The following laws in Maryland have dubious
public safety purposes and can act as snares
for the unwary law-abiding citizen.

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    Rifles and shotguns being transported in motor vehicles must be unloaded.

    A particularly onerous Maryland law bans transportation of handguns by law-abiding citizens, except for narrow purposes.  It is unlawful for any person without a permit to wear or carry a handgun, openly or concealed, upon or about his person, or to knowingly transport a handgun in any vehicle traveling on public roads, highways, waterways, or airways, or upon roads or parking lots generally used by the public.  No violation is committed by any person who can demonstrate that the handgun is being carried, worn or transported:

1

To or from a place of legal purchase or sale, or repair shop.

2

Between such person's bona fide residences, or between his residence and place of business, if the business is operated and substantially owned by that person.

3

While engaged in, or traveling to and from a "target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting, trapping, or dog obedience training class or show."

4

By a bona fide gun collector who is "moving and part or all of his gun collection from place to place for public or private exhibition," and while such handguns are actually on exhibition.  During transportation to and from the above places, the handgun must be unloaded, and carried in an enclosed case or enclosed holster.

    As if the forgoing were not enough to ensure public safety, Montgomery County requires a trigger lock on all handguns being transported.

The use of guns (any gun, not just a handgun) in a crime is itself a crime.

The transportation or carrying or wearing of a handgun for the deliberate purpose of injuring or killing another person is a crime. That is people having a criminal purpose are banned from transporting a gun.

The possession of a firearm of any sort by a felon (and other "disapproved" people) is a crime so they are already banned from transporting a handgun in a car.

So, what purpose is served by banning people with no criminal record and people with no criminal intent from transporting a handgun?

    It appears that the only purpose of these transportation laws is to catch the unwary citizen who may stop on the way to or from the range or gun shop to do some errands or who may forget and leave his handgun in the trunk of his car for a few days (or, not knowing the law, may deliberately leave his handgun in the car for convenience, say to go to the range after work -- all such innocent practices are illegal).

    While there are defenses against a charge of transporting a handgun illegally, notice that you must "demonstrate" that you were doing so for a legal purpose.  So, the receipt given you by the gun shop is important -- it provides evidence of purpose.

    What happens if you are stopped on your way to shoot at a range or on a friends property?  How can you "demonstrate" one of the four defenses above.  Is your testimony sufficient?  Or, are you vulnerable to an arbitrary application of the law?

    Notice also that you are no longer innocent until proven guilty here.  That you are noticed by the police while transporting a handgun suffices for you to be charged.  They can arrest you, seize your handgun and then you must demonstrate to a court that you are innocent.

    Finally, all guns must be unloaded while they are being transported and handguns must be in an enclosed holster or case.  Fail to do this and you may be caught in Maryland's legal snare.   Some Maryland police officers have even seized legally transported guns and told the owner that they could only get the gun back if they could prove they owned it (so you keep your receipts forever).  And, if that outrage is sufficient, it is likely that any handgun you have purchased is already recorded owned by you in a Maryland state database which it keeps for purchases of regulated firearms.

Updated by Phil Lee on 6/21/00.  Contact pflee at wdn dot com (sorry for being obscure, but web mail address scavenge programs make this practice necessary).