Maryland just got a ruling that every carry permit holder should understand — not just in that state, but anywhere you travel with a gun.

"Keeping and bearing arms is presumptively lawful nationwide" — meaning cops can't suspect someone of a crime solely because they have a firearm.

That's the core of it. If you're printing through your shirt on a hot day at a gas station, that alone isn't probable cause anymore — at least not in Maryland, and the 5th Circuit precedents cited here are pulling in the same direction everywhere else.

"Officers will now need 'additional facts indicating criminal activity beyond mere possession' before making a stop."

Worth reading twice if you carry. The stop itself wasn't even the worst part of Hicks' situation — it was the detective digging through a satchel and into pockets, which is nowhere close to what a Terry frisk actually permits. Outer clothing only. That boundary got blurry for a long time in may-issue states, and this ruling puts it back where it belongs.

The cocaine detail will get trotted out by people who want to argue this ruling "helped a drug dealer." That's not the point. The Fourth Amendment doesn't have a carve-out for people who turn out to be guilty — the standard gets applied before you know what you're going to find.

For those of you who carry in states that recently went shall-issue or have shaky training on post-Bruen standards — this ruling is the kind of thing worth knowing cold if you ever get stopped. You have rights in that interaction, and they don't evaporate because your gun is printing.

Have you ever been approached by law enforcement while carrying — and how did knowing your rights (or not knowing them) affect how that conversation went?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By Steve Duskett