Legality of buying and carrying an extenable baton

HardHatMan · Feb 14, 2011

Anyone know? I figured MD, being the "Free" State it is :rolleyes:

, it would be illegal to carry. I would most likely carry it in my car, just in case I would ever need it. I saw a bunch for sale at the Nations Gun Show this past weekend.

r3t1awr3yd · Feb 14, 2011

I thought ASP batons were for police only... good question!

joppaj · Feb 14, 2011

Not sure of the legality, but I wouldn't. An ASP requires you to get up close and personal. If you have time to open it, you probably had time to come up with a better plan. Just my opinion.

Fodder4Thought · Feb 14, 2011

joppaj said:
Not sure of the legality, but I wouldn't. An ASP requires you to get up close and personal. If you have time to open it, you probably had time to come up with a better plan. Just my opinion.

I understand the sentiment but disagree with the logic - that same idea can be (and has been) applied to firearm carriers in an unfavorable way: 'if you had time to draw aim and fire then you certainly had time to think of something else...'

That being said, I'd really like to know the answer to this, too.

haoleboy · Feb 14, 2011

Its legal till you get caught. :innocent0

2SAM22 · Feb 14, 2011

I carry one in my truck.
Absent other factors drawing attention to the baton, I think it depends on the officer you encounter. Some wouldn't care, some would lock you up for it.

Tootall · Feb 14, 2011

carried one in my car until i bought a big ass mag lite. Mag lite can do some damage plus is inconspicuous. the baton has been retired to only poking things

Inigoes · Feb 14, 2011

As of today, there are no state laws to prohibit a purchase of a baton.

I dare you to prove me wrong. Winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to an IP of your choice or MSI.

Inigoes · Feb 14, 2011

joppaj said:
Not sure of the legality, but I wouldn't. An ASP requires you to get up close and personal. If you have time to open it, you probably had time to come up with a better plan. Just my opinion.

That's why you get the longest one you can find, sort of like sword fighting

Inigoes · Feb 14, 2011

joppaj said:
Not sure of the legality, but I wouldn't. An ASP requires you to get up close and personal. If you have time to open it, you probably had time to come up with a better plan. Just my opinion.

Same thing could be said about a fella using a cane. :sad20:

It's just a little fancier

BeltBuckle · Feb 14, 2011

2SAM22 said:
I carry one in my truck.
Absent other factors drawing attention to the baton, I think it depends on the officer you encounter. Some wouldn't care, some would lock you up for it.

THAT's "equal justice under law" at work for you, innit? :sad20:

joppaj · Feb 14, 2011

For whatever it's worth, if you decide to do it I'd stick to either ASP or Monadnock. THere's a lot of really cheap crap batons out there that don't lock out properly or open smoothly.

HardHatMan · Feb 14, 2011

Inigoes said:
As of today, there are no state laws to prohibit a purchase of a baton.

I dare you to prove me wrong. Winner will receive a $25 gift certificate to an IP of your choice or MSI.

This is my findings of today. After all the searching I can't find where an ASP baton is defined as a weapon in the state of MD.

Inigoes · Feb 14, 2011

HardHatMan said:
This is my findings of today. After all the searching I can't find where an ASP baton is defined as a weapon in the state of MD.

Exactly. Keepshooting sales them

Dave MP · Feb 14, 2011

IIRC, an expandable baton is not considered a weapon if it is not used in an offensive manner and cannot be carried concealed. After asking several officers from various jurisdictions the answers varied as to if it was legal to carry one. After our "incident" with another dog attacking our dog (and its owner being a total @$$ hole), I do carry one when I walk my dog.

NOTE: I last read up on the expandable baton almost 2 years ago, so my information may be flawed. I am NOT a lawyer.

eddiek2000 · Feb 14, 2011

I have one in one of my vehicles that a DC cop gave me a few years ago for self defense. He was a MD resident at the time. :shrug:

Name Taken · Feb 14, 2011

There might be local laws regarding it.

A "case" could be made for concealed deadly weapon if you are carrying it concealed. However I'm not about to read up on the case law to figure it out.

Honestly...if you plan on keeping it your vehicle for defense reasons...go buy a CLUB steering wheel do-hicky. It's something legal to have, you can keep it beside or under your seat, and will draw no attention from police. The downside is it's really hard to shove in your pocket to carry it around to your favorite bars threating bounces and such.

Wiley-X · Feb 14, 2011

When I moved to Maryland, I was told by a cop that the night stick that I carried in my car was not legal if I carried it for defense. However, if I had it to hold up my hood, that was okay.

I think that expandable batons are not legal for me to carry here in Pennsylvania either. Silly, I can carry a gun, two guns, a machine gun if I want but I can't carry a metal stick.

2SAM22 · Feb 15, 2011

It's officer discretion, taking the totality of the circumstances into consideration.
It's the same reason you might get a warning for speeding. Discretion is used more for traffic and misdemeanors, and less with felonies.

BeltBuckle said:
THAT's "equal justice under law" at work for you, innit?

Fodder4Thought · Feb 15, 2011

2SAM22 said:
It's officer discretion, taking the totality of the circumstances into consideration.
It's the same reason you might get a warning for speeding. Discretion is used more for traffic and misdemeanors, and less with felonies.

Would having one of these in your car be a felony? What about on your person?

Someone mentioned that it couldn't be concealed - if it's not a weapon then why not?

Legality of buying and carrying an extenable baton

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