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OC of rifles in MD

brutus1776

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im a former maryland resident. i've expatt'ed to a freer state.
i've heard recently from a couple of different persons that OC of rifles is legal in maryland and always has been.
this flips everything i've ever known about md firearms law on its head.

im curious to see any documentation on this or whether any there are any express prohibitions on it.
curiosity has got the best of me.
 

Dreamer

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Essentially, the MD AG has said that carrying a loaded long gun in MD is legal, but they will probably arrest you, steal your property, and charge you with, at minimum, Disorderly Conduct even if you meet none of the requirements.

And you'll probably be shot if you so much as hint at your "rights", verbally.

Of course, the way any gun-related case is handled in MD is entirely dependent on the WWW factor...
 
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thebigsd

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Okay, I'll do it...

(14) LONG GUN CARRY IS OFF-TOPIC: This web site is focused on the right to openly carry properly holstered handguns in daily American life. We do NOT promote the carry of long guns. Long guns are great! OCDO co-founders John & Mike and most of the members of this forum own at least one long gun - but due to urban area issues of muzzle control, lack of trigger guard coverage, and the fact that the long gun carry issue distracts from our main mission to promote the open carry of handguns in daily life, we will leave long gun carry activism in the capable hands of the future founders of web sites about long gun carry.
 

swinokur

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Montgomery County, MD
Except you left out the bolded part.

  • (14) LONG GUN CARRY IS OFF-TOPIC: This web site is focused on the right to openly carry properly holstered handguns in daily American life. We do NOT promote the carry of long guns. Long guns are great! OCDO co-founders John & Mike and most of the members of this forum own at least one long gun - but due to urban area issues of muzzle control, lack of trigger guard coverage, and the fact that the long gun carry issue distracts from our main mission to promote the open carry of handguns in daily life, we will leave long gun carry activism in the capable hands of the future founders of web sites about long gun carry. Exception: This rule does NOT apply to discussions about long gun carry in jurisdictions such as California which ban handgun carry and thus require long gun carry as a matter of public policy.
Under current MD law, you cannot OC a handgun and for that matter, it is virtually impossible to get a Permit to carry a firearm. So the post is perfectly legit according to the forum rule
 

Dreamer

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Except you left out the bolded part.

[/B]
[*]
[/LIST]
Under current MD law, you cannot OC a handgun and for that matter, it is virtually impossible to get a Permit to carry a firearm. So the post is perfectly legit according to the forum rule


This is simply NOT true. There is no prohibition against OC in MD State statute. In fact, the state-issued carry permits are NOT "concealed carry" permits--they are "general carry" permits, and are required for ANY mode of carry or transport of a loaded handgun (much like the way they do things in Philladelphia PA). Nowhere in the general firearms statutes or the "Permit To Carry a Handgun" statutes of Maryland is there delineated any sort of prohibition on Open Carry. If you know of a State Statute prohibiting OC, please cite it, because I haven't been able to find it...

There are, however, MANY counties and municipalities that DO have codes that prohibit the "public display of a firearm" even if you DO have a MD-issued PCH, which in effect bans OC in most of the urban parts of the state.

All this said, there are few places where OC would be tolerated by LEOs in MD--even where it is not prohibited by local codes, and even if you WERE one of the fortunate few that had a MD PCH. In the "Four Urban Counties" you would most likely be tazed at the very least if you were seen OCing, and in some jurisdictions, OC is most likely a "shoot-on-sight" offense.

Oh, and BTW, EVERY single law that regulates carry in MD was put in place SPECIFICALLY in response to either the freeing of slaves at the end of the Civil War, or in response to the Race Riots of the early 1970s in Baltimore. So, essentially, almost ALL of MD's gun laws are racist, classist and elitist.

Jim Crow is alive and well in Annapolis and Pikesville...
 
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Sig229

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even if you WERE one of the fortunate few that had a MD PCH. In the "Four Urban Counties" you would most likely be tazed at the very least if you were seen OCing, and in some jurisdictions, OC is most likely a "shoot-on-sight" offense.

Well said!

I remember when I lived in Anne Arundel county, we had a burglary and noticed once me and my girlfriend got home.
I immediately called the police and went to the gun safe, unlocked it and took a loaded pistol out of it and did a quick "sweep" of my house to make sure nobody was still in there.

