Keeping a shotgun or rifle in your vehicle?

[Jimbob2.0]

I probably would shy away from keeping a gun in the car at all times, unless we are in some sort of emergency. I know it is tempting but probably not worth the BS unless you have a CCW anyways.

If you do I would be conservative and err towards a "less evil" gun. I would think a nice cowboy action 12 gauge with ears (IAC) or 30-30 lever would be a good choice. Alternatively a short enfield carbine or maybe a Mosin. Something you could count on but not necessarily be a problem. Also MAKE sure you have the serial number noted and if the car get stolen report the gun stolen.

 

[novus collectus]

I agree with you on that.

I was just try to point out that the MSP makes up rules and will "treat regulated long guns the same way as pistols"

Even though they are wrong on this issue I just wanted rough rider to know that it might be easier to keep a shot gun or unregulated long gun in his vehicle instead of a regulated long gun.

Actually the MSP used to claim regulated long guns are treated the same as handguns for transport and even had that on their websight's FAQ page, but when it was pointed out to them what the law is, they removed it and when someone on this board called them a few years ago asking, the response was they are treated the same as any other long gun and there was no question about it.
It hasn't been on their websight for many years now (not since I have been looking at it starting about four years ago at least) and the law is clear, the handgun statute only applies to handguns, SBR and SBS.

(c) (1) "Handgun" means a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed on the person.

(2) "Handgun" includes a short-barreled shotgun and a short-barreled rifle.

(3) "Handgun" does not include a shotgun, rifle, or antique firearm.

By the way, I like the part about antiques are not included either. One may be able to have a trunk handgun so long as it is an antique.

 

[Cis-Lunar]

I think I would die laughing if there was some sort of attack in beltway traffic, and I saw the guy in the car next to me breaking out a blunderbus, and powderhorn broadside
QUOTE]

i may S*#T my pants laughing....guy comes out with a freakin musket

 

[CharlieFoxtrot]

I'd just say "What's up Novus?" since there's probably only one person in the state that would do that!

 

[novus collectus]

I'd just say "What's up Novus?" since there's probably only one person in the state that would do that!

 

[Kashmir1008]

As I understand the law in Maryland ( and from the many threads on this site ) I can keep an unloaded shotgun\rifle in the back of my SUV and an ammo can full of ammo in the front passenger seat.

I don't need to be going to\coming from a range or gun dealer, and I don't need any particular reason. As long as the shotgun and\or rifle are not 'registered firearm' per Md State law and the ammo is kept separate then I should be within my rights.

Does anyone see a legal issue with this arrangement? Just double-checking what I think I know with the facts and group's opinions.

Like probably many of you, I keep a "Get Home Bag" ( GHB ) in my vehicle. It's full of assorted stuff I may need if stuck somewhere ( flashlights, snacks, clothing, gear, etc. ) I work 40 miles from home and like to be prepared this time of year. Especially for ice storms.

But it occurred to me that it should be within my rights to also have a shotgun and\or rifle on hand. In most bad weather situations I am prepared to sit tight in my SUV and wait for conditions to change. If the law recognizes my vehicle as an extension of my home ( which I believe it does ) then I should have the right to defend myself at my vehicle if needed.

I would appreciate your thoughts and comments on this issue. Thanks.

I have copies of the Annotated Code as it relates to handguns but I couldn't find anything specific on maryland law regarding rifles and shotguns. I'm pretty sure the law is going to be consistant with the handgun laws requiring that the weapons be unloaded and that you are in route to a sporting event, hunting, bona fide repair shop, home etc.

There may be county laws that are more specific indicating that the ammo and the weapon must be stored separately and not within easy access.

 

[Rough_Rider]

Thanks Kashmir1008.

I think I'm going to keep a Blunderbuss and a Musket in my truck, instead of a shotgun.

 

[novus collectus]

I have copies of the Annotated Code as it relates to handguns but I couldn't find anything specific on maryland law regarding rifles and shotguns. I'm pretty sure the law is going to be consistant with the handgun laws requiring that the weapons be unloaded and that you are in route to a sporting event, hunting, bona fide repair shop, home etc.

