Ends Unlawful Delays in Purchasing Firearms
Fairfax, Va. –Plaintiffs in Maryland, supported by the National Rifle Association, will successfully be concluding a lawsuit against the Maryland State Police. Law-abiding Marylanders were waiting months to obtain firearms they had purchased for self-defense, a clear infringement of their fundamental Second Amendment rights. Several of these individuals who were purchasing firearms for self-defense – as well as the Associated Gun Clubs of Baltimore, Maryland Licensed Firearms Dealers Association, and Maryland Shall Issue – filed suit in state court with support from the NRA to mandate the State of Maryland stop violating the fundamental Right to Keep and Bear Arms of its citizens.
"The law-abiding citizens of Maryland have won a major victory for their God-given right of self-defense," said Chris W. Cox, executive director of NRA's Institute for Legislative Action. "It is clear that no state can deny or delay the fundamental rights of law-abiding citizens. We will keep fighting until the State of Maryland fully protects the Second Amendment rights of its citizens."
The lawsuit will be victoriously withdrawn because the Maryland State Police offered a sworn statement that they will ensure that applications to purchase a firearm are processed within the seven days required by law. The State of Maryland has also declared that if the state police do not process an application, the firearm is allowed to be transferred after the seven-day waiting period. These binding legal statements represent a new policy that will significantly improve the process for a law-abiding citizen to purchase a firearm.
-NRA-
Established in 1871, the National Rifle Association is America's oldest civil rights and sportsmen's group. More than four million members strong, NRA continues to uphold the Second Amendment and advocates enforcement of existing laws against violent offenders to reduce crime. The Association remains the nation's leader in firearm education and training for law-abiding gun owners, law enforcement and the armed services. Be sure to follow the NRA on Facebook at www.facebook.com/NationalRifleAssociation and on Twitter @NRA.