Ah, America, land of the free—unless you’re crossing state lines with a perfectly legal hunk of metal strapped to your side. Then it’s more like land of the fee, the fingerprint, and the futile wait for permission from some desk jockey who thinks the Second Amendment is a suggestion. Enter Eva Marie Gardner, a plucky Virginian who’s got the Supreme Court pondering whether her bad day on a Maryland highway could finally force the blue-state busybodies to honor concealed carry permits from places where freedom still means something. Could this gal usher in national concealed carry reciprocity? In a world where politicians promise the moon and deliver cheese, it’s possible. But let’s dive deep into her case, because nothing says “fun” like unpacking a legal kerfuffle that pits self-defense against bureaucratic baloney.
The Highway Hullabaloo That Kicked It Off
Picture this: It’s January 16, 2021, and Eva Marie Gardner is tooling along Interstate 270 in Montgomery County, Maryland, minding her own business in her Jeep Wrangler. She’s en route from Virginia to Pennsylvania, toting $3,000 in cash, a bag of clothes, her loyal dog, and—crucially—a holstered Beretta Px4 Storm semiautomatic pistol locked away in the glove compartment. Why the firepower? Because Gardner holds a valid concealed carry permit from Virginia, where they trust law-abiding folks to protect themselves without a nanny-state nod.
But then comes the plot twist worthy of a bad action flick. A Ford Crown Victoria, driven by one Kahlid Binafif, rams her vehicle not once, but twice. Gardner, no fool, figures this ain’t an accident—it’s straight out of a cop show, the kind of maneuver designed to run you off the road. Both cars screech to a halt in the right lane. Fearing for her life (and who wouldn’t, with some yahoo playing bumper cars?), she dials 911, unlocks the glove box, grabs the holstered gun, and waves it at Binafif while yelling for him to back off to his car. He hesitates, then complies. Smart move.
Enter Maryland State Trooper Joseph Ekani, who rolls up to the scene after the dispatcher warns him someone’s flashing a firearm. The cars have minor dings, but no one’s bleeding. Ekani tells everyone to move out of traffic. Gardner, still jittery, reaches toward the passenger seat—where the gun now sits with its red safety indicator glowing like a bad omen. Ekani spots it, secures the weapon by flipping the safety, popping the magazine, and ejecting the chambered round. Gardner spills the beans: She brandished it because she thought Binafif was out to harm her, but swears she didn’t point it or disengage the safety until the trooper showed up. She flashes her Virginia permit, which checks out, but—plot thickener—Maryland doesn’t give a hoot about out-of-state papers. No Maryland permit? You’re toast. Gardner gets Mirandized, chats a bit, and ends up in cuffs for carrying without the local blessing.
The Courtroom Circus: From Trial to Appeal
Fast-forward to the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, case number 138914C. The state trots out Trooper Ekani’s testimony, complete with dash cam footage capturing the roadside chit-chat. Gardner takes the stand, recounting her terror, insisting she only showed the gun to scare off the aggressor without aiming it. The jury isn’t buying the full defense—they convict her on two counts: carrying a loaded handgun on or about her person and knowingly transporting a loaded handgun in a vehicle. Sentence? A merciful 30-day suspended term on the carrying charge, with the transport beef merged in, plus six months of unsupervised probation. It’s like getting slapped for swatting a mosquito.
Not one to roll over, Gardner appeals to Maryland’s Court of Special Appeals (docket number 1496, September Term 2022). Her pitch? Maryland’s law, Criminal Law Article section 4-203, is unconstitutional hogwash because it doesn’t carve out an exception for out-of-staters with valid permits just passing through. Citing the Supreme Court’s 2022 smackdown in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association v. Bruen—which affirmed that the Second Amendment protects public carry for self-defense—she argues the state has to prove its ban aligns with historical traditions. Spoiler: It doesn’t, at least not for travelers who’ve been exempt from such nonsense since colonial days.
She also takes a swing at Maryland’s permit scheme under Public Safety Article section 5-306(a)(6)(ii), which demands a “good and substantial reason” for a permit—a may-issue relic that Bruen should have buried. Without a constitutional path to a permit, how can the state criminalize carrying? The state fires back: Bruen doesn’t force reciprocity; states aren’t obligated to honor other states’ lax standards, lest it spark a “race to the bottom.” Plus, Gardner never even applied for a Maryland permit, so no standing to gripe about the process.
On April 18, 2025, the appellate court—judges Friedman, Kehoe, and Sharer—sides with the state, affirming the conviction. They shrug off reciprocity as not mandated by Bruen and punt on the permit scheme for lack of standing. Costs to Gardner. Ouch.
The Supreme Showdown: Petition and Possibilities
Undeterred, Gardner petitions the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari (docket number 25-5961), aiming to overturn the Maryland Supreme Court’s rubber-stamp (or denial, depending on how you slice it). The core beef: Does the Second Amendment demand that states recognize out-of-state concealed carry permits, at least for innocent travelers? Historical precedents scream yes—think “traveler’s exceptions” from 1686 East Jersey laws to 19th-century statutes in Kentucky, Tennessee, Nevada, and Arizona, letting folks carry while journeying without local hoops.
Recent revelations as of December 11, 2025, show amicus briefs piling in, arguing that non-reciprocity burdens the heck out of law-abiders. Getting a Maryland permit? Two days of training, fingerprints, photos, fees, and up to 90 days of twiddling thumbs. Multiply that for multi-state jaunts, and you’re talking over $7,000 in costs for permits across 44 states and D.C., plus renewals and endless classes. Meanwhile, permit holders are squeaky clean: Virginia’s revocation rate in 2024? A measly 0.12 percent, with violent crime convictions rarer than honest politicians.
The Crystal Ball: Could Reciprocity Ride In on Gardner’s Coattails?
Is national concealed carry reciprocity possible thanks to Eva Marie Gardner? In this Supreme Court—stacked with folks who read the Constitution like it’s, well, the Constitution—it’s not just possible; it’s plausible. If they grant cert and rule her way, states like Maryland could be forced to honor out-of-state permits, turning the patchwork of gun laws into something resembling sanity. No more getting nabbed for defending yourself just because you crossed an invisible line drawn by control freaks.
But let’s not pop the champagne yet. The Court could dodge it, leaving Congress to maybe pass reciprocity legislation someday—fat chance in our gridlocked swamp. Or they affirm the status quo, letting blue enclaves keep treating armed citizens like lepers. Either way, Gardner’s ordeal spotlights the absurdity: In America First terms, why should a Virginian’s right to bear arms evaporate at the Potomac? It’s high time we reciprocity the favor and let freedom ring from sea to regulated sea. If Gardner pulls this off, she’ll be the accidental hero who made packing heat as portable as a driver’s license. And wouldn’t that be a hoot?
Lloyd Muldrow is a Carnegie Hero.
He was also arrested for this act of heroism because he didn't have a Maryland carry permit, just a Virginia one. He eventually got probation.
Mr. Muldrow's story will feature prominently in the amicus brief SAF will be filing next week in… pic.twitter.com/4XbM0RprQm
— Kostas Moros (@MorosKostas) December 3, 2025