Maryland Shall Issue

05/29/2026

The petition for cert in our SB1 litigation is now docketed as "Katherine Novotny, et al., Petitioners v. Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland, et al", under docket number 25-1324.

https://www.supremecourt.gov/Search.aspx?FileName=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-1324.html

05/21/2026

Today, we filed our petition for certiorari with the Supreme Court, seeking review of the 4th Circuit's decision in Kipke/ Novotny v. Moore where the 4th Circuit struck down Maryland's presumptive ban on carry on private property open to the public, but otherwise sustained Maryland's myriad bans on so-called sensitive places. Our petition for certiorari can be found here. https://www.marylandshallissue.org/jmain/documents?task=download.send&id=587&catid=4&m=0. For its part, Maryland has filed a petition for certiorari on the 4th Circuit's decision striking down the presumptive ban. The Supreme Court will consider both petitions at its "long conference" the last week of September 2026.

04/28/2026

The Supreme Court of Maryland issued its decision today in our challenge to the Montgomery County ordinance that basically banned carry by permit holders through out the County. On that issue we completely prevailed and the County lost. Specifically the Court held that the County's ban "is not a local law because of its application to holders of State-issued wear-and-carry permits traveling on public highways who cross within 100 yards of a place of public assembly." That means that permit holders may carry in Montgomery County without regard to the County's ordinance as long as they remain in compliance with State law. By any measure, we count that as a huge WIN! The whole point of the County's ordinance was to make it impossible for permit holders to carry in the County after the decision by the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen. On that point, the County lost completely. The Maryland Supreme Court issued other rulings as well, holding that County's regulation of so-called "ghost guns" was preempted by State law "to the extent it includes fi****ms that have been serialized in compliance with federal and State law." That means that persons may transport personally made fi****ms to FFLs and FFLs in the County may serialize personally made frames and receivers in accordance with State law. The Court also struck down as preempted a section of the County's ordinance which banned a "broad swath of otherwise lawful (and constitutionally protected) conduct by adults merely because it occurs in the presence of a minor, without any apparent connection to whether that activity might result in minors gaining unsupervised access to those fi****ms." The lesson to County residents and others: get a carry permit and carry in accordance with State law.

04/14/2026

Legislative update: The Maryland General Assembly session came to an end last night at midnight and the only truly bad bill that was enacted was the G***k Bill, SB334, which provides that "A PERSON MAY NOT MANUFACTURE, SELL, OFFER FOR SALE, PURCHASE, RECEIVE, OR TRANSFER" of a pistol with a A CRUCIFORM TRIGGER BAR. That ban includes all G***ks and all so-called G***k clones. The Bill takes effect on January 1, 2027. The Bill will be "presented" to the Governor sometime in the next 20 days. The Governor then has 30 days to sign or veto the Bill or it will go into effect without his signature. We defeated a bill (that passed the House) to ban lead ammo. We defeated a Bill (that passed the House) to impose compelled speech on dealers. We opposed other bad Bills, like the Bill to impose a 11% tax on the sale of guns, ammo and accessories, and those Bills never got out of Committee. We are gearing up to challenge the G***k Bill in court. That suit will be on behalf of MSI and its members. If you are not a member of MSI, please join!

04/10/2026

The ban on the sale, receipt, purchase or transfer of G***ks (SB 334) has been enacted by both Houses of the General Assembly. It will now be "presented" to the Governor. The General Assembly "presents" an enacted bill to the Governor who has, under the Maryland Constitution, 30 days (after the legislature's adjournment) to sign or veto the Bill. See MD Const. Article II, section 17(c) ("(c) Any Bill presented to the Governor within six days (Sundays excepted), prior to adjournment of any session of the General Assembly, or after such adjournment, shall become law without the Governor's signature unless it is vetoed by the Governor within 30 days after its presentment."). "Presentment" to the Governor can take place within 20 days after adjournment, which is May 3, 2026, this year. See Maryland Const. Article III, Section 30 ("All bills passed during a regular or special session shall be presented to the Governor for the Governor's approval no later than 20 days after adjournment."). So there is a window in which a signature can take place. I have no doubt that Gov. Moore will sign SB 334. We are gearing up our challenge to this Bill.

03/02/2026

Good news! The court has granted our motion to stay the mandate in the 4th Circuit, so these are all accurate pending the outcome of our petition for certiorari in the US Supreme Court!

03/01/2026

Members! Check your email for details about next weekends meeting! Not a member yet? Join us to hear the latest in litigation, what the legislature is doing, and more!

02/15/2026

Our gun bill tracker has undergone a huge upgrade from years past. Please take a look at it and let us know your thoughts. More features will continue to roll out as we find bugs and integrate more features.

Of note is the "Actions Needed" tile, informing you of things happening right now, such a testimony due or hearings happening.

Then there's the "This Week" tile, showing you what is coming up in the next 7 days.

And of course the list of bills we support and oppose.

Expand any tile and you have the option of card view, or table view. Click whichever you prefer. Then of course you can click on each bill to get more detailed information, links to the full bill text, etc.

Brand new is the ability to generate an Excel sheet of any of the lists. While in the table view, "Generate CSV" now appears as an option. That allows you to generate an Excel sheet to easily share bills, or to print out as a list for whatever you may need it for.

And of course at the bottom of the tracker are still links to the testimony guide and a find your representative link.

Please use the tracker, and share your thoughts with us. We want to make this tool useful for your members.

This tracker follows legislation and lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly. It serves as an easily searchable gun and self-defense-related bill database for supporters of the right to keep and bear arms. Share this tracker anywhere! tinyurl.com/guntrackerHOW TO TESTIFYMSI Guide - Tips For Your....

02/13/2026

Some clarification on the current status of the SB1 litigation, Novotny v. Moore:

So here's the bottom line for now

1. Carry on private property open to the public? Yes, we won on that point because the 4th Circuit affirmed the district court's injunction on this point. So you can continue to carry in these lcoations unless the property owner has a "no guns" sign or asks you to leave, in which case entry or remaining against the owner's wishes may be considered to be a criminal trespass.

2. Carry in places serving alcohol? The district court enjoined that ban and that meant you could continue to carry there. But we lost on that issue in the 4th Circuit, which reversed that injunction. But we have asked the 4th Circuit to stay its mandate and while that motion is pending you can still carry there. If the motion to stay the mandate is denied and the mandate issues, then you may not carry there. If the motion to stay the mandate is granted, then yes, you may continue to carry there until there is a final disposition by the Supreme Court of our upcoming petition for certiorari we intend to file soon. Stay tuned.

3. Carry within 1000 feet of a public demonstration? See answer to 2. above. Yes, for now and yes if the motion for a stay of mandate is granted. No, if the mandate issues. Again, stay tuned.

02/09/2026

***Testimony due alert***

Testimony is due today on multiple bills:

HB577 Machine Gun Convertible Pistols, aka the G***k ban

SB362 Child's Access to Fi****ms Penalty

To get more details and to learn how to testify, please visit

This tracker follows legislation and lawmakers in the Maryland General Assembly. It serves as an easily searchable gun and self-defense-related bill database for supporters of the right to keep and bear arms. Share this tracker anywhere! tinyurl.com/guntrackerHOW TO TESTIFYMSI Guide - Tips For Your....