New '06 Handgun laws in MD, CA, & MA?

[ArmedBear]

BTW CA law exempts single action revolvers from any testing, but not single-shot hunting/competition pistols like the Contender. Stupid.

Personally, I *like* the LCI on my old Walther -- designed and first issued in the 1930s. I have no beef with an LCI, except on guns like the Ruger Mark III. The Mark II is the most reliable .22 I've ever shot. On the other hand, I might get a III as well, because it IS nicer if you're training someone to shoot.

The real impact this has is on serious target shooters, who might want a particular gun without any extra features that impact accuracy and customizability, but won't care about any safety features because the gun never has a round chambered except at the range.

I'm not a big fan of magazine disconnects, but I can't say why, exactly. If I really thought I'd have to load single rounds under stress, I'd use a real gun, the kind with a cylinder. Trying to stuff a single round in a semiauto while being beaten with a bat would be an exercise in futility, I think.

I despise the origins of these laws, but I'm not sure that there's a good argument against them if you accept legal requirements of similar safety features on other potentially dangerous devices like microwave ovens or power tools.

But hey, I'm figuring on leaving the state anyway.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Also they used the term handgun, and not pistols

Ok, what's the difference? I look at my revolver and yeah, it's a handgun, and it's a pistol. Same with the 1911. Is there a difference between handgun and pistol?

Or should I just put some bullets in the 1911 clip and go shooting? And forget about terminology?

Regards.

 

[shermacman]

Or should I just put some bullets in the 1911 clip and go shooting? And forget about terminology?

ARGHHHH!!!
My ears are bleeeding!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[marlin.357]

Thanks for all the responses!

Thank you all for all of the responses. Those of you living in the states which support the second amendment may wonder about the concern for using specific wording. The specific words mean the difference between available and banned. If it doesn't pop-up and say loaded chamber indicator, it ain't one!

Thanks again.

 

[svtruth]

Indicator not needed

If you want to know if there is a round in the chamber, couldn't you just pull the trigger?

 

[JeepDriver]

No new restrictions on the way in Maryland.

We (meaning the gun store I work at) have not seen anything about any new laws or requirments for new handgun sales in MAryland.

 

[DigitalWarrior]

For The Children!!!1!

I think we should fight against loaded chamber indicators "FOR THE CHILDREN"!

It is a rule. All Guns are always loaded until proven otherwise. Doesn't anyone else think that a chamber indicator is more likely to give a false negative than an assumption of loaded? What kinds of habits are we putting into our kids anyway?

Next they are going to be serving cheeseburgers and frenchfries for lunch and letting kids take calculators to math class.

 

[Inoxmark]

Hey, guys, I think you're yelling at a dead issue.
Most semi-auto's have the loaded chamber feature already.
It's one of two things. Either

1) a small notch in the rear of the barrel (at the back of the chamber), so you can look and see brass if it's there. Cost to manufacturer? one swipe of the cutting/shaping machine when the piece is made.

or
2) An external extracter that stays flush if there is no cartridge in the chamber or stands proud if there is one. --- which is what external extracters DO anyway, isn't it?

Cost is virtually nil.
Impact upon functionality. Nil.
Impact upon appearance. Nil.

Next subject?

Sorry OF, you are wrong. Here's the new legal CA definition of loaded chamber indicator:

(d)(1) A functioning chamber load indicator must meet all of the following conditions:
(A) Explanatory text and/or graphics either incorporated within the chamber load indicator or adjacent to the chamber load indicator is permanently displayed on the firearm.
(B) The chamber load indicator is of a distinct color contrast to that of the firearm.
(C) Only when there is a round in the chamber, the “loaded” indication is visible on the firearm from a distance of at least twenty-four inches. When there is no round in the chamber, the “loaded” indication must not be visible.
(D) The text and/or graphics and the “loaded” indication together inform a reasonably foreseeable adult user of the pistol, without requiring the user to refer to a user’s manual or any other resource other than the pistol itself, that a round is in the chamber.

So, the little peepholes don't qualify at all, slighly protruding extractors don't qualify unless they are of contrasting color and there's a paragraph of text right there on the gun explaining what to look for.

 

[Beethoven]

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but I just read in the August 2005 isssue of "Handloader" that beginning in 2006, Maryland, California, and Massachusetts will require that all handguns sold will be required to have a loaded chamber indicator. This was in a quote from Bob Stutler, the the general manager of Ruger.

I have not seen this reported in the Maryland gun boards, does anyone know if it is true? If it is does all mean ALL, or just manufactured after some date, presumably 1/1/2006?

Also they used the term handgun, and not pistols, which would include revolvers.

If true, this will certainly narrow the field of available handguns

1) Buy all the semi-auto handguns you can now, while you still can.

2) Here's my understanding of it:

CA has a list of guns that are approved for sale in the state. Guns that are already on the list can remain on the list so long as the manufacturer pays the fee to keep them on the list.

Any gun that drops off the list, and any new guns submitted for sale in CA after 1/1/2006 must have, among the other requirements, both a chamber loaded indicator AND a mag disconnect which prevents the gun from firing unless there is a magazine in the gun.

So yes, the law sucks big time, but it does NOT mean that you will not be able to buy anymore semi-auto handguns after the 1st of the year.

Just buy as many as you can while you still can.....

 

[SIGarmed]

Hey, guys, I think you're yelling at a dead issue.
Most semi-auto's have the loaded chamber feature already.
It's one of two things. Either

1) a small notch in the rear of the barrel (at the back of the chamber), so you can look and see brass if it's there. Cost to manufacturer? one swipe of the cutting/shaping machine when the piece is made.

or
2) An external extracter that stays flush if there is no cartridge in the chamber or stands proud if there is one. --- which is what external extracters DO anyway, isn't it?

Cost is virtually nil.
Impact upon functionality. Nil.
Impact upon appearance. Nil.

Next subject?

No, many of the pistols do not meet the California requirements. The dumb sign posts that ruger is putting on their new politically correct pistols are the type that California wants. The notches will not count. Nothing but pure garbage is good enough for California leftists.

 

[Old Fud]

Thanks for the correction, guys.
That was ---- enlightening.
I've been plodding along fat dumb and happy that we got past something with little/no pain. Sigh!!!

You're right -- time to BUY!!!

 

[Beethoven]

You're right -- time to BUY!!!

Hey, you can always sell 'em later (though you'll regret it) but you can't buy 'em once they are off the list.

 

[marklbucla]

Just buy as many as you can while you still can.....

I agree. That's why I've been buying way more guns than I can afford. I wanna try what I can, so I can settle down on a system for the rest of my life.