Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan Repeals Open Carry Law After Supreme Court Ruling

After a recent Supreme Court ruling on guns, Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) will repeal a Maryland open-carry law.

Known as the “good and substantial reason” standard, the law gave the police in Maryland broad authority to stop anyone deemed to be openly carrying a firearm for unnecessary reasons.

The repeal by the governor came after the Supreme Court ruled against a New York state law that allowed the denial of open-carry permits to citizens on many grounds.

Hogan described the Maryland law as “virtually indistinguishable” from the one in New York.

Hogan released a statement and said, “In light of the ruling and to ensure compliance with the Constitution, I am directing the Maryland State Police to immediately suspend utilization of the ‘good and substantial reason’ standard when reviewing applications for Wear and Carry Permits.”

“I have consistently supported the right of law-abiding citizens to own and carry firearms, while enacting responsible and common-sense measures to keep guns out of the hands of criminals and the mentally ill,” the governor continued.

The recent Supreme Court decision comes during a time of many mass shootings across the U.S.

On July 4th alone, a gunman killed seven people and injured dozens more with a high-powered assault rifle in Highland Park, Illinois. The tragedy was one of many on Independence Day; in another incident, two police officers were injured after a gunman opened fire into a crowd in Philadelphia.