Licenses Delayed, Rights Denied: How Six States Are Sabotaging the Second Amendment

AmmoLand ^ | December 2, 2025 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

Licenses Delayed, Rights Denied is a scholarly article that informs readers of the means six outlier states use to deny ordinary citizens their rights to keep and bear arms. The article is another excellent example of scholarship by Mark Smith, member of the Supreme Court Bar, distinguished Second Amendment scholar, and host of the Four Boxes Diner on YouTube. He is also a contributor at AmmoLand.com.  The article has been published in the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy: Per Curiam, Fall of 2025, No. 23.  The six states that are actively working to undermine the Bruen methodology are described as California, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts. The article also shows specific examples in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and other jurisdictions. The complete title is: Licenses Delayed Rights Denied: How Contemporary Firearm Carry Licensing Regimes Continue to Violate the Second Amendment

Mark Smith documents five sets of methods used to make the process of obtaining a permit to carry burdensome. They include:

1. Staffing bottlenecks and restricted office hours –  Hours of availability to apply can be restricted to a few hours a week, and/or they may only be processed by a small number of individuals. These hours are often during the normal work week, requireing an applicant to take time off to complete an application. A federal lawsuit revealed the Boston Police department requires an appointment to have fingerprints taken. The department often takes months to schedule an appointment.
2. Supplementary Documents – Requirements for letters from employers, character references, or authorization to search all public and private records takes considerable time and effort. Such requirements are not authorized by the Bruen decision.

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TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: 2a; article; banglist; commies; law

[marktwain]

The posted article is a review of the scholarly article by Mark Smith published in the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.

[ansel12]

I went to the article at your site and a drop down immediately blocked it, I moved on.

[Dartoid]

Easily moved past that by clicking the X top right corner.

“I went to the article at your site and a drop down immediately blocked it, I moved on.”

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Use Brave Browser. It blocks that stuff.

[albie]

6 states that were easily guessed. I’m sure more blue states will follow

[Bartholomew Roberts]

The X to close the ad is in the upper right, in front of the brass.

It is a really interesting article.

Worth a read.

The actual paper that the article describes would be even more interesting!!

[marktwain]

There is a link in the article to the scholarly article at the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy.

[Carl Vehse]

California, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts are states being run by traitors to the United States of America.

[Buttons12]

The X isn’t always visible. I often have to zoom out to find it, since I’m across a lot of space from the monitor and have the setting at over 100%.

[bk1000]

One would think they wouldn’t have a problem with people who ask for permission to exercise their God given rights.

[cyclotic]

The report mentions Maryland requiring the names of three references. Pre-Bruen, a State Troops would call each reference with a list of about ten questions. Post Bruen, they don’t have time and have said that they aren’t really calling references. As it should be.

Maryland also requires a whopping 16 hour training course with an eight hour renewal course. This includes a live fire exercise. While I disagree with the entire thing, I think the live fire exercise was surprisingly well executed.

It’s a few rounds scored at 5, 10, 15 and 15 feet. (I scored 100.

Initial renewal is at two years, a ridiculously short time with subsequent renewals at three years. (Renewals should be never)

They do everything they can to infringe on rights. They tried to make the entire state a sensitive area and off limits to CCW. It was so egregious that an Obama appointed judge shot it down.

The legislative asylum meets 90 days a year, beginning in January. It’s almost time for stupid games to begin again.

One nice thing about having an economic illiterate for Governor is that he’s screwed the state budget up so badly the Asylum doesn’t have time to play around with gun bills. They’re too busy trying to figure out how to tax us more.

[Racketeer]

I will not ever register or get a license to own the many guns that I have!! It is my inalienable right and my lineage is entirely briefed on the issue!!

[metmom]

California, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Massachusetts

No surprises there.

[gundog]

I recall an issue with the “fingerprint machine” delaying permit issue and renewal in a coastal Oregon county. A red county.

[Hartlyboy]

They forgot Delaware which just initiated a mandatory “training course” to get a purchase permit. They loves them some gun control.

[Bartholomew Roberts]

I haven’t gotten to it yet. But will.

Thanks!!

[redfreedom]

“It’s a few rounds scored at 5, 10, 15 and 15 feet.”

Those distances are ridiculously short. The ND Class 1 is 24 shots at an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper with a pistol. There are two distances, one is 45 feet and the other about half. Different shooting positions are used, one of them single handed with your left hand (if your are right handed).

I routinely practice right or left handed. Arthritis is so bad in my right hand I can only shoot the 10 mm left handed.

I see the reasoning behind it. One must be totally familiar with handling a weapon as well as hitting the target.

[cyclotic]

45 feet is pretty far for a self-defense situation.

[17th Miss Regt]

I see the reasoning behind it. One must be totally familiar with handling a weapon as well as hitting the target.

No. The reasoning behind it is pure obstruction of your second amendment.

[dljordan]

“Maryland also requires a whopping 16 hour training course with an eight hour renewal course. “

Colorado passed something like that. They just pass whatever Mike Bloomberg sends them.