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A Maryland cautionary tale - - -
A young friend of mine works on a farm, and since we have a lot of trouble with varmints and vermin in the area, he keeps a couple old guns handy to dispatch them when he can. They are nothing fancy, an old hammer shotgun, and a couple single action pistols.
He drives an old three seat van and carries these tools of his trade back and forth to work, unloaded of course, and the shotgun broken down. One pistol is kept in a flap covered holster, and the other he normally keeps in a rolled up oily rag to keep it from rusting. He has been doing this for over a year on a daily basis with no problems and no concerns.
And then he got stopped for rolling through a stop sign. Officer asked him (routinely?),”Do you have any firearms in the vehicle?” He of course replied that he did. At which point he was told get out of the car and put your hands behind your back.
The officer started to look in the back of the van and my young friend reminded him that he had not given him permission to search, as his Father had instructed him. Cop told him “Shut up and don’t give me any of that legal business”.
When the cop found the guns, he cuffed him and had him hauled off to jail on firearms violations. Pop goes down and bails him out.
Now we go to court - - - of course the Officer does not show up, but the Prosecuting Attorney is adamant about punishing the kid, so he delays the trial to the afternoon.
Kid has his employer, to testify that he used the guns in his daily work, and to be a character reference. Kid has a spotless record, not even a traffic ticket.
Afternoon session, Officer is a no show again, probably because of the illegal search and seizure question, but the DA still wants to hang the youngster.
Judge is growing impatient; he and the lawyers huddle up and come up with this deal. Youngster pleads guilty to disorderly conduct and forfeits the pistols (his Fathers!), the shotgun to be returned.
The young man did break the law by improperly transporting an unloaded gun according to the letter of the law, but they were not loaded, accessible by the driver or even first row of passengers.
I think it sucks, the cop could have cut him a break, and chewed his ass, and even checked him on another day.
I guess the lesson is that in Maryland, in respect to firearms, you had best follow the letter of the law.
A Maryland cautionary tale - - -
A young friend of mine works on a farm, and since we have a lot of trouble with varmints and vermin in the area, he keeps a couple old guns handy to dispatch them when he can. They are nothing fancy, an old hammer shotgun, and a couple single action pistols.
He drives an old three seat van and carries these tools of his trade back and forth to work, unloaded of course, and the shotgun broken down. One pistol is kept in a flap covered holster, and the other he normally keeps in a rolled up oily rag to keep it from rusting. He has been doing this for over a year on a daily basis with no problems and no concerns.
And then he got stopped for rolling through a stop sign. Officer asked him (routinely?),”Do you have any firearms in the vehicle?” He of course replied that he did. At which point he was told get out of the car and put your hands behind your back.
The officer started to look in the back of the van and my young friend reminded him that he had not given him permission to search, as his Father had instructed him. Cop told him “Shut up and don’t give me any of that legal business”.
When the cop found the guns, he cuffed him and had him hauled off to jail on firearms violations. Pop goes down and bails him out.
Now we go to court - - - of course the Officer does not show up, but the Prosecuting Attorney is adamant about punishing the kid, so he delays the trial to the afternoon.
Kid has his employer, to testify that he used the guns in his daily work, and to be a character reference. Kid has a spotless record, not even a traffic ticket.
Afternoon session, Officer is a no show again, probably because of the illegal search and seizure question, but the DA still wants to hang the youngster.
Judge is growing impatient; he and the lawyers huddle up and come up with this deal. Youngster pleads guilty to disorderly conduct and forfeits the pistols (his Fathers!), the shotgun to be returned.
The young man did break the law by improperly transporting an unloaded gun according to the letter of the law, but they were not loaded, accessible by the driver or even first row of passengers.
I think it sucks, the cop could have cut him a break, and chewed his ass, and even checked him on another day.
I guess the lesson is that in Maryland, in respect to firearms, you had best follow the letter of the law.