Blank firing laws?

derrickonline said:

I actually bought a police style taser for my car since I can't pack a gun. It's the exact model the cops use (it looks like a gun and shoots out the darts).

I was never able to get an answer on the legality of it from the MSP. Individual cops said just be careful as to not pull it out near a cop (obviously since it looks like a gun).

There are specific areas where they do have laws specifically stating they are illegal. Baltimore and Howard county I know for sure.

http://www.taser.com/products/law/Pages/TASERM26.aspx

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kalister1 said:

Back in the early 80's I bought a 22 Starter Pistol from Bart's on Mountain rd in Pasadena and had to fill out paper work and wait just like a pistol. I don't know if I had to by law or by Bart's

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Article - Public Safety

§ 5-101.

(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.

(b) "Antique firearm" has the meaning stated in § 4-201 of the Criminal Law Article.....



..... (n) (1) "Handgun" means a firearm with a barrel less than 16 inches in length.

(2) "Handgun" includes signal, starter, and blank pistols.

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rmbstyle17 said:

thats strange how u had to fill out papper work, cause i found that u can order one off of amazon.com and have it delivered to ur house...

http://www.amazon.com/Automatic-Bla...e=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1233154343&sr=8-3

http://www.amazon.com/Licensed-Gove...=UTF8&s=sporting-goods&qid=1233154480&sr=8-18

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IcedC said:

From what i have seen and experienced, if you get pulled over and a cop finds a fake gun in the car its not a real biggie, but if you rob a store with it, it still armed robbery... Personally I'll just stick to knives...

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rmbstyle17 said:

Thats what i would do just to keep it in the car, (not rob a bank), just incase someone is looking to give me some trouble. so i have something to scare off trouble makers. also many robberies are done with knives, and having a knife doent do much good, i think something that looks like a real gun, and sounds like a real good will do a better job keeping them away.

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While the concealed weapons statute does not
define "penknife," the highest court in Maryland defined it back in
1978. In Mackall v. State, 387 A.2d 762 (Md. 1978), the Maryland
Court of Appeals examined Md. Ann. Code art. 27 § 36 in some
detail. The court first paraphrased § 36(a):

The following articles, even though dangerous and deadly
weapons, are not within the ambit of the statute: (a) penknives
without switchblades; (b) handguns.​

Id. at 766. The Mackall court then discussed the definition of penknife:

"Penknife" is not defined in the statute. Even if the General
Assembly had the dictionary definition in mind when it
first enacted the statute in 1886, this concept of a "penknife"
had obviously changed when the exception was amended to
"penknife without switchblade." Penknives today are commonly
considered to encompass any knife with the blade
folding into the handle, some very large.​

Id. at 769 n.13 (emphasis added). In short, the Maryland Court of
Appeals clearly defined penknife as any knife whose blade folds into
the handle. It is undisputed that the blade of Sorrell’s knife folded into
the handle and that it was not a switchblade. As Mackall made clear,
carrying such a knife is not prohibited by the concealed weapons statute,
even if it is deadly and even if it is large.

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In Bacon v. State, 586 A.2d 18 (Md. 1991), the Court of Appeals
addressed the question of whether a folding knife that was unfolded
and locked was illegal under Md. Ann. Code art. 27 § 36(a). The
court started its analysis by defining both penknives and switchblades.
Like the In re Daryl L. court, the Bacon court quotes Mackall’s definition
of a penknife. Holding that the open and locked knife was not
banned by the concealed weapons statute, the court wrote:

On the face of the statute, there is no indication contradicting
the view that a penknife is a penknife whether small
or large, whether the blade is closed or open, whether the
blade is locked open or unlocked, whether it is carried concealed
or openly. Its character is not changed by being carried
openly with the blade unfolded; its dangerous
propensity is merely more easily realized.
. . . We call attention to the fact that Mackall v. State, 283
Md. 100, 387 A.2d 762, was decided 13 July 1978. The
General Assembly has had a dozen opportunities to correct
our view of a "penknife" if it believed that our view was
contrary to the legislative intent.​

Bacon, 586 A.2d at 22-23. The knife in Bacon had a five-inch blade.
Id. at 20.
To sum up, the highest court in Maryland has more than once
defined "penknife" as "any knife with the blade folding into the handle,
some very large." Maryland cases also establish the legality of a
folding knife with a 3 3/4-inch blade and a locking device as well as
the legality of an unfolded and locked folding knife with a five-inch
blade. Consequently, it is clearly established that Sorrell’s knife, a
folding knife with a folded three-inch blade, is a legal "penknife without
switchblade."

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