Gun Laws Maryland

[novus collectus]

I've seen both guns spelled both ways when doing a bit of research. Given the context of the assault pistol ban, it's infinitely more likely that it was referring to the Intratec version, which is a .22LR clone of the TEC-9.

Not just that, the Czech gun has that Caron mark above the "Š" in Škorpion the Skorpion in the MD code does not have the mark above the "S".

 

[redduck21502]

Maryland has a ballistic fingerprinting "database" of all new guns sold in MD and new guns require a spent shell casing so they can sticki it into a storage shed for a half dozen years and do nothing with it. What the shell casing law does is to make it hard to get guns directly from manyfacurer for Marylanders and keeps some out of state dealers from dealing with us.

Most likely the intended result of the law!
They just want to slow down the handguns coming into the state

 

[redduck21502]

http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=14616

For mags, you can always go to VA and buy mags right?

Yes.

Unless the dealer in VA is an asshat. I had a guy in WV tell me that he could not sell me 30 round magazines because I was from MD.

His loss, I didn't buy his overpriced used magazines and sent for some new ones from 44Mag.com for half the money and shipped them to PA. I just wanted them the same day that I picked up my AR15 lower receiver.

 

[hole punch]

Unless the dealer in VA is an asshat. I had a guy in WV tell me that he could not sell me 30 round magazines because I was from MD.

His loss, I didn't buy his overpriced used magazines and sent for some new ones from 44Mag.com for half the money and shipped them to PA. I just wanted them the same day that I picked up my AR15 lower receiver.

i had some tard at a gunshow in PA tell me he wouldn't sell me the 30 round PMAGs because I was a Marylander. Said it'd be a felony.

Hey, it's his business and he can choose who he sells to, but don't lie to my face about it, you know?

I went to the next booth over and bought some there.

 

[Punchabearinnamouf]

i had some tard at a gunshow in PA tell me he wouldn't sell me the 30 round PMAGs because I was a Marylander. Said it'd be a felony.

Hey, it's his business and he can choose who he sells to, but don't lie to my face about it, you know?

I went to the next booth over and bought some there.

Did you wave them at the guy who wouldn't sell em to you?

 

[OnTarget]

Actually it can be a removeable gun lock as long as it works internally basically. In other words it can be a gun made without a gun lock and you can insert a separate gun lock designed to work inthe chamber and barrel. SO this means that even though there is the law the gun has to be sold with this lock, any gun made before 1985 or made after 1984 and is on the handgun roster can be bought in MD regardless of if it has a built in gun lock.

YOu can own any handgun you bring with you in MD regardless of the year of manufacture or if it is on the handgun roster if you are over 21. The exceptions are fourteen pistols banned in MD (well, thirteen now because one made the roster somehow). These are the fourteen thirteen?. http://www.mdshooters.com/showpost.php?p=168891&postcount=13
Maryland has a ballistic fingerprinting "database" of all new guns sold in MD and new guns require a spent shell casing so they can sticki it into a storage shed for a half dozen years and do nothing with it. What the shell casing law does is to make it hard to get guns directly from manyfacurer for Marylanders and keeps some out of state dealers from dealing with us.

****************************************
Novus:
Are you saying that if I transport a handgun from my residence in MD to a pistol range in the same state, that a cable lock is not acceptable? Likewise, the same would be true, I guess, when transporting a handgun from MD residence to another residence in another state and back home again?
This would mean that the cable lock is only good for protecting youth at home. Right?

 

[mikec]

OnTarget, what I have been told is that the integral lock law only applies to the SALE of a handgun. Once you get the gun outside the FFL's shop you can dispose of the lock. You just might have to provide that lock to a buyer if you sell the gun.

I can't find any reference in MD's law that says you have to have a lock on a handgun when you travel to a range or FFL.

 

[novus collectus]

****************************************
Novus:
Are you saying that if I transport a handgun from my residence in MD to a pistol range in the same state, that a cable lock is not acceptable? Likewise, the same would be true, I guess, when transporting a handgun from MD residence to another residence in another state and back home again?
This would mean that the cable lock is only good for protecting youth at home. Right?

OnTarget, what I have been told is that the integral lock law only applies to the SALE of a handgun. Once you get the gun outside the FFL's shop you can dispose of the lock. You just might have to provide that lock to a buyer if you sell the gun.

I can't find any reference in MD's law that says you have to have a lock on a handgun when you travel to a range or FFL.

