On November 21, 2023, a three-judge panel in the Fourth Circuit voted 2-1 to strike down the handgun licensing requirement as unconstitutional on 2A grounds.

[3] Some local counties have adopted Second Amendment sanctuary resolutions in opposition to assault weapon laws.

The Constitution of Maryland contains no provision protecting the right for individuals to keep and bear arms.

[15] Until 2016, dealers were required to forward the manufacturer-included shell casing (or one provided by the federally licensed gun shop) in its sealed container to the Department of State Police Crime Laboratory upon sale, rental, or transfer of a "regulated firearm" for inclusion in their ballistics database, known as the Integrated Ballistics Identification System (IBIS).

[16] On April 4, 2013, the Maryland General Assembly approved legislation imposing significant new restrictions on gun ownership.

The bills ban the sale of certain semi-automatic firearms that they define as assault weapons, limit magazine capacity to ten rounds, require that handgun purchasers be fingerprinted and pass a training class in order to obtain a handgun license, and bar persons who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health institution from possessing firearms.

Private sales of "regulated firearms," which includes handguns, are permissible, but must be done at a local Maryland State Police barracks.

As of 1 Oct, a Handgun Qualification License (HQL) is required for the sale, as well as a background check and a mandatory seven-day waiting period.

Handguns manufactured after December 31, 2002 may only be sold or transferred if they have an internal mechanical safety device.

On February 1, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit overruled the reasoning used to uphold the law in a 2-to-1 vote.

[21][22] On March 4, 2016, Fourth Circuit agreed to rehear the case en banc and oral arguments took place on May 11, 2016.

[citation needed] In 2022 Maryland governor Larry Hogan allowed legislation that will, according to The Washington Post, "ban the sale, receipt and transfer of unfinished frames or receivers that are not serialized by the manufacturer" to become law without his signature.

On November 21, 2023, a three-judge panel in the Fourth Circuit voted 2-1 to strike down the handgun licensing requirement as unconstitutional on 2A grounds.

On March 5, 2012, a federal judge ruled in Woollard v Sheridan that Maryland's "may issue" concealed carry law is unconstitutional, writing, "A citizen may not be required to offer a 'good and substantial reason' why he should be permitted to exercise his rights."

[30] On March 21, 2013, a three judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals (U.S. Federal) unanimously overturned the District Court ruling, holding that the "good & substantial cause" requirements imposed by Maryland law are permissible without violating the 2nd Amendment.

[31] On June 23, 2022, the United States Supreme Court ruled in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v.Bruen that New York's "may issue" concealed carry law is unconstitutional, writing, "New York’s proper-cause requirement violates the Fourteenth Amendment by preventing law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms in public".

Maryland police have been accused of targeting drivers from other states including Florida because they hold concealed-carry permits.