The 911 operator asked me what I was doing and when I told her that and she creamed over the phone "Dont do that! I want you to unload your handgun and lock it back up!" put that thing away!"
I told her that I would not because I was unsure if the burglar was still on my property, however when the police arrived I would then put the pistol in a safe location.

She must have told the police that and upon arrival they threw ME (the home owner) down on the ground yelling ignorant things at me, and searched me.
They would not allow me to get up off the wet ground and kept asking me where my gin was and why I had one.
After they searched me they didnt find it and wanted to search my gun safe but at this point I was so enraged I wouldn't give them the combination and they said "yeah, you must have something to hide dont you!?'

I told them I didnt and just wanted to clear my home and all my guns are legal and I am not a prohibited person.
They just left and called the Crime Scene van to come take prints for the home invader.

I tell you thins because, think about how they treated me, a legal gun owner in my own home.
I can only imagine what the Maryland Police would do to someone OC'ing a rifle or a pistol in Maryland. Eve\n oif it were legal.

The state of Maryland and the android police who occupy that hole can go to hell.
 
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brutus1776

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Well said!

I remember when I lived in Anne Arundel county, we had a burglary and noticed once me and my girlfriend got home.
I immediately called the police and went to the gun safe, unlocked it and took a loaded pistol out of it and did a quick "sweep" of my house to make sure nobody was still in there.

The 911 operator asked me what I was doing and when I told her that and she creamed over the phone "Dont do that! I want you to unload your handgun and lock it back up!" put that thing away!"
I told her that I would not because I was unsure if the burglar was still on my property, however when the police arrived I would then put the pistol in a safe location.

She must have told the police that and upon arrival they threw ME (the home owner) down on the ground yelling ignorant things at me, and searched me.
They would not allow me to get up off the wet ground and kept asking me where my gin was and why I had one.
After they searched me they didnt find it and wanted to search my gun safe but at this point I was so enraged I wouldn't give them the combination and they said "yeah, you must have something to hide dont you!?'

I told them I didnt and just wanted to clear my home and all my guns are legal and I am not a prohibited person.
They just left and called the Crime Scene van to come take prints for the home invader.

I tell you thins because, think about how they treated me, a legal gun owner in my own home.
I can only imagine what the Maryland Police would do to someone OC'ing a rifle or a pistol in Maryland. Eve\n oif it were legal.

The state of Maryland and the android police who occupy that hole can go to hell.


sounds about right. SOP for sure.
 

HankT

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Well said!

I remember when I lived in Anne Arundel county, we had a burglary and noticed once me and my girlfriend got home.
I immediately called the police and went to the gun safe, unlocked it and took a loaded pistol out of it and did a quick "sweep" of my house to make sure nobody was still in there.

The 911 operator asked me what I was doing and when I told her that and she creamed over the phone "Dont do that! I want you to unload your handgun and lock it back up!" put that thing away!"
I told her that I would not because I was unsure if the burglar was still on my property, however when the police arrived I would then put the pistol in a safe location.

She must have told the police that and upon arrival they threw ME (the home owner) down on the ground yelling ignorant things at me, and searched me.
They would not allow me to get up off the wet ground and kept asking me where my gin was and why I had one.
After they searched me they didnt find it and wanted to search my gun safe but at this point I was so enraged I wouldn't give them the combination and they said "yeah, you must have something to hide dont you!?'

I told them I didnt and just wanted to clear my home and all my guns are legal and I am not a prohibited person.
They just left and called the Crime Scene van to come take prints for the home invader.

I tell you thins because, think about how they treated me, a legal gun owner in my own home.
I can only imagine what the Maryland Police would do to someone OC'ing a rifle or a pistol in Maryland. Eve\n oif it were legal.

The state of Maryland and the android police who occupy that hole can go to hell.

SIG229, interesting story. Did you already know how wild commando the police were going to be BEFORE you pulled out the ole pistola and TOLD them about it?

If you did, your actions defy common sense. Why didn't you just wait until the po-po got to your house to have THEM clear it?

Did they eventually locate the handgun you pulled out of your safe?
 

Sig229

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SIG229, interesting story. Did you already know how wild commando the police were going to be BEFORE you pulled out the ole pistola and TOLD them about it?

