Interstate commerce

BartExp · Oct 9, 2017

I was thinking about something. The 10 capacity magazine limit is a Maryland law. Out of state retailers I have asked won't ship to Maryland any thing over 10 capacity mags. Why? They are not subject to Maryland law. Wouldn't that be governed under federal law, with no such limitation? Does this hinge on where ownership transfers?

Now on the receiving side, I would be in violation, because I believe the Maryland law forbids "receiving" a greater than 10 capacity mag.

TheOriginalMexicanBob · Oct 9, 2017

I believe it's got to do with the way the law is worded and how it's interpreted by the Attorney General regarding the legislative intent of the lawmakers. Even if it can be argued a 10+ magazine being shipped into the state doesn't violate the law, no one wants to be the test case and pay the legal fees and possibly lose their FFL if they lose the case.

The law is stupid and everyone knows it. Maryland is a small state...anyone can drive a half hour in any direction to a state that's not occupied territory and buy a 10+ round magazine. To the anti-freedom folks it's simply a good "first step".

ShafTed · Oct 9, 2017

Another thing that is legal, standard capacity mags can be shipped to an FFL in MD, who can then either pin the mag to 10 for a MD customer, or sell it to anyone in America.

danb · Oct 9, 2017

When the ATF does inspections, they may ask about at sales to out of state residents. They will esp look at rifles sales to MD residents and they are fully aware of MD laws. If an FFL knowingly sold non-compliant mags to Maryland residents, it won't be a good week for them.

ras_oscar · Oct 10, 2017

To the OP: The MD law states that a md resident cannot ..."receive".... a magazine with a capacity above 10 rounds in the state. It's perfectly legal, for instance, to go to an out of state gun shop, complete a purchase of a firearm with a "standard" capacity mag above 10 rounds, take ownership of the magazines, and ship the firearm, less mags, to a MD FFL to complete the transfer paperwork.

By contrast, most mail order retailers will not (to my knowledge) ship a standard capacity mag above 10 rounds to a MD resident because its unclear in a mail order transaction whether or not the resident receives when they complete the (online) transaction or when they physically put their hands on the merchandise.

To further confuse the issue: If I choose to travel on vacation out of state, and choose to ship my firearms to a trusted FFL near my destination, when I return ship the firearms and mags, am I receiving? IMHO, no. I am merely retrieving my property. How is that situation any different from the online purchase situation described above?

Bottom line: most law abiding citizens such as you and I want to stay far from any situation related to firearms that could result in loss of property or liberty.

rob-cubed · Oct 10, 2017

So, a while ago you could find any number of dealers offering mag repair kits that could be purchased and shipped to ban states. The logic being you weren't buying a functioning magazine, just parts that could arguably be used to repair existing mags. Or possibly construct a legally blocked but perhaps historically interesting mag.

After a few years of this, California filed suit against a number of vendors in as many states that offered this service. Not just once, but multiple suits. I haven't tracked all the cases that closely because nearly everyone stopped offering repair kits as soon as the first suit was filed.

Even if the vendors weren't doing anything patently illegal in their own state, that doesn't protect them from being sued by another state. The expense of settling or defending a case for shipping to ban states doesn't justify the minimal revenue stream. So, it ain't gonna happen... repair kits were as close as we got and that ship has sailed.

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