A federal judge in Maryland upheld a ruling Tuesday which limits gun magazines to 10 rounds and bans 45 assault weapons.

In December 2012, Maryland lawmakers approved the ban in response to the incident at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut which left 20 children and six teachers dead.

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Judge Catherine Blake stated in her 47-page ruling that the Firearms Safety Act of 2013 seeks to address a serious risk of harm to law enforcement officers as well as the public from the inherent power to kill and injure by using assault weapons and large capacity magazines.

The ruling, which is considered to be the nation's strictest, was also supported by Democratic Gov. Martin O'Mally.

Nina Smith, O'Malley's spokeswoman added that they are pleased to know the court upheld the law that they passed in order to reduce gun violence in the region.

According to reports, the Firearms Safety Act has also contributed to the state witnessing some of the lowest crime rates in the last 40 year.

On the opposition, Atty. John Parker Sweeney argued that the law has gone too far by banning firearms which people might need for self-defense.

However, attorneys of the state countered Sweeney's statement by saying that the law's primary goal is to protect the public and take a reasonable approach towards limiting firearms which could be  used in military assault attacks and mass shootings.

Aside from the provisions of the law on limiting and banning of firearms, it also included several requirements for gun owners.

These requirements include necessitating that gun owners submit fingerprints to state police as part of the licensing requirements for owning a handgun.

This measure was devised in order to reduce the number of guns purchased by people not allowed to own one.

TagsMaryland gun control, Maryland gun law, Firearms Safety Act, Sandy Hook