Carrying a taser gun in Montgomery County,Maryland.

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I want to buy a taser gun like Montgomery Co. Police carry. Is it legal?

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I would check with your County's State's Attorney and ask for solid documentation one way or the other (although he will probably tell you MoCo is safe and you do not need any means of defense)
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/saotmpl.asp?url=/content/sao/index.asp
State's Attorney's Office 240-777-7300 or e-mail states.attorney@montgomerycountymd.gov

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, just a schmuck with Google. I haven't found anything conclusive in the State code as of yet, and State Code § 4-101. Dangerous weapons does not seem to address tasers specifically.It does seems there are at least a fewCounties that prohibit tasers:

Anne Arundel County
§ 9-1-603. Electronic weapons – prohibited acts.
(a) Definition. In this section, "electronic weapon" means a "stun gun" or any similar device by whatever name that is designed as a weapon capable of injuring an individual by the discharge of electrical current.
(b) Scope. This section does not apply to a law enforcement officer acting within the scope of the officer's official duties.
(c) Prohibitions. A person may not sell, give away, lend, rent, or transfer an electronic weapon in the County. A person may not possess or discharge an electronic weapon in the County.

Howard County
Sec. 8.404. Sale or possession of electronic weapons prohibited.
(a)Prohibitions. It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to sell, give away, lend, rent or transfer to any individual, firm or corporation an electronic weapon within the limits of Howard County. It further shall be unlawful for any person to possess, fire, discharge or activate any electronic weapon within the limits of Howard County.
(b)Exceptions. Subsection (a) of this section shall not apply to:
(1)A public safety officer acting within the scope of the officer's official duties; or
(2)The sale, rental, or transfer of an electronic weapon to a department, office, or agency of Howard County.
(C.B. 38, 1985; C.B. 7, 2007, § 1)

Baltimore County
§ 17-2-104. STUN GUNS.
(a) Definitions.
(1)In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) (i) “Stun gun” means any portable, electronic shock transmitting device that is designed and intended to incapacitate an individual's neuromuscular system by the discharge of nonprojectible electric current.
(ii)“Stun gun” does not include bona fide medical equipment.
(3)“Law enforcement personnel” means a full-time member of a police force or other agency of the United States, a state, county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of laws.
(b)Prohibition.
(1)Except for law enforcement personnel while in the performance of official duties, a person may not use, possess, or discharge a stun gun.
(2)A person may not sell, offer to sell, rent, offer to rent, transfer, or offer to transfer a stun gun to a person unless the person is law enforcement personnel.
(c)Penalty. A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $1,000 or imprisonment not exceeding 6 months or both.
(1988 Code, § 20-44) (Bill No. 114-99, § 3, 7-1-2004)

Article describing a proposed State-wide ban:
http://www.examiner.com/a-1192061~Maryland_ban_sought_on_personal_use_Tasers__lack_of_training_cited.html

Sorry the search was not more thorough...I get nauseous reading through Maryland "self-defense-friendly" laws :banghead:. Good luck and be safe out there!

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I could be wrong, but I think that Montgomery County allows private citizens to own and carry Taser guns as long as it is worn unconcealed. I just couldn't imagine walking down the street or going to the mall wearing one on my side. Shouldn't they incourage people to conceal them?

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By the way, thanks for your input...

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I'm still trying to find something concrete one way or the other for Montgomery County. I've been searching both state and local code in Maryland for years and one thing I've discovered is how obscure some of it can be...then add in case law, the perceptions and opinions of States Attorneys, temperment of judges, attitudes of potential juries, etc...

For an answer to your specific question, I would go straight to the horse's mouth and seek a documented opinion. AND, if you find that you can legally carry a taser in that county, also find out when you are legally permitted to utilize a taser in defense of yourself or others. I've heard (but have yet to find documentation) that Maryland is a "duty to retreat" state.

My humble opinion on whether officials prefer concealed over open carry, I would say they prefer neither. It does not seem that most Marylandofficials trust the residents of this state with the means of self-defense. Heck, in states where the open carry of firearms is completely legal, you still see so many instances where officials "don't like" the idea...even though it's perfectly legal.

