responsibility amongst New Englanders on the roads.

As part of the campaign, officers will conduct increased patrols on the road. In addition, highway safety offices throughout New England will hold community outreach events and put public service announcements on social media.

“Throughout the Drive to Save Lives campaign, you will see additional Rhode Island State Police patrols on our highways and local road,” Rhode Island State Police Lt. Brendan Doyle said. “We’ll be working alongside our partners and police departments up and down Interstate 95, and across the state, with one shared goal- saving lives.”

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The Drive to Save Lives campaign is expected to continue through the end of the month.



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Vermont

Authorities ID girl who died in Vt. river, older brother who died trying to save her

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Authorities ID girl who died in Vt. river, older brother who died trying to save her


Authorities have identified the girl and her older brother who died in a Vermont river after going missing last week.

Sandro Lala, 25, had jumped into the Lamoille River to save his sister, 11-year-old Yazmin Yupangui, when she fell into the Lamoille River near Arrowhead Mountain Lake in Georgia, Vermont, on Wednesday, according to the Vermont State Police.

Autopsies determined that the siblings, who both lived in Cambridge, Vermont, died in accidental drownings, according to police.

Yazmin’s body was found Thursday by a police underwater recovery team, while Lala’s body was found in Arrowhead Mountain Lake on Saturday morning.

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Police had previously said a group of relatives were fishing along the shore when a young girl fell into the water, and a man jumped in to try to rescue her. Neither resurfaced after that, prompting a large search, including multiple agencies, on the water near where Lamoille River empties into the lake.



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