Hogan’s Decision to Lift Gun Restrictions Roils State Politics

Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.’s decision Tuesday to lift restrictions on carrying concealed weapons in Maryland in the wake of a recent U.S. Supreme Court opinion left policymakers scrambling and has created another potentially divisive political issue with Marylanders already voting in their party primaries. One day after mass shootings at a Fourth of July parade in a Chicago suburb and fireworks display in Philadelphia, Hogan (R) announced Tuesday that he had directed the Maryland State Police, which issues gun licenses in the state, to suspend what’s known as the “good and substantial reason” standard for carrying concealed weapons.