BALTIMORE (Map, News) - Despite HBO’s popular “Six Feet Under,” the funeral business doesn’t attract throngs of aspiring morticians.

But that does not mean that Maryland should discriminate against those who would like to own a funeral home — and the families in the state who pay more than they have to when a loved one passes away because of unfair regulations.

Maryland law requires funeral home owners to be licensed funeral directors, a process that requires two years of study and thousands of dollars. Funeral homes must employ licensed morticians, but the law makes no sense. Must the heads of airline companies be pilots?

An additional barrier is the fact that the only way to purchase a funeral home is to buy one of a few corporate licenses, some of which go for $250,000, or to be the spouse or legal executor of a funeral director who died.

Research from the Institute for Justice, a Virginia-based public interest law firm, shows the regulations make funerals in Maryland $800 more expensive than they would be without them. It also shows that there are fewer funeral homes in Maryland per capita than in the rest of the US, which favors those already in the $230 million per year state industry. The average cost of a U.S. funeral is about $6,500, according to the National Funeral Directors Association.

Lawyers from the group argued Monday in front of District Judge Richard Bennett in Baltimore that the U.S. Constitution does not allow the state to favor those in the industry over those who would like to join it, contrary to what the Maryland State Funeral Directors Association says.

“All our clients want is to exercise their right to earn an honest living by offering consumers the best service at the best price,” said Institute for Justice Senior Attorney Clark Neily.

A decision is expected by the end of the month. Judge Bennett should void the state’s regulations. Death is traumatic enough. Families and friends of loved ones should not have to be ripped off while they mourn.