There may be county laws that are more specific indicating that the ammo and the weapon must be stored separately and not within easy access.

Look at 10-410 (c) of the Natural Resources article. Other than the unloaded part, there really is nothing against having an unloaded shotgun, rifle or antique handgun in a car whether going to the range or not. If it is not in the MD code specifically, then it is generally legal.

There is nothing in MD law about "easy access" for any firearm. The handgun law even says you can wear an unloaded handgun in an enclosed holster when going to the range.
For rifles and shotguns, like I said before, if it is not stated to be illegal in MD code because it did not mention it, then it is generally legal.

COunty laws regarding ammo and firearms are moot except for when about minors or for unregulated firearms within 100 yards of a school, park, etc., because there are two state preemptions in code.

 

[slayr15]

i have carried an unloaded long rifle(mosin nagant) in my truck for years on a daily basis . i keep it behind the back seat cased so the rifle is not damaged. i keep the ammo on stripper clips in the center console . most of the people i know here on the lower shore do the same and it is not uncommon to see a rifle in the back window of a truck on the lower shore and it has been that way as long as i can remember.

 

[JasonMD85]

Hey novus, just to clarify, if I keep my Saiga in a case in the back of my Jeep, can I keep a mag loaded in the console or case with the rifle, or must I keep the mag unloaded and ammo in a separate place?

 

[Rough_Rider]

i have carried an unloaded long rifle(mosin nagant) in my truck for years on a daily basis . i keep it behind the back seat cased so the rifle is not damaged. i keep the ammo on stripper clips in the center console . most of the people i know here on the lower shore do the same and it is not uncommon to see a rifle in the back window of a truck on the lower shore and it has been that way as long as i can remember.

I grew up in Charles County in the '70s and it was very common to see rifle racks and rifles\shotguns in the window of pick-up trucks. Of course, also back then we always rode in the back of pick-up trucks as kids to Little League games and we could burn leaves in our yard...

Today, in eastern Howard County, I wouldn't leave a rifle or shotgun exposed in my vehicle for fear of having it stolen.

But I think that, based on the law today, I should be able to keep a unregulated long gun (unloaded ) in my vehicle anytime and for any reason.

Now, I have a follow-up question to this regarding the 100 yds from a school rule.

Am I breaking any laws when I drop off & pick up my kids at their elementary school while I have a unregulated long gun, unloaded, in my SUV?

Thanks.

 

[JasonMD85]

I grew up in Charles County in the '70s and it was very common to see rifle racks and rifles\shotguns in the window of pick-up trucks. Of course, also back then we always rode in the back of pick-up trucks as kids to Little League games and we could burn leaves in our yard...

Today, in eastern Howard County, I wouldn't leave a rifle or shotgun exposed in my vehicle for fear of having it stolen.

But I think that, based on the law today, I should be able to keep a unregulated long gun (unloaded ) in my vehicle anytime and for any reason.

Now, I have a follow-up question to this regarding the 100 yds from a school rule.

Am I breaking any laws when I drop off & pick up my kids at their elementary school while I have a unregulated long gun, unloaded, in my SUV?

Thanks.

Your problem is easier than mine. Besides the fact that I get to go back "home" to B.F.N West Virginia, see 90% of the trucks with rifle racks, most of the people carrying in public, and hear my relatives remind me ever 10 minutes that I live in the worst possible place other than the West Coast, I live 50-70 yards from school property. As much as I like to "buck the system" as much as legally possible, I have to prepare myself for a possible legal battle just to open carry while mowing my lawn. I have to carry my firearms out under blankets and sweatshirts just to go to the range, because the law is so sketchy here; at least to me, since I am not a lawyer; I fear legal hassle simply exiting my domain. How can I even consider keeping a rifle or shotgun in my vehicle, when coming/leaving home would make me a criminal? My neighbors call the police for having a "high powered air rifle (so the officer quoted)," when I target practice with a 500FPS, break barrel, single shot Daisy at 25 yards against a hill, at 2:00 in the afternoon.



