current state of MD laws on transporting firearms ?

overkill said:

If taking your AR-15 and your Glock 23 for a ride to the range on a motorcycle and you want to fold the AR and put it and the Glock in a back pack then put the ammo in a saddle bag, Is that legal?

Click to expand...

Markp said:

It is legal (provided it is not a "handgun" and you are not hunting) to have the loaded mag in the weapon, unless you can show me the law that prohibits having a loaded magazine in the "long gun" regulated or not while not hunting.

I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. You would probably be arrested in Maryland regardless of what the law states and forced to spend thousands of dollars to defend yourself.

Click to expand...

Andras said:

Just because the rule is in the Natural Resources section doesn't mean it isn't in force at all times. IMO, someone following your advice will be in legal jeopardy.

Click to expand...

Markp said:

Like I said, show me where that applies when you are not hunting?

§ 10-410. Restrictions on hunting wildlife generally.
(c) Hunting from vehicles.-

(1) A person may not shoot at any species of wildlife from an automobile or other vehicle or, except as provided in § 4-203(b) of the Criminal Law Article and Title 5, Subtitle 3 of the Public Safety Article, possess in or on an automobile or other vehicle a loaded handgun or shotgun, or a rifle containing any ammunition in the magazine or chamber.

It's called HUNTING FROM VEHICLES

It doesn't count if you are not hunting... Otherwise it would be under transportation of weapons and the criminal law.


IF YOU HAVE A FIREARM IN MARYLAND, IN GENERAL, YOU ARE A LEGAL RISK. YOU'LL NOTICE I DIDN'T GIVE THAT AS ADVICE (I advised against it unless you want to get arrested). However what will get you arrested and what is legal, are two different things.

I would love to hear the lawyers check in on this... because maybe I am wrong... but it seems pretty clear that a section of the law that is a hunting regulation, that talks specifically about hunting from vehicles, is only about hunting, and not about transportation generally.

Click to expand...

zoostation said:

Sorry Mark, but speaking as someone with two and a half decades of experience in dealing with goofy MD laws and courts, I must disagree. The law says what it says, regardless of what or where it's titled. The law is still in force whether you are hunting or not. A person could clearly be charged and convicted just because they had a loaded rifle in the car even if they obviously weren't hunting. To be fair, yes, a person could argue legislative intent, and may or may not win. I wouldn't want to be that person in most of the courtrooms in this state.

Click to expand...

Markp said:

Neither would I... Still, the section though specifically references hunting from vehicles. I know what you mean though, the state will push their anti-gun agenda as far as they can...

Does anyone know of any case law regarding this?

Mark

Click to expand...

overkill said:

If taking your AR-15 and your Glock 23 for a ride to the range on a motorcycle and you want to fold the AR and put it and the Glock in a back pack then put the ammo in a saddle bag, Is that legal?

Click to expand...

cowboy321 said:

If there is no probable cause for a LEO to pull you over since he has not seen the stock of a firearm or something else ..gun like... allowing him to assume you may pose a threat to public safety, I think you are OK since you won't be pulled over... If pulled over he will call for back up and unholster his gun. After a half day in jail they will sort it out and you will be free .. Another poster did this and that was the result. He told a LEO he had firearms in his Backpack ".. Then the fun began....

Click to expand...

Shamr0ck said:

All -

I've searched the board and didn't see a thread which addressed this and need an update on what the current state of the law is in MD with respect to transporting firearms to/from range.

What I do:

In the trunk:
I make sure the firearm is unloaded and trigger lock installed
If a bolt action - i remove the bolt entirely
I place in a container (either hard/soft sided case) - none of my soft cases lock
NO ammo in magazines
Empty Magazines with firearms

I have ammo in original boxes and the ammo in a separate range bag. (also in trunk)

?s:
1) do I need to store the ammo in the passenger compartment given the state of the firearms? I'd prefer to not have anything visible through the side windows of the vehicle.
2) is there a constraint on my path of travel once I load the firearms into the vehicle? (i.e. must go straight to/from the range and no make no intermediate stops)
3) are there dependancies on either the above depending on whether the firearms are all long guns (shotguns/rifles) or pistols too?
4) does anything change if I'm transporting to/from a range in either WV, PA or VA?

I'm just returning to the shooting sports after 17 years and am sure the laws have evolved since I last transported and since I live in Frederick and spend a lot of time on the road in the Baltimore area, I'm curious if I can go about my business during the day and then stop by the range on my way home...

Sorry if this was covered elsewhere, I looked and didn't see it...

thanks in advance -

Click to expand...

swinokur said:

Google MD Statute 4-203

all answers there.

Click to expand...

§4-203. Wearing, carrying, or transporting handgun.

(a) Prohibited.-

(1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person may not:

(i) wear, carry, or transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, on or about the person;

(ii) wear, carry, or knowingly transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, in a vehicle traveling on a road or parking lot generally used by the public, highway, waterway, or airway of the State;

(iii) violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph while on public school property in the State; or

(iv) violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph with the deliberate purpose of injuring or killing another person.

(2) There is a rebuttable presumption that a person who transports a handgun under paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection transports the handgun knowingly.

(b) Exceptions.- This section does not prohibit:

(3) the carrying of a handgun on the person or in a vehicle while the person is transporting the handgun to or from the place of legal purchase or sale, or to or from a bona fide repair shop, or between bona fide residences of the person, or between the bona fide residence and place of business of the person, if the business is operated and owned substantially by the person if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster;

(4) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting, a Department of Natural Resources-sponsored firearms and hunter safety class, trapping, or a dog obedience training class or show, while the person is engaged in, on the way to, or returning from that activity if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster;


(6) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person on real estate that the person owns or leases or where the person resides or within the confines of a business establishment that the person owns or leases;

Click to expand...

Andras said:

You may not legally transport a pistol to a non residential property unless you are planning on shooting it there.



Now if you opened a lemonade stand on the empty property, that would be a business you operated.

Click to expand...