Would you think I was exaggerating if I told you I was applying for a concealed carry permit in Maryland was akin to writing your own manumission document? Since I’ve decided to take this journey I knew it was going to be tough but didn’t think it was going to feel like I was a runaway slave trying to use a racist option to plead my case . . .

The website that provides Maryland residents forms from the Maryland State Police has been down in such a way that the only documents you can get are not the ones that would allow you to apply for a firearms permit. Like the Underground Railroad, I was given a link to a copy of the permit application from a former student of mine who also is applying and read of my journey here.

You may have heard that the state of Maryland is not the most gun rights friendly state in the union right now. I’m applying for my freedom in the midst of the Civil War it seems.  Governor Martin O’Malley, in his quest for notoriety and perhaps a Presidential nomination, declared war on gun owners in the state and usurped the rights of its citizens in a blanket change of all that is sane. It’s sad, but it is my reality. We are not alone as Connecticut is also suffering from the same asininities.

Now that I’m home from my speaking tour for a few days I am going to tackle this ominous document and try to satisfy one of the six cavils that I hope will allow it to pass muster. Looking at the application form I see that there are a few areas under which I can submit that may apply. I don’t have any documented threats against me (thank God)  for the “personal protection” piece although that’s really why anyone would want to carry a firearm. But the first two might work:

1.   Owner or Employee of a Business: Submit photocopies of the Traders License or Business License, and if the purpose of the permit is for: (I) Making deposits: Photocopies of six (6) random deposit slips for the business showing the deposits within a year of the application submission date or a letter from the bank attesting that your business has a monetary flow. (ii) Cash Flow: Photocopies of Ten (10) receipts showing purchases for supplies and/or payments received for services.

2.   Former Police Officer: If you have resigned or retired, you must show evidence of your tenure in law enforcement, such as a letter from your Agency.

3.   Personal Protection: There must be documented evidence of recent threats, robberies, and/or assaults, supported by official police reports or notarized statements from witnesses.

The business owner qualification that Maryland requires is where I will focus most of my energy as I build Blanchard Media Group, LLC into a thriving business with positive cash flow. That probably means I’ll need a physical office now for interviews, and as a place to meet clients. I’m hoping I’ll be able to use the space for firearms instruction as well, as I get this stage completed. I could go with the former police officer angle, but my former outfit isn’t the normal law enforcement entity and not trying to advertise what they do.

Alas, I press on. Freedom isn’t free.

Rev. Kenn Blanchard is a former US Marine, federal police officer, intel officer, conservative, African American Christian pastor, gun rights activist known as the Black Man With A Gun, and producer of The Urban Shooter Podcast.

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21 COMMENTS

    • It was not always so. The racist history of gun control began in the southern states, laws that were only eclipsed in the last forty or fifty years.

    • It’s pretty funny that the former slave states (excepting Maryland) have better gun laws than the modern slave states.

      FIFY.

    • Indeed. Hey Kenn, consider moving south just a couple hundred miles and you’ll never have to think about a retarded CCW requirement again.

      Strap your 1911 (or what-have-you) to your hip and carry on!

  2. Think MD is bad? Try RI. If Forrest Gump (sorry..Gov. Chafee) has his way only the AG’s office (“may issue”) will be the issuing authority. The individual towns (“shall issue” for the most part) will no longer have the right.

    • Rhode Island: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. Art. I, § 22 (enacted 1842).
      [Self-defense right protected, Mosby v. Devine, 851 A.2d 1031, 1043 (R.I. 2004).]

      You’d think this would provide for “shall issue” at any level. Or not?

        • In terms of how the courts would rule, my guess is that a permit system or a gun registration database, etc., will be ruled constitutional, since they don’t, in themselves, deny the right.

          What one would hope cannot possibly be argued to be constitutional is not having a “shall issue” system for all such permits, be it to possess or to carry. But then, logic and reality don’t alway agree.

    • That’s how it is in MD right now. The State Police are the only issuing authority. The whole permitting process is a May Issue style even if the language is Shall Issue (with a “good & substantial reason).

  3. A law bidibg guy and father of 2 or 3 in buffalo got a Letter this week that he had to give up his 7 guns due to his Dr prescribing anti anxiety meds..where’s the story on this site..that is usually 4 days behind. Its all over the NY papers

  4. Be careful, everyone: applying for a CCW/CHL in a jurisdiction you’re pretty sure will deny you is a bad idea. A denial will stick to you like stink, compromising any future application in any jurisdiction.

  5. I was wondering why I, as a conservative, never heard of Kenn Blanchard. It’s obvious, because he is a conservative African American and that does not fit the narrative of the extremist left wingers in the media where a black man is not supposed oppose his master, the democrats.

  6. Good luck Kenn, president insano will happily kill blacks along with whites & your preaching will help, never thought I’d say that, Randy

  7. Interesting enough, I live in Iowa and decided to get my CCW but being a cheap ass I didn’t want to shell out $50 for a training program in addition to the $50 for the 5 year license. So I read in the Des Moines Register (liberal rag) how awful it is that the concealed carry law is rather vague in it’s requirement for training and thus people were taking the free firearms safety course from the Maryland State Police Association and getting their CCWs. Apparently someone got denied when he took that course and the denial was overturned by the Iowa courts. It took about a half an hour. (Thanks DM Register for the tip.) So I guess there is at least one thing gun friendly in Maryland.

    • I can’t find anywhere on the MD State Police (MSP) website where they offer the course you’re referrring to in your comments. I have been told by a local gun store I have to get my HQL from a private instructor. MSP has a list of instructors so I’m not sure where you are getting that info. I am working to get my carry permit in MD and would appreciate any insight into the process. Thanks.

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