As much as I love the way my family raised me once I "grew up" a little, and as much as I value the morals I was taught, I have nearly reached that breaking point. I know I have not had it tough by most peoples standards and experiences, and having been through the little that I have, I don't know how they continue on. Between the things my family has been through, my personal medical condition that makes it a struggle not to quit every day I wake up, living in a society that sickens me by applauding the corrupt and punishing those with sterling nobility, and a local government with a relentless will to destroy anything beneath them with complete disregard for human mortality; I believe I have reached my breaking point. I am inches away from stepping over that line, with nothing but pride. I know how we got to this point, I just don't understand how no one stood up for what was right. Good people still exist..people that still remember what it means to be American. There are millions of them that have no problem fighting for hopeless causes of inconsequential substance. Yet we, as a nation, have not stood up for what was right for ourselves, as a free people? We have let these people take everything our previous generations risked so much for, and turn it into the very thing they abolished with such fortitude and ferocity. Worse yet, we have allowed them such free rein that they are grooming our very children to follow suite, right under our noses. Television, Hollywood, the internet, corporations, government programs, and even the education we force our children to receive, are all merely tools to an indoctrination objective created to ensure the enslavement of what once were, American's.

What we do from here, I do not know. I can tell you that working within the "system" as a means of convalescence has long past. The system has simply bred more of the same to replace those they lose in battle. I am afraid for my future. Not only for my personal livelihood, my future children; my family, or loved ones, but for my country. What paths are left to cure the illness plaguing our country; I simply don't know. Maybe I am too naive, too ignorant, or too irrational to envision a solution, but I refuse to be embarrassed to call myself American. The only thing I pray for anymore is truth to former statement, and that a solution emerges with haste. God save us all, and what once was our great country; America.

 

[novus collectus]

Hey novus, just to clarify, if I keep my Saiga in a case in the back of my Jeep, can I keep a mag loaded in the console or case with the rifle, or must I keep the mag unloaded and ammo in a separate place?

The MD law says nothing about keeping the ammo separate, but the hunting statute might be ambguous and might apply to magazines loaded and not inserted in the rifle or shotgun (handguns are covered by 4-203 and does not say mags cannot be loaded). However, I do not read it that way and I truly believe a mag not IN the rifle or shotgun can be loaded.

Funny thing s that even if the mag not inserted must be unloaded, you can still have a a rifle that takes a stripper clip or you can load a single shot (which is another reason why I read the law as I do to not apply to magazines not loaded in the rifle or shotgun).

 

[novus collectus]

I grew up in Charles County in the '70s and it was very common to see rifle racks and rifles\shotguns in the window of pick-up trucks. Of course, also back then we always rode in the back of pick-up trucks as kids to Little League games and we could burn leaves in our yard...

Today, in eastern Howard County, I wouldn't leave a rifle or shotgun exposed in my vehicle for fear of having it stolen.

But I think that, based on the law today, I should be able to keep a unregulated long gun (unloaded ) in my vehicle anytime and for any reason.

Now, I have a follow-up question to this regarding the 100 yds from a school rule.

Am I breaking any laws when I drop off & pick up my kids at their elementary school while I have a unregulated long gun, unloaded, in my SUV?

Thanks.

There are four laws to consider. One is the MD state preemption which allows local governments to disallow carry and transport within 100 yards of a school:

Article - Criminal Law

§ 4-209.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, the State preempts the right of a county, municipal corporation, or special taxing district to regulate the purchase, sale, taxation, transfer, manufacture, repair, ownership, possession, and transportation of:

(1) a handgun, rifle, or shotgun; and

(2) ammunition for and components of a handgun, rifle, or shotgun.

