January 13th, 2024 by WCBC Radio

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has decided to rehear arguments in front of the full court in Bianchi v. Brown, a case involving a constitutional challenge to a Maryland law banning assault weapons.  

 Maryland’s ban on assault weapons was enacted in 2013 after a shooter used an assault weapon in the 2012 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut that resulted in the deaths of 20 children and six adults. The court’s decision late Friday evening comes after a three-judge panel of the same court heard oral arguments in the case back in December 2022. No decision had been issued. 

“Mass shootings and assault weapons go hand-in-hand. Too many lives have been taken because of these weapons of war that do not belong on our streets or in our communities. I will continue to defend common-sense gun safety laws to protect all Marylanders and to stand up for the innocent lives we have lost at the hands of unnecessary and preventable tragedies that continue to plague this country,” said Attorney General Brown. “I commend the Court’s decision to rehear this case in front of the full court. Innocent lives depend on it.”

The hearing before the full court is expected to occur in March 2024.