Law for transporting handgun to range

tigmaned said:

NRA-ILA.
Carrying and Transportation in Vehicles

It is unlawful for any person without a permit to wear or carry a handgun, openly or concealed, upon or about his person. It is also unlawful for any person to knowingly transport a handgun in any vehicle traveling on public roads, highways, waterways or airways, or upon roads or parking lots generally used by the public. This does not apply to any person wearing, carrying or transporting a handgun within the confines of real estate owned or leased by him, or on which he resides, or within the confines of a business establishment owned or leased by him.

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There are a great many more exemptions to the prohibition on transport of a handgun.

Some include transporting to a gun shop, a target shoot, hunter safety class, and more.

Folks need to look at the statute, see the earlier links, to determine when they may transport legally.

DC-W said:

http://law.justia.com/codes/maryland/2010/criminal-law/title-4/subtitle-2/4-203


Unloaded, in any case suffices. So long as you're staying within the state, it needn't be able to be locked either (of course this doesn't hurt; always lock your car).
Ammo should be kept separate. It is fine for you to have loaded magazines too, just not in any firearm.

I'm a big proponent of 'out of sight, out of mind'. Best to stow your guns in the trunk or otherwise out of sight.

If you plan on taking your arms out of state, get yourself a lockable case and a lock to be in compliance with interstate travel regs.
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20150101/guide-to-the-interstate-transportation

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I looked at the statute, and do not find the word "separate" anywhere within it.

All the statute requires is that "...each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster."

In the AG letter on transporting loaded magazines, the word "separate" appears in Senator Kittleman's question of the AG. The AG's answer is a one sentence statement, "Maryland law does not prohibit an individual from transporting a loaded magazine in a vehicle while transporting an unloaded handgun under the provisions of §4-203(b)." Assistant AG Brown did not agree or disagree with anything in Kittleman's query. The AG did not reference "separate" in his reply, nor define what that is.

Assistant AG Mark Brown makes no reference to how far apart the gun and mags must be, or in what sort of case or bag is to be used, or if one is needed at all. His answer states you can carry loaded mags, and the gun cannot be loaded. The statute says the gun must be unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster.

Reading the statute and AG letter together...

I transport my unloaded pistol (chamber empty, no mag in the mag well), to the range in a zippered gun case. This satisfies the statute. I then put that zippered case containing the pistol inside my range bag. I do this for convenience when hauling my equipment to and from the car. Doing this is not illegal, nor is it legally required.

I also put my loaded mags into my range bag, again to facilitate hauling my equipment to and from the car. The mags rub against the zippered pistol case. Nothing in the statute tells me the mags must be separated from the gun, and the AG's letter is satisfied because I do not seat a mag in the pistol.

I could probably just drop the unloaded pistol in the range bag along with the mags and, as long as the bag is "enclosed" and no mags are seated in the pistol, I would satisfy both the statute and the AG letter. I think using a zippered pistol case is an added layer of protection for me, since a mag won't get jostled into the mag well of the pistol during transport, putting me out of compliance with the law.

Shoobedoo said:

Could you define "separate" for me please...



When headed to the range with a handgun, I case the gun (usually a soft zippered case) with no magazine inserted, the ammo and (empty) mags go in a shooting/range bag, and the cased pistol gets put in the bag as well, then the range bag goes in the trunk of my car along with targets etc.



Neither the range bag or the zippered pistol case are locked, the ammo is in boxes or containers of some type, and the mags are usually in a ziplock bag.



I do pretty much the same thing for transporting a rifle to the range, the difference being the cased rifle obviously won't fit in the range bag so it's "separate" by default.



I'm probably over thinking this, but I was just wondering if I should be putting the ammo and mags in one bag, and the cased pistol in another when transporting it to the range.



FWIW, I've never been pulled over by the Police, let alone asked if I have any firearms in the vehicle, but there is always a first time, and i'd like to be doing everything "by the book" as much as possible, should it ever occur.

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This is perfectly fine.


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rbird7282 said:

This is perfectly fine.


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Thanks, this is kind of what I figured, but it's just a damn shame we live in a state where the vagaries of the laws can sometimes leave us scratching our collective heads....

It might be overly cautious, but I suppose there's no harm in keeping the ammo in a "separate" container, say an ammo box for example, but still in the trunk, when I'm transporting a handgun to the range. Maybe it's not entirely necessary, but it can't hurt anything either.

I don't mean to sound paranoid or anything, but I think i'd rather be overly cautious than potentially having a police officers loaded gun stuck in my face, which actually happened to me once in Texas.... Yeah, no BS.

A long story, and a long time ago, but suffice it to say I wasn't even remotely breaking the law in any way, but it got my attention really quick, and the pucker factor was off the scale.... I don't ever want to find myself in a situation like that again, I'm getting way too old for that kind of heart stopping stress at this stage of the game.

There are no "vagaries" in MD law. Ammo need only not be in the gun for transport within MD.

The confusion is the discrepancy between MD law and federal interstate transport/FOPA

jmg32 said:

Thanks for all the info and clarification on the law!

Just got my gun last week (after I was "not disapproved") and waiting on my ammo to arrive to make a range trip.

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Haha! I was laughing about "not disapproved" myself when I got that email! So very, very, Maryland.


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Mark75H said:

There are no "vagaries" in MD law. Ammo need only not be in the gun for transport within MD.