Correct, there is no state law that says the handgun must be locked when transporting and there is even no state law saying a handgun must be locked at home.
Also correct is that the regulated handgun must be sold with the gun lock, but gifts and rentals does not seem to have the same requirement.

When transporting intrastate, the MD law says the handgun must be unloaded and in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster when going to one of the approved locations or purposes.....that is it.
The fed interstate transport law is different so travelling into MD or through MD is a different story if the person chooses to utilize the fed law (once in MD they can choose to just follow MD's transport law).

 

[ThatIsAFact]

details of Maryland handgun transportation law

For newcomers to the forum, a more complete explanation of the Maryland law regarding transportation of a handgun may be useful. I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice.

There is no requirement in Maryland law that a handgun must be transported with a trigger lock, or any kind of lock, or in a locked box, or in a trunk. The requirement is simply that the handgun be unloaded and in an enclosed case or enclosed holster.

The major restriction, of course, is that unless one has a carry permit, the unloaded handgun can only be transported to and from the "approved" destinations that are listed in the statute (see below). However, this does not apply if the destination of your journey, or your point of origination, are outside of Maryland, in which case the federal transportation law (18 USC 926A) trumps the state law. The federal law is actually more restrictive with respect to the manner in which the gun must be packaged, but when the federal law applies, it renders the state list of approved destinations irrelevant. It is important not to rely on the federal law for protection unless your journey complies with the requirement that the trip cross state lines (which includes, for this purpose, the border with the District of Columbia).

There is no restriction in Maryland state law on the manner in which ammo can be transported, other than the requirement that the handgun must be unloaded. There is no state law against transporting loaded magazines, as long as they are detached from the gun. A Maryland attorney, who works in law enforcement and who is well versed on firearms cases, told me that he knew of no case law to support the notion that a loaded magazine is forbidden.

Up until a couple of years ago, a couple of state agencies had misinformation on their websites indicating that magazines were to be unloaded for transportation, but that misinformation was removed when it was pointed out to them that there was no support for those statements in state law. If anybody knows of any information still being posted or circulated by any state or local government agency that continues to suggest that loaded magazines are verboten, please call them to my attention.

I have pasted in below (as I have before) the complete text of an e-mail that was sent to another gunowner about five years ago by Mark Bowen, who was then and is now a Maryland Assistant Attorney General who specializes in firearms issues. Mr. Bowen provided a succinct summary of the requirements of the state and federal laws that govern the transportation of handguns in Maryland.

***

Dear Mr. _______:

Maryland law generally prohibits the wearing, carrying or transporting of handgun, loaded or unloaded, concealed or openly: 1) on or about one's person; and, 2) in a vehicle traveling on a road or parking lot generally used by the public, highway, waterway, or airway of the State.
Individuals who have been issued a permit to carry a handgun by the Maryland Department of State Police (handgun carry permits issued by other states are not effective) are exempted from this law.

The following activities are also exempted: 1) 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; 2) 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; 3) the moving by a bona fide gun collector of part or all of the collector's gun collection from place to place for public or private exhibition if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster; 4) 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; 5) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a supervisory employee: in the course of employment; within the confines of the business establishment in which the supervisory employee is employed; and (iii) when so authorized by the owner or manager of the business establishment.

The federal law you cite (18 USC 926A) applies to the interstate transportation of a firearm (handgun or long arm) and supersedes Maryland law. It would have no bearing on the transportation of a firearm where the origin and destination are both within Maryland. It would however allow for the transportation of a firearm through the State of Maryland regardless of the Maryland law cited above.

For purposes of the exceptions to Maryland law, a handgun may be transported within the passenger compartment of the vehicle provided it is unloaded and in an enclosed case or holster. For purposes of the federal law exception, the firearm must be unloaded and not readily accessible from the passenger compartment.

Mark H. Bowen Assistant Attorney General

(end of quotation from Mr. Bowen)

 

[Pay2Play]

Forgive me for asking what maybe a question already addressed, but I just want to get 100% clarification. When traveling to the range (within MD) I can carry my handgun and ammo in the same range bag? Up until now I have had MD and federal law confussed and have been traveling with my guns in the trunk and ammo in a separate bag in the passenger compartment of my vehicle.

 

[novus collectus]

Forgive me for asking what maybe a question already addressed, but I just want to get 100% clarification. When traveling to the range (within MD) I can carry my handgun and ammo in the same range bag? Up until now I have had MD and federal law confussed and have been traveling with my guns in the trunk and ammo in a separate bag in the passenger compartment of my vehicle.

The MD handgun transport/possession law (4-203) says the handgun has to be in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster and must be unloaded......that is all.

Think about it this way, when riding a bicycle to the gun range, how do you keep the ammo seperate from your handgun? Since the law applies equally to when walking to the range, when riding a bike to the range and when driving cars to the range, there would be no reason to think the law changes when one is in a car compared to any other means of transport to the range.
So since the law says it must be in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster and be empty, but says absolutely nothing whatsoever about the ammunition being out of reach or seperate, you are breaking no law by having the ammunition in the same range bag (if the range bag is considered an enclosed case or if it is in an enclosed holster).
I am not a lawyer, but I go to the range with ammo in the same case sometimes.

(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 Resourcessponsored
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 enclosed holster;

 

[Pay2Play]

Thanks Novus, now I can stop traveling with two bags. I think I will celebrate my new knowledge by taking a trip to On Target

 

[jamesriver]

Howdy,

OK, so I'm another Va-to-Md transplant by way of necessity. I own three handguns. Do I need to do anything with them, or contact the state police in any way, before I move? Or is it all good since I already own them?

Thanks!

 

[Billcw]

nope you do not have to do anything

 

[jamesriver]

Good good, thanks much.

 

[redduck21502]

Also, before you move, check for new guns not on the roster and bring them with you so you don't have to wait; I believe you can do that. It's not like they would know since there is no required registration of handguns.

 

[K-Romulus]

Howdy,

OK, so I'm another Va-to-Md transplant by way of necessity. I own three handguns. Do I need to do anything with them, or contact the state police in any way, before I move? Or is it all good since I already own them?

Thanks!

Just watch out that none are on the 'assault pistols' list, and you should be A-OK.

 

[Robby The Sheef]

Ok, so I have a question, that I may learn is quite stupid. I don't think it needs it's own thread. What is the legality concerning public transit? Could you, in theory, take a bus to and from a range? Obviously this is a terrible idea, as if anyone learns you have a gun, you're going to get yourself in quite a bit of trouble, regardless of legality. Also, what about interstate travel on something like a Greyhound? I know the busline itself prohibits the transportation of firearms, and you'd be kicked off the bus, but would it be illegal? And what about ammunition? I ask out of curiosity, for obvious reasons this isn't something I feel anyone should try to test. Even if it's 100% legal, it's 100% a bad idea.

 

[K-Romulus]

Ok, so I have a question, that I may learn is quite stupid. I don't think it needs it's own thread. What is the legality concerning public transit? Could you, in theory, take a bus to and from a range? Obviously this is a terrible idea, as if anyone learns you have a gun, you're going to get yourself in quite a bit of trouble, regardless of legality.

Well, I think the issue (in MD) would be whether (1) there is a state law concerning firearms on public transport (I think there is not, but what do I know), and (2) whether any local laws cover the issue, and (3) if there is a local law, does a public transportation method count as a "place of public assembly" under the state preemption law that would allow a locality to regulate guns within 100 yards of the "public accomodation"?

Also, what about interstate travel on something like a Greyhound? I know the busline itself prohibits the transportation of firearms, and you'd be kicked off the bus, but would it be illegal?

From what I remember looking into the issue, there is a federal law barring firearms on "common carriers" (read:commecial buses). Congress seems to be fixing that issue right now regarding Amtrak to let you check a firearm into Amtrak checked baggage.

And what about ammunition? I ask out of curiosity, for obvious reasons this isn't something I feel anyone should try to test. Even if it's 100% legal, it's 100% a bad idea.

Ammo may or may not fall under the "firearms" issues I mentioned.

 

[Andras]

Well, I think the issue (in MD) would be whether (1) there is a state law concerning firearms on public transport (I think there is not, but what do I know), and (2) whether any local laws cover the issue, and (3) if there is a local law, does a public transportation method count as a "place of public assembly" under the state preemption law that would allow a locality to regulate guns within 100 yards of the "public accomodation"?

With the exception that regulated firearms are not subject to those local laws due to state pre-emption.

§ 5-133. Restrictions on possession of regulated firearms.

(a) Preemption by State.- This section supersedes any restriction that a local jurisdiction in the State imposes on the possession by a private party of a regulated firearm, and the State preempts the right of any local jurisdiction to regulate the possession of a regulated firearm