K-Romulus
Member
"legal gray area"
I am not a MD lawyer, so give my knowledge the value of what you paid for it
Under the handgun law, you can transport a handgun between "bona fide legal residences." What that means is anyone's guess. Packing.org's
talk section for Maryland had some emails copied from the Asst. Atty Gen'l who answers these types of questions. A few years back, he was telling people in your situation that it was A-OK based on the "legal residence" language, and the hotel room counted as a "residence." However, a year later, he changed his mind and said that he couldn't really answer the question because no court has interpreted what a "bona fide legal residence" means in the context of the handgun law. His name was "Mark Bowen" (IIRC), so you could try searching for the name on Packing.org, or checking the Packing.org MD talk archives (there are not that many old posts to look through).
I have seen travel reports on gun boards that said that BWI seemed to be a "hassle-free zone." I have yet to actually try it myself, though.
Don't Tread:
The list of "regulated firearms" includes "Colt AR-15, CAR-15, and all imitations except Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR rifle."
http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_statutes.exe?gps&5-101
This seems to mean that the "Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR" is exempted from the special transfer requirements that I listed. Since the list is for specific rifles and all copies, it follows that the copies should be exempted if a specific rifle is exempted.
I have heard that the State Police have interpreted this exemption to only apply if (1) the receiver is stamped "Sporter H-BAR" like Colt does, OR (2) the term "HBAR" must be stamped somewhere on the rifle. I have heard through the grapevine that some dealers just look at the rifle's parts, and if they match the Colt HBAR (heavy 20" barrel, match trigger, etc.), then the dealers considered the rifle exempted.
I am not a MD lawyer, so give my knowledge the value of what you paid for it
Under the handgun law, you can transport a handgun between "bona fide legal residences." What that means is anyone's guess. Packing.org's
talk section for Maryland had some emails copied from the Asst. Atty Gen'l who answers these types of questions. A few years back, he was telling people in your situation that it was A-OK based on the "legal residence" language, and the hotel room counted as a "residence." However, a year later, he changed his mind and said that he couldn't really answer the question because no court has interpreted what a "bona fide legal residence" means in the context of the handgun law.
His name was "Mark Bowen" (IIRC), so you could try searching for the name on Packing.org, or checking the Packing.org MD talk archives (there are not that many old posts to look through).I have seen travel reports on gun boards that said that BWI seemed to be a "hassle-free zone." I have yet to actually try it myself, though.
Don't Tread:
The list of "regulated firearms" includes "Colt AR-15, CAR-15, and all imitations except Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR rifle."
http://mlis.state.md.us/cgi-win/web_statutes.exe?gps&5-101
This seems to mean that the "Colt AR-15 Sporter H-BAR" is exempted from the special transfer requirements that I listed. Since the list is for specific rifles and all copies, it follows that the copies should be exempted if a specific rifle is exempted.
I have heard that the State Police have interpreted this exemption to only apply if (1) the receiver is stamped "Sporter H-BAR" like Colt does, OR (2) the term "HBAR" must be stamped somewhere on the rifle. I have heard through the grapevine that some dealers just look at the rifle's parts, and if they match the Colt HBAR (heavy 20" barrel, match trigger, etc.), then the dealers considered the rifle exempted.
Last edited:
