The Supreme Court denied a petition Monday to review a lower court’s decision to uphold Maryland’s handgun licensing requirements — a win for gun safety advocates in this nearly 10-year-long battle.

A group of gun owners, the pro-firearms organization Maryland Shall Issue and the Montgomery County-based gun shop Atlantic Guns petitioned for the high court to review the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ August 2024 decision to uphold Maryland’s Handgun Qualification License law. They argued that, “The lower court did not follow ‘the standard for applying the Second Amendment’ declared by this Court [Supreme Court].”

An attorney representing the plaintiffs did not immediately return a request for comment.

The denial was a triumph for state officials who’ve touted the importance of HQL, which requires Maryland residents interested in owning a gun to provide fingerprints, complete a four-hour firearm safety training course, complete a background check and submit an application, among other requirements. Such restrictions came into play in 2013, after a shooter killed 20 children and six adults in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting in Connecticut.

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In a press release, Maryland Attorney General Anthony G. Brown said the high court’s latest decision was “great news” for the state and common-sense gun laws.

“This law helps prevent tragedies and keeps families safe, by keeping guns away from those who want to harm our communities,” he said. “Thoughts and prayers are not enough—Maryland’s Handgun Qualification Licensing Law is a key tool in our fight to end gun violence.”

Though the decision is a setback for the gun rights advocates who began challenging HQL in 2016, they aren’t backing down. Mark Pennak, the president of Maryland Shall Issue, said in a statement that “this HQL case may be over, but the issue is most definitely not.”

In 2017, the group challenged the state assault weapons ban, which the 4th Circuit upheld and the Supreme Court denied a petition to review. They filed a similar petition in Maryland last fall after the 2022 New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen decision.

In that case, the court ruled the Second Amendment protects people carrying loaded concealed guns in public out of self-defense, and that New York laws requiring them to provide “proper cause” violated the 14th Amendment. The ruling led to several legal challenges against gun laws in states across the country, including Maryland Shall Issue’s latest, Snope v. Anthony G. Brown. On Monday, the Snope v. Brown case was relisted to be considered on Jan. 17.

“The Fourth Circuit’s decision in the HQL case is likewise open to that sort of future development,” Pennak said. “So, we wait.”