Open carry in Maryland

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  • lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    In summary: People are afraid to open carry because people are afraid the police will revoke their "privilege" to carry.

    This is why when (not if) MD becomes shall issue I plan to OC all the time to normalize the sight. Not an AR15, probably more like a gentlemans SW 586 with leather holster or an FDE CZ. :D

    It’s not simply a matter of having it revoked. It’s also dealing with A-hole store owner/employees asking you to leave. Dealing with police interactions. Etc.

    In central maryland at least, there is a good chance if you OC for a bit, you will have a negative interaction. I wish culture was different, but we are where we are. IMHO I don’t need that crap in my life and frankly I don’t want to scare people or further a negative outlook on gun owners. In a rural area if I could, I’d sure probably OC a handgun. Especially hiking, backpacking and camping. But I’d just like to be able to conceal carry something.

    So reality is, for much of the US, OCing in an urban or suburban area is going to eventually lead to hassle for you. Some of the US is a-cultured to it. In which case, rock out. But we moved away from it, especially on the west coast and NE.

    If I can conceal carry something and not end up with such negative interactions which are going to cause me to have a bad day, or a real bad day, I might as well.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    I wonder, can these locations ban people under 21 from voting?

    As for OC long guns in non-banned areas, don't they have to be unloaded which defeats the purpose of having one for self-defense? There are so many posts on MDS that go all over the place.

    Only if traversing state lands (unless legally engaged in hunting). The only unloaded requirement is if the firearm is in or on a vehicle. You can walk around with an M60 and belt cocked and locked perfectly legally in a lot of the state.

    You are going to ruin your whole day if you do...but it isn’t against the law. What is legal and what is smart are two different things. Frankly unless I am walking my property or hunting somewhere I’ve got no reason to carry a long gun around. I am not carrying a long gun around for protection. If I am, stuffs gone south.
     

    Straightshooter

    Ultimate Member
    Aug 28, 2010
    5,015
    Baltimore County
    except open carry is legal in PA except in Philly, one does not need a permit. LTC is mainly for concealed and vehicle... oh and Philly.

    so in PA its really a license to carry concealed.
    Just reading what it says on the permit. I stopped trying to figure out the logic of such things long ago.

    Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk
     

    danb

    dont be a dumbass
    Feb 24, 2013
    22,704
    google is your friend, I am not.
    Are you sure that’s grandfathered? Because there are a few on the books, that post date preemption that are not enforceable.

    Last time I looked into it I came away unpersuaded that anyone really knew the answer. Has any statute ever even been successfully (or unsuccessfully) challenged based on grandfathering? Ordinances where the local AG has officially declared them unenforceable are noted and/or stricken from municode (like the Taser ban since declared unenforceable). None of these have any notes, so the county still thinks that they are enforceable. If the county still thinks that they are enforcable, it means you will have to be arrested, convicted, and spend time in jail and on legal fees to be proven correct.
     

    echo6mike

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 1, 2013
    1,794
    Close to DC
    In summary: People are afraid to open carry because people are afraid the police will revoke their "privilege" to carry.

    This is why when (not if) MD becomes shall issue I plan to OC all the time to normalize the sight. Not an AR15, probably more like a gentlemans SW 586 with leather holster or an FDE CZ. :D

    "When"? I wish I shared your optimism.

    (Not that I'll stop supporting MSI as much as I can, I just don't see the end of the tunnel yet...)
     

    Brychan

    Ultimate Member
    Apr 24, 2009
    8,391
    Baltimore
    OCing can be a pain in the rear, many years ago I lived in Arizona. OC was legal, concealed was not. Had a few police interactions. Some more pleasant than others, even though I walked every time, I wished I could just wear concealed. Don't like dealing with nervous police with 12 gauges.
     

    Mack C-85

    R.I.P.
    Jan 22, 2014
    6,522
    Littlestown, PA
    Right, but for example in PG county you have to worry about the no loaded weapons within 1000 feet of "of any home or residence, other than his own, or any school or school grounds (private or public), church or church grounds, places of public assembly, public parks and playgrounds within the County" rule. (see muni code 14-140).

    I wonder if they included a LEGAL exemption for P.G. Trap and Skeet? After all, it is a Maryland National Park and Planning Commission "Public Park".

    Sent from my LG-G710 using Tapatalk
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Last time I looked into it I came away unpersuaded that anyone really knew the answer. Has any statute ever even been successfully (or unsuccessfully) challenged based on grandfathering? Ordinances where the local AG has officially declared them unenforceable are noted and/or stricken from municode (like the Taser ban since declared unenforceable). None of these have any notes, so the county still thinks that they are enforceable. If the county still thinks that they are enforcable, it means you will have to be arrested, convicted, and spend time in jail and on legal fees to be proven correct.

    I am sure as heck not testing the waters.
     

    PJS

    Heavy
    Feb 4, 2014
    167
    Baltimore
    IANAL, but I do have a MD permit to carry a handgun. The permit doesn't say anything about concealed carry.

    In our state, in this environment, I think if you look like me, and you want to roll with an OWB holster on under your sport coat, you are very likely not going to attract much attention. People around here will assume you are LEO. Likewise, if you are rolling all Tactical Tommy, they will also assume you are LEO. In between?

