Maryland C&R Happiness!

[anapex]

Ok so like I promised here's a copy of the letter stating Marylands stance on getting C&R firearms shipped in to MD from out of state.

http://home.comcast.net/~dmmcfar/aagbowencandr.pdf

Hope this can help people out.

 

[Jim K]

For a minute, I thought they had finally stopped dancing around the issue, and provided a definite answer. Then I read the last paragraph which effectively negates the rest of the letter, and renders it nothing more than one man's opinion. Back to dancing.

Actually, this is what I had been told before by the MSP, but I have never seen anything in writing so I advised caution. So it seems the holder of a Collector's FFL can legally import a regulated firearm but the license means nothing within Maryland. So if a MD holder of a Collector's FFL sells a C&R item to another MD holder of a Collector's FFL, the transfer is the same as from one individual to another and must go through a holder of a Maryland Regulated Firearms Dealers License. That license, BTW, will only be issued to a person already holding a Federal dealer's license.

(Regulated firearms include handguns and "assault rifles". There are no MD laws governing transfers of ordinary shotguns or rifles.)

Jim

 

[PAshooter]

Interesting.

OK - starting from the bottom... if "This letter does not constitute an official opinion of this office or of the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland" yet it's on "Office of the Attorney General of Maryland" letterhead then what the hell does it constitute?

And what's the difference betweeen "this office" and "the Office of the Attorney General of Maryland" - given the letterhead?

OK - stupid questions aside...

As I read this, you can "import" any (meaning ANY) C&R firearm into Maryland if you're a C&R holder... you just can't sell or trade a "regulated" C&R firearm to another MD C&R holder without going through a dealer.

Not really a big deal if you're looking to use your license to buy.

Bought a couple of C&R Maks recently using my license... glad to know I'm "legal"... maybe. Doesn't matter really, as they're now in PA... as I shall be soon... where the Constitution still matters.

BTW - I like the use of the word "import." Kind of implies bringing something in from another country. Which, in the case of Maryland, is very appropriate. In this case we're talking about importing a C&R firearm into Maryland from the United States... clearly another country.

Sorry guys... don't mean to gloat. Been busting my butt to emigrate to the U.S. for the last month or so... this kind of thing helps me understand that the effort's been worthwhile

Oh, and thanks for posting that anapex.

 

[Jim K]

SORRY, NO JOY. WORSE THAN I THOUGHT.

Hi, Anapex,

Sorry, no joy.

In fact, it is worse than I thought, and Bowen is lying by not telling the whole truth. What he says is true as far as it goes; a C&R FFL holder can import a C&R gun into MD, including a MD regulated firearm.

As you know, MD does not recognize the Collector's FFL so any sale by a holder is the same as a sale by an individual. Now, in MD, individual sales of regulated firearms must go through a state licensed regulated firearms dealer.

Here is the really nasty part. The MSP has written to all regulated firearms dealers telling them that if a gun was imported into the state under a Collector's (C&R) FFL, the dealer cannot handle a transfer, cannot purchase the gun, cannot take it in trade or for consignment, and cannot even accept it for shipment out of state. To transfer the gun, the C&R license holder who originally imported it must send it to someone out of state, who must then send it to a state-licensed dealer within the state, so that it is imported "officially" and can be sold within the state.

Of course, most C&R firearms are too old to have been registered when first sold, so there is no way a dealer (or the MSP) can know that the gun was imported under the owner's C&R license, unless the owner says so. But if the dealer knows that to be the case, he cannot accept the gun for any reason or have it on his books. If the MSP finds out that the gun was imported under a Collector's FFL, the owner can be charged with attempting an illegal transfer.

So you are the victim of the old "lie to the suckers" technique that the AG's office has practiced for years. They probably have told the MSP to watch for any transfer involving you, so you can be prosecuted for attempting an illegal transfer. They may not be able to find any law to use, but Curran is adept at making up laws faster than the New York Times can make up the news.

I suspect the next step will be for the AG to write to all dealers in regulated C&R firearms (mainly handguns), ordering them not to ship to C&R license holders in Maryland, under threat of suit in Federal court.

Jim

 

[anapex]

He's not really lying, just saying only what he had to to answer my question. Which was just "are they allowed to be shipped to a C&R FFL holder?". The main purpose of the letter for me at least anyway was to provide to a company just in case they gave me any crap about being able to ship C&R handguns in to MD. I guess at the least I'll send in another letter to get them to clarify about transfering C&Rs within state.

 

[JBP]

See if the letter changes Century International Arms Inc.'s mind about shipping C&R handguns to 03 FFLs in Maryland.

 

[anapex]

JBP: I just ordered a CZ52 and a nagant revolver from Century and they haven't complained about shipping them to MD yet and they already called once to let me know they were out of excellent CZ52s and wanted to know if I wanted a very good. I'll let you know when they get here.

 

[bigjoegood1]

I've been contemplating a C&R FFL

for a while and you guys have just cemented the idea into my head. I want to pick up a couple of sks rifles before the supply dries up.

I also just received my MD collector status approval letter! Although I can't really afford to buy more than one regulated firearm at this time, it sure is nice to know that I could if the funds availed themselves! Better still is the fact that mrs bigjoegood1 was just as excited as I was when the letter arrived.

 

[Archangel]

Here's the other thing that's not real clear in the letter. If the buyer is in MD, and the seller is not, where does the purchase take place? Is it "within Maryland?"

The letter would seem to imply that it is not, but the way that it is worded does not rule that out. I'd like to see a more clear ruling on that, as I have a MD address, a C&R license, and an interest in C&R handguns.

 

[Jim K]

When the "ballistic fingerprinting" began in MD for handguns made after Jan 1, 2001, Curran sent a letter to every gun distributor in the country, telling them that if they shipped handguns to MD without the case from the factory (impossible for milsurp, of course), he would sue them in Federal Court. He sort of glossed over the date, and some companies choose not to send any handguns to MD regardless of when they were made. Other companies had sharp lawyers who could read the law, so they ignore the AG's fanatical ranting, and ship guns as they legally are allowed to do.

Just goes to show how one anti-gun lunatic in a position of power can scare people with phony interpretations of the law. That includes the bit about not being able to sell a gun imported under a C&R license. There is nothing in the law that says that or anything like that; it is Curran's interpretation of what he thinks the law should say.

Jim

 

[WonderNine]

If I was in Maryland and had a C&R gun to sell that I had originally imported myself, I would just sell it to somebody out of state and ship it to their C&R address or FFL (if they don't have C&R), no hassle that way. I would give a rat's rear end about some nimrod and his "interpretation" of state law. Federal law is what I would comply with.