Soon to be easier to carry concealed weapon in Md.

WASHINGTON – It’s about to become much easier to get a concealed carry permit in Maryland, now that a federal judge lifted a stay.

As of Aug. 7, Maryland will no longer be able to have applicants show a “good and substantial reason” to transport a weapon.

Alan Gura, the lawyer who argued the case that changed Maryland’s law, says people who want a permit will no longer be forced to prove why they should be able to exercise a right.

He says people who get permits are overwhelmingly law-abiding.

Some have pointed to the recent shootings in colorado as a reason why fewer people should have concealed weapons.

Gura says the theater in colorado was a gun-free zone, where people who had carry permits weren’t able to defend themselves.

Maryland’s attorney general is appealing the law change, and could ask for a delay in implementing it.

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(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)

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