No, I had no idea that the police were going to get all "commando" about it. The MD law says you can carry a handgun in your own home and property. The police must think differently.

And the reason I told dispatch that I was armed is because when the police arrive they dont mistake me for the possible intruder.

If you did, your actions defy common sense. Why didn't you just wait until the po-po got to your house to have THEM clear it?

See the above comment. Im not not sure how much you know about police calls and the lack of communication they have with dispatch, but when an officer gets a "call" from dispatch there are very very few details given about what they are responding to.

Did they eventually locate the handgun you pulled out of your safe?

No, They just asked if I had it on my person.
 

HankT

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No, I had no idea that the police were going to get all "commando" about it. The MD law says you can carry a handgun in your own home and property. The police must think differently.

And the reason I told dispatch that I was armed is because when the police arrive they dont mistake me for the possible intruder.



See the above comment. Im not not sure how much you know about police calls and the lack of communication they have with dispatch, but when an officer gets a "call" from dispatch there are very very few details given about what they are responding to.

Well, I empathize with you because of what they put you through. You're the law-abiding citizen and gun guy and all . . .

I've never heard good things about Maryland and legal guns/gun owners.

I still don't see from your answer why you didn't wait until the police could clear the house for you.

I bet it was a lonnnnnnngggggggg 30 seconds while you were risking your life (and the gf's?) as you were dialing the combo on the safe. Did you get it right the first time?

Kudos, if you did.
 

Sig229

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Dec 14, 2006
Messages
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Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
I bet it was a lonnnnnnngggggggg 30 seconds while you were risking your life (and the gf's?) as you were dialing the combo on the safe. Did you get it right the first time?

Kudos, if you did.

The safe I had at the time was a key and/or combo entry type. I used the key and it only took maybe two seconds tops to unlock and extract pistol.

And I wasnt going to wait around for the police to respond and clear my house. I did it myself. I have MOUT training and it came in handy for that purpose.

( MOUT = "Military Operations in Urban Terrain" )





.
 
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Dreamer

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Well, apparently, even MD AG Gansler agrees with me that OC of long guns is legal in MD, because he used that as an excuse to not uphold Judge Legg's decision in the Woollard case.

To quote from Gansler's recent brief:

Moreover, Maryland law allows the wearing and carrying of handguns without a permit in the home and many other locations, see ECF No. 26 at 6-7, 33-34, and further generally allows the open wearing and carrying of long guns in public, see ECF No. 26 at 7. Thus, staying the injunction pending appeal would neither interfere with a core constitutional right nor prevent citizens from keeping and bearing firearms for self-defense either inside or outside the home.

(From pp 2-3, Case 1:10-cv-02068-BEL Document 68 Filed 04/19/12)

http://ia600501.us.archive.org/1/items/gov.uscourts.mdd.180772/gov.uscourts.mdd.180772.docket.html


Either Gansler is

1) insane, or
2) he doesn't know about the fact that EVERY municipality in the 4 Urban Counties has municodes that ban the "public display of firearms", or
3) he has just committed perjury and submitted false information before a Federal Court--BOTH of which are felonies, and grounds for disbarment from the MD Bar.

I suggest that someone who is an attorney in MD take action against this perjurious felon, and move to have him extricated from office, and banished from the halls of jurisprudence...
 
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Dreamer

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Not under State Statute. I said that municipalities and counties have banned "public display of firearms" in violation of MD's toothless State Preemption Statute, and that Annapolis has given them a pass to do so.

Gansler says OC of long guns is legal.

MD State Statue says it is legal.

Local municodes in many urban areas say otherwise (many, in violation of MD's Preemption Statute)

But we all know that Gansler's Word is law--EVEN when his opinion is directly in contradiction to MD State law or local codes (re: traffic cameras, etc), so if Gansler says--in a brief to the Federal Courts--that OC of long guns is legal in most places in MD (he only outlines the prohibited places as schools, protests, and certain government buildings), then what can we do but take him at his word?
 

Dreamer

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Grennsboro NC


Ya know, after examining Annapolis's Municodes, it appears that there is NO prohibition on OC of long guns in THAT city.

http://library.municode.com/index.aspx?clientId=16754

Tell ya what, I'll bring the camera, and you bring the long gun, and we'll do a little photo shoot on East Street next weekend to celebrate Mr. Gansler's proclamation...
 
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