ddeanjohnson
autodidact
- Aug 21, 2010
- 801
As just about everyone reading this already knows, as of October 1, 2013, it will become a general requirement that in order for a Maryland resident to purchase or otherwise acquire a handgun, he or she must first possess a "Handgun Qualification License" (HQL). There are a number of exceptions to this general requirement to possess a HQL, but this thread does NOT discuss those exceptions (regarding which I have written or will write elsewhere). What I write here is intended only for those to whom the requirement for a HQL will apply.
In order to obtain the HQL, a number of distinct requirements must be fulfilled -- including submission of electronic fingerprints, payment of a $50 fee, and fulfillment of a training requirement. However, there are a number of exemptions to the training requirement. I write here to discuss only one of these exemptions, which is the exemption that will apply to the greatest number of potential applicants: the provision that exempts from the training requirement anyone who "lawfully owns a regulated firearm" at the time of his or her HQL application.
In many threads on this forum, and elsewhere, Maryland firearms owners have raised many questions about this exemption -- asking, for example, whether it will apply only to regulated firearms that are already in the Maryland State Police database, or also to all regulated firearms lawfully acquired but never entered into the Maryland State Police database, and if the latter, what form of documentation would be required, etc. There are a number of ways in which a Maryland resident might lawfully possess one or more regulated firearms that are not in the state database. For example, a person may have lawfully acquired a certain firearm before it became regulated in Maryland, or may have lawfully acquired it in a different state before moving to Maryland. There are other scenarios by which such lawful possession may have occurred, as well, and it is not my purpose here to explore all of them -- but rather, to examine the question of how such "unregistered" regulated firearms will be regarded for purposes of claiming the HQL training exemption.
While draft regulations to implement the new law have been circulated by the Maryland State Police, those draft regulations merely repeat the statutory exemption without addressing the questions summarized above.
Therefore, I submitted a detailed inquiry on this point to MSP Lieutenant John G. Cook, commander of the Licensing Section, which is part of the MSP Licensing Division, stating that I intended to disseminate his response. On September 7, 2013, Lt. Cook responded as follows:
In a follow up exchange, Lt. Cook clarified that what will be required, for purposes of invoking the exemption, is "the weapon information" on a single regulated firearm. This means, for example, that if a person moved to Maryland last year in lawful possession of 10 regulated firearms, he or she will only be required to provide the "weapon information" on one of them in order to obtain the exemption from the training requirement. If that person does not wish to obtain a HQL, or wishes to obtain a HQL but does not wish to claim the training exemption, then of course he is not required to register any of the 10 firearms. (However, persons who move to Maryland after October 1, 2013, intending to establish residency, must register all regulated firearms within 90 days.)
In my personal opinion, what Lt. Cook describes is a straightforward and sensible application of the exemption provision as it was enacted in SB 281.
In order to obtain the HQL, a number of distinct requirements must be fulfilled -- including submission of electronic fingerprints, payment of a $50 fee, and fulfillment of a training requirement. However, there are a number of exemptions to the training requirement. I write here to discuss only one of these exemptions, which is the exemption that will apply to the greatest number of potential applicants: the provision that exempts from the training requirement anyone who "lawfully owns a regulated firearm" at the time of his or her HQL application.
In many threads on this forum, and elsewhere, Maryland firearms owners have raised many questions about this exemption -- asking, for example, whether it will apply only to regulated firearms that are already in the Maryland State Police database, or also to all regulated firearms lawfully acquired but never entered into the Maryland State Police database, and if the latter, what form of documentation would be required, etc. There are a number of ways in which a Maryland resident might lawfully possess one or more regulated firearms that are not in the state database. For example, a person may have lawfully acquired a certain firearm before it became regulated in Maryland, or may have lawfully acquired it in a different state before moving to Maryland. There are other scenarios by which such lawful possession may have occurred, as well, and it is not my purpose here to explore all of them -- but rather, to examine the question of how such "unregistered" regulated firearms will be regarded for purposes of claiming the HQL training exemption.
While draft regulations to implement the new law have been circulated by the Maryland State Police, those draft regulations merely repeat the statutory exemption without addressing the questions summarized above.
Therefore, I submitted a detailed inquiry on this point to MSP Lieutenant John G. Cook, commander of the Licensing Section, which is part of the MSP Licensing Division, stating that I intended to disseminate his response. On September 7, 2013, Lt. Cook responded as follows:
The HQL will be an automated application process and upon a declaration that the applicant lawfully owns a regulated firearm, the applicant will be required to provide the weapon information, to include a serial number. It is understood by law enforcement that some firearms may not be registered in the applicant's name for a number of reasons.
In a follow up exchange, Lt. Cook clarified that what will be required, for purposes of invoking the exemption, is "the weapon information" on a single regulated firearm. This means, for example, that if a person moved to Maryland last year in lawful possession of 10 regulated firearms, he or she will only be required to provide the "weapon information" on one of them in order to obtain the exemption from the training requirement. If that person does not wish to obtain a HQL, or wishes to obtain a HQL but does not wish to claim the training exemption, then of course he is not required to register any of the 10 firearms. (However, persons who move to Maryland after October 1, 2013, intending to establish residency, must register all regulated firearms within 90 days.)
In my personal opinion, what Lt. Cook describes is a straightforward and sensible application of the exemption provision as it was enacted in SB 281.
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