A federal judge rejected requests to block Maryland’s new ban on the sale of assault rifles and to prevent enforcement of a new handgun licensing program, the Baltimore Sun reports. Denying a temporary restraining order, U.S. District Judge Catherine Blake said the plaintiffs undercut their argument for an emergency suspension of the gun control law by waiting to challenge it until a few days before it took effect. “This suit could have been brought months ago, but it was not,” Blake said. The constitutional challenge to the ban — and whether the Second Amendment guarantees the right to buy an assault-style rifle to protect one’s home — will be the subject of a future hearing and remains to be decided. Blake said that based on evidence presented so far, she was not convinced that the plaintiffs would succeed. “This is a great day for public safety,” said Vincent DeMarco, president of Marylanders to Prevent Gun Violence. “As of today, Maryland will have one of the most effective gun violence prevention laws in the country.” The law is among the toughest passed in the nation after last December’s Newtown, Ct., school shootings.