03/12/2025
On behalf of our members and in partnership with the Second Amendment Foundation and Firearms Policy Coalition, Maryland Shall Issue and three individual plaintiffs are challenging unconstitutional aspects of SB 1, the so-called “Gun Safety Act of 2023” in the US District Court for the District of Maryland. SB 1 effectively nullifies the "general right to carry in public" for carry permit holders confirmed by the Supreme Court's decision NYSRPA v. Bruen just this last June. It does so by banning firearms in a whole host of locations otherwise open to the public, including places like stores and shops, restaurants, museums, and healthcare facilities. The suit also challenges the general ban on possession of firearms on public transit owned or controlled by the State Mass Transit Administration and in the tens of thousands of acres of woodlands in State parks, State forests, and State Chesapeake forest lands. We have every confidence that we will prevail in whole or in part in this suit.
Find the complaint in Novotny v. Moore HERE.
Enforcement of SB 1 Enjoined In Part: On September 29, 2023, a federal district court enjoined enforcement of (1) that part of SB1 that presumptively banned carry by permit holders in privately owned buildings otherwise open to the public (2) that part of SB1 that flatly banned (except by the owner) firearms in locations licensed to serve alcohol for on-site consumption, and (3) that part of existing State law that banned firearms within 1000 feet of a demonstration. The Court's opinion can be found HERE and the Court's order can be found HERE. On August 2, 2024, the court adopted its preliminary injunction and awarded the same relief in final judgment. The Opinion and order are linked below. Further proceedings in the case have now moved to the U.S.Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit with notices of appeal filed by the plaintiffs and by the State. Briefing is now complete and the case has been scheduled for oral argument for May 7, 2025 in Richmond. Links to the briefs filed in the 4th Circuit are below.
A guide on the effects of the recent changes to legal handgun carry in Maryland can be found HERE.
Case Documents and History
US District Court for the District of Maryland Case# 1:23-cv-01295
(Note: this case has been consolidated with Kipke v. Moore. Filings before 7/13/23 reflect those submitted in Novotny, but all prospective filings will be added below.)
5/16/23 - Complaint
5/18/23 - Case Reassigned to Judge Richard D. Bennett. Magistrate Judge Beth P. Gesner no longer assigned to the case.
5/24/23 - Motion for Preliminary Injunction
5/24/23 - Memorandum in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction
5/25/23 - Case Reassigned to Chief Judge James K. Bredar. Judge Richard D. Bennett no longer assigned to the case.
5/25/23 - Case Reassigned to Judge George Levi Russell, III. Chief Judge James K. Bredar no longer assigned to the case.
5/30/23 - Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to Complaint by Defendants
5/30/23 - MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to Motion for Preliminary Injunction by Defendants
5/30/23 - ORDER granting Consent MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to Complaint; time to respond is extended to June 28, 2023. Signed by Judge George Levi Russell, III on 5/30/2023.
5/30/23 - ORDER granting MOTION for Extension of Time to File Response/Reply to Motion for Preliminary Injunction; deadline to respond is extended to June 28, 2023. Signed by Judge George Levi Russell, III on 5/30/2023.
5/31/23 - Defendants' Motion to Consolidate Cases (with Kipke v. Moore)
6/1/23 - ORDER: SCHEDULING TELEPHONE STATUS CONFERENCE on Friday June 9, 2023 at 11:00a.m.
6/1/23 - Plaintiffs' Corrected Response in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Consolidate Cases
6/9/23 - Defendants' Memorandum in Support of Motion to Consolidate Cases
6/26/23 - Defendants' Consent Motion for Leave to File Memoranda of Law Exceeding Page Limits
6/28/23 - Defendants' Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim and Opposition to Preliminary Injunction
6/28/23 - Defendants’ Consolidated Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Dismiss and Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Preliminary Injunction
7/12/23 - Plaintiffs’ Consolidated Reply Memorandum in Support of Motion for Preliminary Injunction and Memorandum in Opposition To Defendants’ Motion To Dismiss
7/13/23 - ORDER granting 30 Defendants' Motion to Consolidate Cases; consolidating cases GLR-23-1293 and GLR-23-1295 with Kipke as the lead case. Signed by Judge George Levi Russell, III on 7/13/2023.
7/20/23 - Novotny Plaintiffs' Motion for Summary Judgment and Briefing Schedule
8/2/23 - Defendants’ Reply Memorandum in Support of Motion to Dismiss the Novotny Complaint
9/29/23 - Opinion and Order and Clarification Order enjoinging Enforcement of SB1 in Part
10/12/23 - Answer of the State in Novotny
08/02/24 - Opinion and order granting summary judgment in part and denying it in part
11/04/24 - Brief of Appellants (plaintiffs) 4th Circuit
12/23/24 - Brief of Appellees (the State)
01/22/25 - Response Brief of Appellants (plaintiffs)
02/26/25 - Reponse Brief of AppelleesReponse Brief of Appellees (the State)
03/07/25 - Order setting oral argument for May 7, 2025
Novotny v Moore Federal District Court Docket Available at CourtListener HERE.
Kipke v Moore Federal District Court Docket Available at CourtListener HERE.