I'm actually researching Maryland code and case law right now for self-defense topics. Lots of reading...but no solid conclusion yet. Is there truly a requirement to retreat in Maryland? When can you stand your ground? Can you defend someone else's life if your life is not in danger? These should all have simple answers...at least I would think that a reasonable person should believe so. Some requirements that I've found in quite a few cases for what is termed "perfect self-defense" is below:

The requirements for perfect self-defense are:
(1) The accused must have had reasonable grounds to believe himself in apparent
imminent or immediate danger of death or serious bodily harm from his assailant or
potential assailant;
(2) The accused must have in fact believed himself in this danger;
(3) The accused claiming the right of selfdefense must not have been the aggressor or provoked the conflict; and
(4) The force used must have not been unreasonable and excessive, that is, the
force must not have been more force than the exigency demanded.

You must look not only whether carrying something for self-defense is legal or not, you must also know when it is legal to employ it in self-defense. It shouldn't be that complicated, especially in Maryland, where the criminals already have the upper hand on law-abiding folks that actually give a damn about the laws. Laws only restrict the law-abiding.

I apologize for the long, drawn out reponses, this is just something that I take very personally. One day soon, I won't have this "hobby" as I will once again be a resident of Virginia!

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I own two Tasers. One is a police style (identical) taser (looks like a gun) that I keep in my car.

One is a small taser my wife has that acts much like the police style taser (shoots out the darts).

Before I purchased I called numerous MSP Barracks and no one could give me a solid answer. One cop said...

"If I saw that gun style taser I would probably draw on you". But said it in a nice kind of way. More like I wouldn't know why you had a gun (since that's what it looks like, except for the yellow markings on the side).

But said there was no law specifically covering tasers. He said it would depend on how the cop handled it.

I can live with that. Since I can't CC a gun at least I could tazer a bad guy and then river dance on his azz.

I've always wondered if it could be considered carrying a concealed weapon though. It's such a grey area. I felt if it went to court I'd hope they would see my background is spotless, I'm a productive citizen and didn't use my tazer in a lawless manner.

I did notice that Howard County (go figure the county I live in), Baltimore, and DC specifically had laws against them during my research but couldn't find a state law.

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I'm not sure about the taser, but I think you can carry a marshmellow shooter. Just don't shoot anyone with it or they'll charge you with assault.

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I think E6Tango posted some good info. I think TASER, who make their living from the product, would have a good grasp on where it is legal or not and this is what they have.

http://www.taser.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/Controlled%20Documents/Legal/7-2007%20State%20Statute%20Summary.pdf

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derrickonline wrote:

I felt if it went to court I'd hope they would see my background is spotless, I'm a productive citizen and didn't use my tazer in a lawless manner.

Click to expand...

Don't even think about it...

I was arrested/charged with carrying a concealed weapon, when the police ran me off the road trying to get a domestic call, then pulled me over saying I was driving erratically.. It was a one lane road, and BOTH of us were in crown victorias.... I can tell you one lane road and two huge cars aren't a good thing.. The cruiser was coming at me a good 40 MPH in a 25 zone. I had to hop a curb in order to not get hit.... I had a .22 rifle in the trunk, a samurai sword, and a blank firing starter pistol (orange plug, slugged barrell,etc) locked in it's case, locked in the glove box... They asked if I had any weapons, I answered I did (rifle, sword,starter,etc).......pulled me out, then arrested me...... Irony is that they didn't get to the domestic until AFTER they wasted an hour arresting me and tearing apart my car and all the boxes therein ( I was moving, hence why the stuff was in my car). I KNEW a judge, and asked the commissioner to contact him, since he could be a character reference as to be ROR, but I just got yelled at because he thought I was trying to tell him how to do his job, and of course, a bail amount was set.



Luckily, the charges were tossed, as they were complete BS, but I have ZERO faith in montgomery county. Ironically enough, the same county I volunteered in....

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Why am I thinking Syphon Filter. LOL

What a great game. Except in real life, I don't believe holding down the button will set someone on fire. LOL