After the Supreme Court ruled that New York's restrictions on public possession of firearms violated the Second Amendment, state legislators responded by imposing new restrictions. Four days after Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, signed that bill into law, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, announced a strikingly different response to the Court's ruling, saying state police would immediately stop demanding that carry-permit applicants demonstrate a "good and substantial reason" for exercising the right to bear arms.
The stark contrast between New York and Maryland illustrates the range of reactions to the Court's June 23 decision in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen. While some states promptly complied with the ruling by eliminating requirements that gave officials broad discretion to deny carry permits, others are either dragging their feet or refusing to acknowledge the import of what the justices said the Constitution demands.