The confusion is the discrepancy between MD law and federal interstate transport/FOPA

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This exactly.

There is NO REQUIREMENT under MD statutes that requires separation of firearms and ammo, other than the loaded magazine not be in the firearm.

The separation requirement only applies s for intestate transport under the Federal statute SS926A aka FOPA.

Transport that has it's origin and destination in MD is not subject to the Federal statute.

AG opinion attached.

ETA-the amount of bad information posted here is embarrassing. Some of it is well intentioned but incorrect. Some of it is downright ignorance. Please research your information before posting it. You may help another member avoid a legal entanglement.

I understand that complaiance with FOPA will also work in MD, but that's not the MD law.

IANAL
.
.

basscat said:

Ammo does not need to be locked up. Don't read into it.

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In re-reading the Federal Statute, transporting across state lines, you keep the gun unloaded, separate from the ammo. If there is no separate compartment (i.e. trunk) unloaded gun OR ammo must be locked.

This is one area where people get confused. The Federal statute has no bearing on trips where origin and destination are both in MD.

swinokur said:

This is one area where people get confused. The Federal statute has no bearing on trips where origin and destination are both in MD.

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Earlier in the thread, my example was Baltimore to OC, through Delaware. In that case wouldn't federal law come into play?

Yes but some have stated it applies in MD and it does not

Just clarifying

swinokur said:

This exactly.

There is NO REQUIREMENT under MD statutes that requires separation of firearms and ammo, other than the loaded magazine not be in the firearm.

The separation requirement only applies s for intestate transport under the Federal statute SS926A aka FOPA.

Transport that has it's origin and destination in MD is not subject to the Federal statute.

AG opinion attached.

ETA-the amount of bad information posted here is embarrassing. Some of it is well intentioned but incorrect. Some of it is downright ignorance. Please research your information before posting it. You may help another member avoid a legal entanglement.

I understand that complaiance with FOPA will also work in MD, but that's not the MD law.

IANAL
.
.

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OK, that clears up the MD law.

The only requirement for separation under the Federal statute is if the vehicle has no trunk. Then either the ammo OR the firearm must be in a locked case.

Google FOPA or 926A and read the statute to see the difference.

BartExp said:

In re-reading the Federal Statute, transporting across state lines, you keep the gun unloaded, separate from the ammo. If there is no separate compartment (i.e. trunk) unloaded gun OR ammo must be locked.

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I may be making a cross country move out West in a few years, i'll likely be renting a moving truck and transporting a gun safe full of rifles and pistols, and I will also have a considerable quantity of ammo I would like to transport at the same time.

So if I understand this correctly, as long as the safe is locked with the guns inside I can transport the ammo in the truck in the same space/area as the locked safe..??

yes

here is FOPA.
.

I think part of the confusion stems from the overlapping nature of the applicable regulations.

1. MD law covers transport that originates and concludes within the state
2. Federal law covers transport that originates in any state (including Maryland) and concludes in another state
3. Shop policy covers actions during physical presence in the shop.
4. When engaged in a multi day multi state trip, your evening stop at a lodging concludes that day's trip and you must comply with storage requirements of that state. Your hotel room is your residence for that day.
5. When in a camper, trailer or boat, while the vehicle is at rest it is a residence. When it is in motion it is a vehicle.

ras_oscar said:

I think part of the confusion stems from the overlapping nature of the applicable regulations.

1. MD law covers transport that originates and concludes within the state
2. Federal law covers transport that originates in any state (including Maryland) and concludes in another state
3. Shop policy covers actions during physical presence in the shop.
4. When engaged in a multi day multi state trip, your evening stop at a lodging concludes that day's trip and you must comply with storage requirements of that state. Your hotel room is your residence for that day.
5. When in a camper, trailer or boat, while the vehicle is at rest it is a residence. When it is in motion it is a vehicle.

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That's a pretty good summary. As always, research the law of the state you are going to be traveling through, including the law associated with items 4 and 5. Check *before* you enter that state (plan the entire trip). For some states, for example, even a resident must have Firearms ID Card just to possess a handgun in the home. For example, it is illegal to possess any pistol in New York without a New York Pistol License. There may be uncertainty concerning whether your RV is a "home" or a "vehicle" and there may not be a clear answer in a given jurisdiction. The best advice is to stay the hell out of NY and other like minded states. Spend your tourist dollars elsewhere.

As usual, very accurate counselor. There is a huge difference between a storage law and a possession law. Some states as you note, don't even allow possession without some kind of state issued permit.

Once you stop, you must be in compliasnce with all that state's laws, not just storage.

This is one reason why overnight stops in NY and NJ can be such a legal sticky wicket.

swinokur said:

yes

here is FOPA.
.

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OK, thanks. I appreciate the info, and your patience in answering what might sometimes seem like redundant questions.

Drawnad said:

Haha! I was laughing about "not disapproved" myself when I got that email! So very, very, Maryland.

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My local dealer (Bob at Gunrunners in Fredneck) told me this "Not Disapproved" crap is a "Frosh-ism"....

Seriously, he said that when the law was crafted they didn't want to use the simple word "Approved", because in their feeble minds that might imply some kind of implicit "approval" for honest law abiding citizens to own firearms...

Oh, the horror, it must have been just awful for them....

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