Legal to carry

RobbieDigital said:

Is it legal to carry a loaded Mossberg shockwave shotgun in the back of my SUV?

I do have a CCW not sure if that makes a difference.

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Occam said:

Loaded or not, it's not legal in Baltimore or Rockville (and maybe one other grandfathered-from-preemption jurisdiction, I don't recall). So it might help if you mention where you're talking about.

As for loaded: it can't be loaded if there's any way that you could be confused with being out hunting. Definitely naughty in MD.

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knastera said:

Are your taking it from the vehicle with you when you leave it? If not, you are breaking the law. Unattended firearms, no matter how well secured, may not be left in an unattended vehicle in the People's Republic of Marylandistan.

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RobbieDigital said:

So I’m still unclear on the answer. I guess to answer a few questions I would primarily be in Anne Arundel county. I would be leaving it unattended in my vehicle also. No way I’m taking it in and out every time. I don’t remember what type of firearm the shockwave is considered, I think it had a seven day wait if I recall.

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rbird7282 said:

False. There is nothing prohibiting someone from keeping an unloaded unregulated long gun in their vehicle.


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RobbieDigital said:

So I’m still unclear on the answer. I guess to answer a few questions I would primarily be in Anne Arundel county. I would be leaving it unattended in my vehicle also. No way I’m taking it in and out every time. I don’t remember what type of firearm the shockwave is considered, I think it had a seven day wait if I recall.

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knastera said:

True. The firearm the OP asked about is a handgun, not a long gun, so your statement is invalid. In Maryland, according to Maryland Annotated Code, Criminal Law, Title 4, Section 203, you are only allowed to transport an unloaded handgun to and from an authorized location such as a shooting range, a gun store, hunting, and formal / informal target practice. The moment that your get out of that vehicle on public land and leave the gun in the vehicle, you are no longer transporting it to the authorized location, and thus, you are breaking the law.

Regarding long guns, since the police are there for protecting the public and not being experts in the law, if you have an unloaded AR in your trunk that is properly secured and an officer sees it while you are not on your way to an authorized activity or interstate transport, expect to go to jail. Risk it if you want. I'm not going to.

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§ 4-203.
(a) (1) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this section, a person may not:

(i) wear, carry, or transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, on or about the person;

(ii) wear, carry, or knowingly transport a handgun, whether concealed or open, in a vehicle traveling on a road or parking lot generally used by the public, highway, waterway, or airway of the State;

(iii) violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph while on public school property in the State; or

(iv) violate item (i) or (ii) of this paragraph with the deliberate purpose of injuring or killing another person.

(2) There is a rebuttable presumption that a person who transports a handgun under paragraph (1)(ii) of this subsection transports the handgun knowingly.

(b) This section does not prohibit:

(1) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person who is on active assignment engaged in law enforcement, is authorized at the time and under the circumstances to wear, carry, or transport the handgun as part of the person's official equipment, and is:

(i) a law enforcement official of the United States, the State, or a county or city of the State;

(ii) a member of the armed forces of the United States or of the National Guard on duty or traveling to or from duty;

(iii) a law enforcement official of another state or subdivision of another state temporarily in this State on official business;

(iv) a correctional officer or warden of a correctional facility in the State;

(v) a sheriff or full-time assistant or deputy sheriff of the State; or

(vi) a temporary or part-time sheriff's deputy;

(2) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a person to whom a permit to wear, carry, or transport the handgun has been issued under Title 5, Subtitle 3 of the Public Safety Article;

(3) 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;

(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 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;

(5) 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;

(6) 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;

(7) the wearing, carrying, or transporting of a handgun by a supervisory employee:

(i) in the course of employment;

(ii) 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; or

(8) the carrying or transporting of a signal pistol or other visual distress signal approved by the United States Coast Guard in a vessel on the waterways of the State or, if the signal pistol or other visual distress signal is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case, in a vehicle.

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Doobie said:

This state is such a big, steaming, pile of . So if someone has a valid carry permit and goes somewhere like a court house etc where firearms are prohibited, I guess the firearm has to be left at home instead of in the vehicle? Is that correct?

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Stoveman said:

IANAL but I can read, show me in 4-203 again where it is illegal for a permit holder to keep a loaded handgun in their vehicle.

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Stoveman said:

Read 4-203 again.

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Doobie said:

This state is such a big, steaming, pile of . So if someone has a valid carry permit and goes somewhere like a court house etc where firearms are prohibited, I guess the firearm has to be left at home instead of in the vehicle? Is that correct?

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knastera said:

I didn't say it wasn't legal for a permit holder to have a loaded handgun in the vehicle while the owner of the gun is in the vehicle. That's the whole idea behind a permit, that you can have a loaded firearm with you. When you leave the firearm in the vehicle while you are not in it, you are neither wearing nor carrying it, you are transporting it, and you are subject to the same laws for legal transport as everyone else.

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Stoveman said:

According to statute your permit allows you to wear, carry and transport, I can't make it any simpler than that.

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