More than 200,000 people are now exercising their right to carry in Maryland thanks to the Supreme Court's decision in Bruen and the subsequent demise of the state's "may issue" law, which required applicants to demonstrate a justifiable need to bear arms in self-defense before they could receive their state-issued Second Amendment permission slip.
While anti-gun activists and academics predicted that the Bruen decision would lead to increased violence and chaos in states like New Jersey, New York, and Maryland, where licenses were few and far between, there's been absolutely zero evidence that concealed carry holders in those states are causing more (or even as many) problems as the general public. Still, gun control fans like Jen Pauliukonis, the executive director of Maryland’s Center for Firearm Violence Prevention and Intervention, are still perpetuating myths and mistruths about the right to carry.
At the new Maryland gun violence center, Pauliukonis’ job is to bring a public health approach to curbing gun violence. The boom in carry permits is a factor.
The majority of permit holders follow the law. Some mistakenly take their guns where they are banned, such as BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, schools or bars.
Some leave their guns open to theft, contributing to the rise in stolen guns nationwide as states relax regulations.
Others commit crimes.
Pizza delivery driver Brian Delen was carrying his gun legally when got into an altercation with Meghan Lewis, an unarmed trans woman, in a Bel Air parking lot in 2023. He fatally shot her and was sentenced to 10 years in prison for assault.
“It is very clear that states that loosen regulations see a rise in crime,” Pauliukonis said. “It is very important to keep Maryland law in perspective.”
It's not clear at all that's the case, despite Pauliukonis's statement and "research" from biased academics at places like Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health, who have a vested interest in promoting the idea that exercising your Second Amendment rights is the wrong thing to do.
What exactly has happened in Maryland since "shall issue" became the law of the land in mid-2022? According to the state's own crime statistics Maryland is a much safer place than it was just a few years ago.
Maryland saw a major reduction in violent crimes in 2024, according to data released by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore.
Homicides decreased by 32% statewide since 2021, and by 41% in Baltimore City. Baltimore's count of 201 homicides for 2024 is the lowest recorded total since 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. It's the third year in a row that the city's violent crime rate has dropped.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office in Baltimore, homicides in the city fell by just 2% between 2021 and 2022. Between 2023, however, murders plunged by 21%, and dropped by 23% in 2024. If Pauliukonis's theory was correct, Baltimore would be a much more dangerous city today than it was before the Bruen decision took effect. Instead, its homicide rate is the lowest its been in decades.
Now, I'm not claiming that concealed carry holders are sole'y responsible for that decrease in crime, but they clearly haven't caused a spike in shootings or homicides. Individuals like Brian Delen are the exception, not the rule, when it comes to those with an active carry license.
The state still has a long way to go before it's Second Amendment-compliant with its carry laws. The 16-hour training course required to obtain a permit is too long, and the demand that applicants complete a live-fire test at a local range undoubtably limits access for some Marylanders. The state's numerous "gun-free zones" also have a chilling effect on the right to carry; not only in terms of limiting where folks can bear arms in self-defense but by dissuading some would-be applicants of applying altogether rather than run the risk of accidentally bringing a gun into a "sensitive place" and facing criminal charges.
Despite those challenges, though, more than 180,000 residents (and almost 20,000 non-residents) have successfully navigated the maze of red tape laid out by the state and obtained a carry license, and Maryland hasn't turned into the Wild West or a shooting gallery. Would that change if the state lowered its mandated training to 8 hours instead of 16, or scrapped its Handgun Qualification License, which requires anyone who wants to simply keep a handgun in their home to also undergo mandated training and pass a background check before they can go through the process of purchasing a firearm at retail (with a duplicative background check included)? I highly doubt it, but unfortunately we're not likely to see that experiment enacted anytime soon either.
