Anyone know if I'm legally allowed to gift my father an AR after HB450?

[coinboy]

Hey all,

I know DE HB450 bans so called assault weapons in DE. I was curious if anyone knows if I can gift my father an AR that I bought here in MD prior to the ban (in both MD and DE) taking effect?

Would it have to be a complete AR or could it be a stripped serialized lower?

I see there is a gift exception to the ban however it says that one can not import one of these weapons into the state. I believe I would have to go dealer to dealer if legal. I also would want my dad to be able to get the letter produced by the DE DSHS. I'm not sure these letters are even available yet.

Any info available would be helpful.

State Police don't know much and were blindsided by the law, ATF also doesn't know much about it either, and the AG's office has been more than very unhelpful.

 

[cyberalex]

Hey all,

I know DE HB450 bans so called assault weapons in DE. I was curious if anyone knows if I can gift my father an AR that I bought here in MD prior to the ban (in both MD and DE) taking effect?

Would it have to be a complete AR or could it be a stripped serialized lower?

I see there is a gift exception to the ban however it says that one can not import one of these weapons into the state. I believe I would have to go dealer to dealer if legal. I also would want my dad to be able to get the letter produced by the DE DSHS. I'm not sure these letters are even available yet.

Any info available would be helpful.

State Police don't know much and were blindsided by the law, ATF also doesn't know much about it either, and the AG's office has been more than very unhelpful.

Since you're in MD and your father is in DE, the transfer would have to be done at an FFL because the federal government has jurisdiction when state boundaries are crossed. In MD, if the AR in question uses a detachable magazine and has 2 of the 3 so-called "military-style" features like a folding stock and flash hider/suppressor, then it's called an "assault weapon" (Giffords, 2021). I don't know about the import part because I would think that importing means that you're taking the AR to a different state to make a profit, while a gift would mean just that, it's a gift. Nobody that buys me gifts does so for profit, so logic would dictate that the ban on imports does not apply to gifts all because of the meaning behind the two terms, but again, Maryland does not have logic anymore when it comes to firearms, so maybe I should run for state office to fix that. With all of that said, if the AR were to be an "assault weapon", then it would be a regulated firearm requiring you to complete the 77R as "Any person who wishes to purchase, rent, or transfer a regulated firearm must complete a MSP 77R Application and Affidavit to purchase a regulated firearm. This includes individuals acquiring a regulated firearm through a firearm dealer, secondary sale/private sale, gift" (MSP, n.d., para. 1). Don't quote me on anything as I'm not a lawyer, but I did my best to use official sources to draw a conclusion that would hopefully help you. I really hope I'm wrong about the FFL requirement, but it only makes sense to me.

References
Giffords. (2021, June 15). Assault weapons in Maryland. https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/assault-weapons-in-maryland/

Maryland State Police. (n.d.). Regulated firearm purchases. https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Organizat...ision/Firearms/RegulatedFirearmPurchases.aspx

 

[Bullfrog]

Since you're in MD and your father is in DE, the transfer would have to be done at an FFL because the federal government has jurisdiction when state boundaries are crossed.

You were absolutely right up to here. The rest of your post doesn't apply.

In MD, if the AR in question uses a detachable magazine and has 2 of the 3 so-called "military-style" features like a folding stock and flash hider/suppressor, then it's called an "assault weapon" (Giffords, 2021). I don't know about the import part because I would think that importing means that you're taking the AR to a different state to make a profit, while a gift would mean just that, it's a gift. Nobody that buys me gifts does so for profit, so logic would dictate that the ban on imports does not apply to gifts all because of the meaning behind the two terms, but again, Maryland does not have logic anymore when it comes to firearms, so maybe I should run for state office to fix that. With all of that said, if the AR were to be an "assault weapon", then it would be a regulated firearm requiring you to complete the 77R as "Any person who wishes to purchase, rent, or transfer a regulated firearm must complete a MSP 77R Application and Affidavit to purchase a regulated firearm. This includes individuals acquiring a regulated firearm through a firearm dealer, secondary sale/private sale, gift" (MSP, n.d., para. 1). Don't quote me on anything as I'm not a lawyer, but I did my best to use official sources to draw a conclusion that would hopefully help you. I really hope I'm wrong about the FFL requirement, but it only makes sense to me.

References
Giffords. (2021, June 15). Assault weapons in Maryland. https://giffords.org/lawcenter/state-laws/assault-weapons-in-maryland/

Maryland State Police. (n.d.). Regulated firearm purchases. https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Organizat...ision/Firearms/RegulatedFirearmPurchases.aspx

He's talking about a transfer to his father, a Delaware resident, so Delaware regulations and restrictions are what matters. It doesn't matter what Maryland defines as an assault weapon, it doesn't require a Maryland 77R to sell to a non MD resident, and 'import' in the sense that he used it has nothing to do with profit or other rules on 'import/export'.

Import in this sense refers to what Delaware's new laws allow you to bring into the state.... just like Maryland laws prohibit 'import' of post-2013 owned non-HBAR AR15s, M1As, and any other long guns that became prohibited with 2013's FSA.

 

[cyberalex]

You were absolutely right up to here. The rest of your post doesn't apply.




He's talking about a transfer to his father, a Delaware resident, so Delaware regulations and restrictions are what matters. It doesn't matter what Maryland defines as an assault weapon, it doesn't require a Maryland 77R to sell to a non MD resident, and 'import' in the sense that he used it has nothing to do with profit or other rules on 'import/export'.

Import in this sense refers to what Delaware's new laws allow you to bring into the state.... just like Maryland laws prohibit 'import' of post-2013 owned non-HBAR AR15s, M1As, and any other long guns that became prohibited with 2013's FSA.

Oh, I see. I don't know DE's laws, so that was what had me stuck.