Recently, a federal appeals court upheld Maryland’s ban on so-called assault weapons. They ruled that ownership of such guns is “not protected by the Second Amendment.” The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit had overturned a 2016 ruling by a three-judge panel of the same court that said Maryland’s law should be subject to “strict scrutiny” because it imposes a “substantial burden” on the right to keep and bear arms.
After the 2012 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Maryland’s “assault weapon” ban was extended to sanction the sale or transfer of 81 listed gun models, all semiautomatic centerfire rifles that accept detachable magazines and have two or more of these features: a folding stock, a grenade/flare launcher, or a flash suppressor.
Texas Senator Ted Cruz appeared at CPAC 2017 and said upholding the Maryland assault weapon ban is “nuts.”
Cruz told Mark Levin said this ruling is hypocritical.
“This test isn’t just sort of questionable,” Cruz said. “It isn’t just a little bit out there. It is nuts! The Second Amendment was designed explicitly to protect weapons used in a military context.”
Cruz criticized the Fourth Circuit court decision limiting the individual’s Second Amendment right to own a firearm.
“The Fourth Circuit used to be the most conservative court in the country,” he said. “The Fourth Circuit now, they’ve invented this new test for the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment doesn’t protect a weapon if it would be useful in a military context.”
Cruz went on to explain to the audience and he asked them, “You want to know the first gun control law in America? The first Congress passed a law mandating that all able-bodied men must own a musket.”
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