    Because of that, I don't worry nearly as much about printing as I did at first. A) people's situational awareness in general is terrible; I could likely carry a rifle down Eastern Avenue and 90% of the people I pass wouldn't notice, and B) if I do get spotted, the general public will assume that if someone who looks like me is carrying a gun, I'm probably LEO.

    Now, if you don't look like me? YMMV.

    (I'm white, between 40 and 50 years, relatively clean cut, 240 pounds and while some of it is beer/pizza, most of it is not. In other words, I kinda look like I could be a cop.)

    I hav no idea what happens if you OC and happen upon a police officer. I do know that while engaged in pretty close quarters conversation, no LEO has ever seen (or let me know they saw) my concealed handgun.

    Tactics are a different discussion. Personally, I prefer no one know I have the gun until I need to inform them, but not everyone agrees with that.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    Personally, I prefer no one know I have the gun until I need to inform them, but not everyone agrees with that.

    No argument here. In MoCo, there are a thousand reasons to keep it on the down-low, and very few I can conjure up for deliberately making it known. And by very few, I mean “none.”
     

    LRoberts

    Retired Master General El
    Oct 22, 2017
    241
    SM County
    Yesterday I went to Rite Aid on Northern Parkway to pick up a Rx and get my flu shot. The gentleman in line in front of me wearing work clothes and a holstered Glock on his side. It did my heart good that no one paid the slightest attention to it, or even commented.

    JUST A WORD TO THE WISE: My wife and I haven't had the flu since we quit taking those fraudulent shots over 25 years ago. My sister and BIL get them every year and wind up "with a little 'cold'. I don't trust ANY medication the grubberment gives away for FREE. Good luck.
     

    SkiPatrolDude

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Oct 24, 2017
    3,331
    Timonium-Lutherville
    JUST A WORD TO THE WISE: My wife and I haven't had the flu since we quit taking those fraudulent shots over 25 years ago. My sister and BIL get them every year and wind up "with a little 'cold'. I don't trust ANY medication the grubberment gives away for FREE. Good luck.

    Yeah...YMMV - the ONE year I did not get my flu shot (last year), i ended up with the worst case of the flu - thought I was going to actually die lol. Had to take a week off of work.

    For years I had said "maybe I had the flu", but until you have it truly, you have no idea. It is the absolute worst and I can totally see how it can kill if left untreated.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    JUST A WORD TO THE WISE: My wife and I haven't had the flu since we quit taking those fraudulent shots over 25 years ago. My sister and BIL get them every year and wind up "with a little 'cold'. I don't trust ANY medication the grubberment gives away for FREE. Good luck.

    That’s not how science and medicine work, but okay.
     

    Occam

    Not Even ONE Indictment
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 24, 2018
    20,239
    Montgomery County
    That’s not how science and medicine work, but okay.

    Distinguishing between correlation and causation is indeed a hallmark of critical thinking generally, and science in particular. That said, here’s more anecdotal info: never had a flu shot or the flu in over fifty years. Same with my wife. My increasingly elderly mom has been getting the shots every year for decades. Has had the flu four times. The retired doctor across the street has had it twice, but not again since he gave up and stopped getting (or recommending) the shots. I love science! I do! But the annual flu shots are by their nature a crap shoot at best because of the nature of what they are and the timing of their routine development.
     

    lazarus

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 23, 2015
    13,678
    Distinguishing between correlation and causation is indeed a hallmark of critical thinking generally, and science in particular. That said, here’s more anecdotal info: never had a flu shot or the flu in over fifty years. Same with my wife. My increasingly elderly mom has been getting the shots every year for decades. Has had the flu four times. The retired doctor across the street has had it twice, but not again since he gave up and stopped getting (or recommending) the shots. I love science! I do! But the annual flu shots are by their nature a crap shoot at best because of the nature of what they are and the timing of their routine development.

    Based on their nature, yes there is some rolling of the dice. However, they cannot cause it nor make you more susceptible. Depending on how well matched to the actual strains being carried around in a given season the flu vaccine varies from around 40 or so % efficacy in protection up to mid 90% range. Regardless of full protection, if it doesn’t prevent you from acquiring a symptomatic infection, it reduces the duration and severity for almost everyone.

    Long story short, get it. You might still get it, because nothing is perfect and sometimes people roll snake eyes multiple times (or have a bad immune system). But even if you do get it, it isn’t as bad as if you didn’t get vaccinated.

    Especially since I know how they conduct studies, I’ll trust actual studies and not anecdotal evidence of a small number of cases.

    https://www.cdc.gov/flu/vaccines-work/effectiveness-studies.htm

    If you want other anecdotal, I’ve been vaccinated every year since I was 18. I had the flu twice as a kid. Never as an adult.

    Want mixed, my kids have all been vaccinated and my oldest got the flu. He was very mildly sick for 2 days with a low grade fever. My wife who was also vaccinated was horribly sick for a week at the same time. Based on infectiveness of the flu, the odds are very low living in the same household that all of us wouldn’t have gotten sick. Especially since you can transmit the flu hours before you are symptomatic. Instead one was very mildly ill and one extremely ill. This was in a flu year where the vaccine was poorly targeted.

    Most people I know who regularly get vaccinated either haven’t gotten the flu while they’ve been regularly vaccinated or rarely. I know a couple of exceptions. They also are pretty regularly sick with something. Likely a pretty bad immune system. I know fewer people who “have never been vaccinated” and also never had the flu. I am glad you haven’t.

    Ps let me know who the doc is so I don’t attend their practice.
     

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