A federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld a Maryland county law that requires gun dealers to distribute information about suicide prevention, conflict resolution and mental health resources.
A three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Virginia, ruled in favor of the Anne Arundel County law approved in 2022. The panel rejected his appeal by the gun rights group Maryland Shall Issues and four justices on First Amendment grounds. Gun store owners sued after a federal judge ruled in the county's favor.
In a ruling released Tuesday, Judge Paul Niemeyer ruled that county law requires the pamphlet to serve as a health and safety advisory that informs purchasers of the nature, causes, and dangers of suicide and the role guns play in suicide. He said the publication is mandatory.
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Although the literature notes that “access” to firearms is a “risk factor,” the judge wrote that the pamphlet did not suggest that readers should not purchase firearms.
“More specifically, we are not reading this pamphlet to suggest to firearm buyers that they should not purchase a firearm because it will lead to suicide. The pamphlet is more in line with other similar safety warnings (widely applied and accepted) that firearm owners should keep. “Keep guns safe, especially to prevent misuse and child access.'' Please keep it,” Niemeyer wrote.
Justices Roger Gregory and Toby Hatens also joined in the opinion.
A federal appeals court has upheld a Maryland law that requires gun sellers to distribute information about suicide prevention, conflict resolution and mental health resources with the purchase of firearms and ammunition.
Anne Arundel County Executive Stuart Pittman praised the ruling, which requires gun dealers to provide information to customers.
“Informing gun owners about the availability of mental health and suicide prevention services is a critical step to reducing gun deaths and saving lives,” Pittman said.
Mark Pennack, president of Maryland Shall Issue, said he thinks the ruling is “terribly wrong” because it forces speech inside commercial establishments.
“There was never such a law,” Pennack said. “This violates Supreme Court precedent and will open up a major constitutional lawsuit by the government.”
Pennack said he is considering an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court.
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After the 2018 mass shooting in the Capital Gazette newsroom that killed five people, Pittman created a task force to recommend ways to reduce gun violence. The task force recommended that counties establish partnerships with gun dealers, gun safety advocates, and agencies that work to prevent domestic violence and suicide.
In 2022, the Anne Arundel County Council will direct the County Health Department to distribute literature on “gun safety, gun training, suicide prevention, mental health, and conflict resolution” to stores selling firearms and ammunition. passed the bill. They were also required to display pamphlets in stores and hand out pamphlets when purchasing guns and ammunition.
This literature consists of a brochure on firearms and suicide prevention produced jointly by the National Shooting Sports Foundation and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, and a one-page insert flyer on community resources for suicide and conflict prevention produced by the county. .