(b) (1) A county, municipal corporation, or special taxing district may regulate the purchase, sale, transfer, ownership, possession, and transportation of the items listed in subsection (a) of this section:

(i) with respect to minors;

(ii) with respect to law enforcement officials of the subdivision; and

(iii) except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, within 100 yards of or in a park, church, school, public building, and other place of public assembly.

BUT, there is another state preemption which reads to me to mean when it comes to regulated long guns and handguns the local jursdictions cannot do even the 100 yard rule:

Article - Public Safety

§ 5-133.

(a) This section supersedes any restriction that a local jurisdiction in the State imposes on the possession by a private party of a regulated firearm, and the State preempts the right of any local jurisdiction to regulate the possession of a regulated firearm.

However, there is a state law that says you cannot have a firearm on public school property with a few rare exceptions:

Article - Criminal Law

§ 4-102.

(a) This section does not apply to:

(1) a law enforcement officer in the regular course of the officer's duty;

(2) a person hired by a county board of education specifically for the purpose of guarding public school property;

(3) a person engaged in organized shooting activity for educational purposes; or

(4) a person who, with a written invitation from the school principal, displays or engages in a historical demonstration using a weapon or a replica of a weapon for educational purposes.

(b) A person may not carry or possess a firearm, knife, or deadly weapon of any kind on public school property.

(c) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection, a person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 3 years or a fine not exceeding $1,000 or both.

(2) A person who is convicted of carrying or possessing a handgun in violation of this section shall be sentenced under Subtitle 2 of this title.

THe fourth law to consider is the federal law aboiut within 1000 feet of a school (public or private), but this law in one form was decalared uncosntitutional by the Supreme COurt. I hear it is never enforced because of this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-Free_School_Zones_Act_of_1990

 

[travistheone]

I have a friend that lives less then 50 ft from a public schools property. Does that mean he can't have any guns, technically?

 

[august1410]

I grew up in Harford County in the 80's and it was not uncommon to see someone at school with a pickup truck with a full compliment of rifles/shotguns in a rack in the back window of the truck.

Responsibility and accountability were still common in those days, too.

 

[Rough_Rider]

Novus - Thanks for the feedback. Your ability to clearly show just how unclear our gun laws are is a talent and asset to this forum.

So it sounds to me that I can not drive in the school parking lot with any firearm in my vehicle. I wouldn't be surprised if they called the SWAT team just because I wear a Leatherman, either!

 

[novus collectus]

I have a friend that lives less then 50 ft from a public schools property. Does that mean he can't have any guns, technically?

No, the local government would have to pass a law banning it, but the local law might not be able to be applied to private property, and even if it did it would only apply to non-regulated firearms because the regulated firearms state preemption does not allow the local governments ban possession anywhere.

I am not a lawyer.

The fed law exempts private homes.

The only local law I have heard of that bans possession within 100 yards of a park, church, etc., is Takoma Park, but I cannot see their code online for some reason and I cannot tell for sure, and also there might be other towns with a similar law. (PG county has a loaded firearm 1,000 feet within a structure law, but that obviously violates the state preemption and is obviously moot)

 

[novus collectus]

Novus - Thanks for the feedback. Your ability to clearly show just how unclear our gun laws are is a talent and asset to this forum.

So it sounds to me that I can not drive in the school parking lot with any firearm in my vehicle. I wouldn't be surprised if they called the SWAT team just because I wear a Leatherman, either!

Yup, no leatherman tools either in MD as I read it.

Article - Criminal Law

§ 4-102.

....

(b) A person may not carry or possess a firearm, knife, or deadly weapon of any kind on public school property.

 

[K-Romulus]

Yup, no leatherman tools either in MD as I read it.

You COULD claim that a Leatherman is actually a "tool" and unlike, say, a Bowie knife, based on it's "intended purpose." But I wouldn't push the envelope if it was me.

Friendship Heights banned all handguns and handgun parts within that 100 yard "safety zone," with the thinking that the entire village was covered by one safety zone or another.

According to the Tripwire guys, Takoma Park's "safety zone handgun ban" is to be interpreted so that sidewalks are "places of public assembly" - with no "home exemption."