Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, along with Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, led a coalition of 18 state attorneys general in filing an amicus brief in support of the state of Maryland in Kipke v. Moore and Novotny v. Moore, two consolidated challenges to Maryland’s restrictions on carrying firearms in various sensitive places.
“Gun violence has destroyed the lives of far too many victims, their families, and their communities,” said Attorney General Schwalb. “Elected leaders need to be able to enact reasonable gun safety laws to keep their constituents safe. Alongside my state-AG counterparts, I’m urging the Court to uphold Maryland’s commonsense laws and avoid setting a dangerous precedent that would threaten the safety and security of communities in the District and across the nation.”
The brief urges the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to uphold the constitutionality of Maryland’s Gun Safety Act of 2023 and other firearms regulations, noting that the Supreme Court has consistently recognized that the Second Amendment does not preclude states from enacting reasonable regulations to protect communities from gun violence. Maryland’s Gun Safety Act establishes three categories of statutorily defined locations where people are prohibited from carrying firearms: (1) areas for children and vulnerable individuals; (2) government or public-infrastructure areas; and (3) special purpose areas. These three categories, coupled with other firearms regulations, cover locations that include museums, healthcare facilities, state parks and forests, mass transit facilities, schools and school grounds, government buildings, stadiums, racetracks, amusement parks, casinos, and locations selling alcohol for on-site consumption. Individuals are also prohibited from carrying guns on private property without the owner’s consent or conspicuous signage indicating permission, and within 1,000 feet of a public demonstration. The law does allow for exemptions, such as for active or retired law enforcement, private property owners with authorized security, and those transporting a firearm in a car, as long as they either have a public-carry permit or lock the firearm in a container.
Solicitor General Caroline Van Zile, Principal Deputy Solicitor General Ashwin Phatak, and Assistant Attorney General Anne Deng handled this matter for the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia.
The full amicus brief is available here. AG Schwalb is joined in filing this brief by the attorneys general of Illinois, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington.
OAG’s Efforts to Stop Gun Violence
The Office of the Attorney General uses every legal tool available to it to reduce violent crime, especially crime involving firearms. OAG is the District’s chief prosecutor of crimes committed by juveniles, while the federally appointed US Attorney prosecutes most crimes committed by adults, including all adult felonies. OAG prosecutes all serious juvenile violent offenses when it has the evidence to do so, holding kids accountable when they cause harm while working to make sure they get the resources they need to help prevent them from re-offending.
OAG defends the District’s common-sense gun laws—including prohibitions on large-capacity magazines and carrying firearms on public transportation—against legal challenges, and seeks Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), when appropriate, to remove firearms and ammunition from those who pose a danger to themselves or others.
OAG sued three Maryland gun dealers for facilitating gun violence in the District by selling firearms to a straw purchaser who then trafficked the weapons into the District. Additionally, OAG filed and won a first-of-its-kind lawsuit against ghost gun manufacturer Polymer80, which was selling kits that enabled individuals to build untraceable ghost guns in their homes. As a result, Polymer80 was ordered to pay more than $4 million in penalties and to permanently stop selling its frames, receivers, and Buy, Build, Shoot kits to DC consumers.
OAG also funds and supports Cure the Streets, a community-based violence-reduction program that employs a targeted public-health approach to disrupt cycles of gun violence. In 2023, despite District-wide increases in gun violence, the rates of violent gun crimes across Cure The Streets’ 10 target communities decreased.