When did Maryland first start requiring registration

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  • JettaRed

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 13, 2013
    1,138
    Middletown
    When did Maryland first start requiring registration of regulated firearms, such as the AR?

    Thanks!
     

    sxs

    Senior Member
    MDS Supporter
    Nov 20, 2009
    3,377
    Anne Arundel County, MD
    Maryland didn't start requiring FTF purchasers of handguns to go through a background check until 1996. You only underwent a MDSP background check for buying a handgun from a dealer up until that time (or it you transferred via a dealer).
     

    The sphinx

    Ultimate Member
    Jun 27, 2013
    1,458
    Delaware
    Funny to me that the "registration requirement" from fsa13 was "removed from the bill. I gee thanks a victory for us! Oh wait they are registered anyway
     

    TheBert

    The Member
    MDS Supporter
    Aug 10, 2013
    7,687
    Gaithersburg, Maryland
    Any regulated firearm you purchased in Maryland is in the firearms registration database. Yes the firearms registration database. I has occasion to be contacted by local PoPo about an issue and they queried me about my registered firearms. They even itemized them in our conversation.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Only MD would pass a law requiring a background check on handguns purchased from a dealer, back when you could still order them through the mail. :sad20:
     

    Rack&Roll

    R.I.P
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 23, 2013
    22,304
    Bunkerville, MD
    Was voluntary until 1996.

    Seriously, what if I said thanks, but no thanks? It says Voluntary in big letters across the top. Volunteer has two answers, a yes and a no. It's not like it's a foreign word that is easy to misunderstand. It's BS, I tell ya, BS….is it 5 o'clock yet?
     
    Requiring?!! Doesn't the form say "Voluntary Registration" on the top???:sarcasm:

    Seriously, what if I said thanks, but no thanks? It says Voluntary in big letters across the top. Volunteer has two answers, a yes and a no. It's not like it's a foreign word that is easy to misunderstand. It's BS, I tell ya, BS….is it 5 o'clock yet?

    That "voluntary s**t really p***es me off,not that they know but the fact they say a 77R is not registration.

    I called MSP (not sure who I spoke with) when doing the app for HQL and asked "How do I prove prior ownership if I never "voluntarily" registered anything?".

    "I'ts in our records/database if you've ever purchased a regulated firearm in Md."

    :mad54::mad54::mad54::mad54::mad54:
     

    ericoak

    don't drop Aboma on me
    Feb 20, 2010
    6,806
    Howard County
    There was no mandatory registration pre SB 281. However when you transferred a regulated firearm MSP went ahead and registered it. But you could build your own guns pre 281 and not have to register them. You also didn't have to register after moving here.
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    You can still build your own firearms and not register them.

    And prior to Oct 1996, you could do face to face transfers of regulated firearms without any paperwork.
     

    ericoak

    don't drop Aboma on me
    Feb 20, 2010
    6,806
    Howard County
    You can still build your own firearms and not register them.

    And prior to Oct 1996, you could do face to face transfers of regulated firearms without any paperwork.

    You sure about that, I know they make you register handguns when you move here now, maybe they forgot to include registering in state home built handguns in 281?
     

    Pinecone

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Feb 4, 2013
    28,175
    Yeap, registering firearms for residents was pulled in its entirety. :)
     

    ericoak

    don't drop Aboma on me
    Feb 20, 2010
    6,806
    Howard County
    Yeap, registering firearms for residents was pulled in its entirety. :)

    Might not have been clear, I know registration of pre 10/1/13 firearms wasn't required but what about building a new pistol post 281?

    Do you need a HQL to build your own handgun?
     

    Threeband

    The M1 Does My Talking
    MDS Supporter
    Dec 30, 2006
    25,234
    Carroll County
    Requiring?!! Doesn't the form say "Voluntary Registration" on the top???:sarcasm:

    That "voluntary s**t really p***es me off,not that they know but the fact they say a 77R is not registration.

    ...

    It is still "voluntary."

    However, you can't submit the 77R without volunteering to register your firearm.

    The Form77r serves two purposes.

    1) It is the handgun purchase or transfer form, which starts the background check process. The record of the transfer is maintained in the State's "Database of Transfers." This is what people call "registration".

    http://www.mdshooters.com/showthread.php?t=15643

    http://www.mdshooters.com/showpost.php?p=3044966&postcount=29

    Maryland still does not require all handguns to be registered, as some other states do. I believe it is not possible to legally possess an unregistered handgun in New York or Illinois, for instance. However, in Maryland, many people legally own handguns which are not in the Database of Transfers, because they were never transferred in Maryland. They may have been in the family for years, or been purchased before the owner moved to Maryland, or been purchased face-to-face before 1996, or been purchased out of state by an 03 Federal Firearms Licensee.

    Such "unregistered" guns would be illegal in some other states, but are not illegal in Maryland, because Maryland mainly keeps a record of transfers, not possession. Of course, as the years go by, Maryland has been closing the gaps, and thus capturing the great majority of legally owned handguns in the database. The biggest change came last year, with the requirement that new residents register the handguns they bring with them from their former states of residence. But there is still no requirement that other people owning guns which are not in the Database of Transfers should register them.

    That brings us to the second purpose of the Form77r. Remember I said it is a dual purpose form. The first purpose is to facilitate a transfer of ownership. The second purpose is

    2) To Voluntarily Register a handgun which someone already owns, but which had never been entered into the Database before. This is an entirely separate purpose, and yes, it is voluntary.

    Why would someone voluntarily register a perfectly legal gun they already own? I used to wonder that. Are they nuts? Stupid? Excessively sheep-like?

    But I can see where someone might want to clarify their legal ownership of a gun. Suppose you have a Maryland Carry Permit, and you regularly carry the Glock 26 you bought when you lived in Ohio. Or you carry your Dad's old Detective Special. Perhaps you hunt wabbits with a handgun you bought from a newspaper ad back in 1993. You might want those guns in the Database, just to make your lawful possession absolutely beyond question, in case you and your gun should come under scrutiny.

    The point is, some registrations really are voluntary! The 77r serves two purposes: the second purpose is to enter guns into the Database which are not required to be registered. That really is a Voluntary Registration.
     

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