SCOTUS refusing MD Gun Case “Far from a victory for gun rights” says expert

MARYLAND – The Supreme Court this week declined to hear a case of a Maryland Gun Control bill, as the lower case had yet to be resolved, in an apparent deferral to that lower court’s decision when it is made on the question of weapon permitting.

DSU Political Science Professor Dr. Samue Hoff tells WMDT that in doing so the court went against precedent when they time out their rejections of cases and believes that it is still likely that other cases before the court with the same fundamental questions could further scale back gun control laws coming from state legislatures across the state.

Professor Dr. Samuel Hoff says the last 15 years have seen non-stop victories for gun rights and a loss for measures that are looking to reduce the ability to carry large magazines and assault-style weapons.

“In this case, the Supreme Court took the unusual step of rejecting the appeal before the decision was made by the Court of Appeals. According to my reading of this decision, that’s extremely unusual. And it basically says, ‘get out of my face’,” he said.

He tells us that similar cases are also working their way through the federal circuit from Illinois and pointed to a similar ruling on an already settled case stemming from New York.

Dr.Hoff believes that while the bills will be a challenge for the courts, he does see more leeway increasing to hold gun manufacturers and even negligent owners liable for the damage caused by mass shootings.