Maryland Gun Laws
Maryland gun laws are very strict. These gun laws are not necessarily the same as gun laws in other states. If a person is moving states and owns a gun, they should consult an attorney. They can explain to the person whether or not they can even possess a gun, whether or not they are prohibited from possessing a gun, and what the process is in order to be able to legally possess a gun. This happens pretty frequently, too, in situations in which someone inherits a firearm.
If you have questions about Maryland gun laws, it is critical that you speak with a local firearm attorney. They can answer any questions you may have about using and possessing a firearm. It’s also really important for people to consult with an attorney if they have any type of prior record whatsoever because Maryland law is pretty strict regarding what could make a person prohibited from being able to carry– or possess a gun.
Important Laws to Know
One of the most important things that a person should understand is that gun laws in Maryland are not necessarily the same as the gun laws in Virginia, Delaware, or North Carolina. Each state has the ability to create its own laws about guns. It has been the trend in some other states to make it easier to wear and carry a firearm, but Maryland still has strict laws about guns regarding who can own them, how they can be transported, and what purpose they can be used for. All of that is very highly regulated in the State of Maryland and a person should also know that gun laws are very strictly enforced in Maryland.
Some of these gun laws are actually misdemeanors and would be typically handled in District Court, which is the smaller of the trial courts in Maryland. If someone is charged with a gun crime, what they can expect is that the prosecutor will actually file for those charges to be moved up to Circuit Court. Circuit Court is the larger and, for lack of a better word, more serious court in which felonies are heard and the judges that sit in Circuit Court are typically used to listening to very serious crimes and giving pretty serious sentences, so it is a strategy of the prosecutor’s office to move a gun case into a court in which it is going to be handled differently by a judge.
Moving to Maryland with a Gun
The person needs to be aware that just because they could own that gun in the state in which they resided, it does not necessarily mean that an individual is going to be able to own that gun in the State of Maryland. Maryland has its own set of laws and they do not necessarily look like the laws of the state from which the person is moving, so the person needs to educate themselves about Maryland gun laws before bringing their gun here and moving here with their firearm.
Depending on somebody’s prior record, they may be, under Maryland law, a prohibited person, which means the individual is not allowed to possess or own a firearm. If someone were moving from another state, and regardless of their record was allowed to own a gun in that state, they need to make sure that the person is not a prohibited person under Maryland law. If someone is a prohibited person, they will face a whole separate set of charges for possessing a handgun while being a prohibited person.
Common Misconceptions
The biggest misconception that people have is not understanding that the laws in one state do not apply to Maryland gun laws. Often times, it is unfortunate because people who have been convicted of illegal possession of a gun in Maryland can legally possess it where they live and their state has much more relaxed laws regarding how to transport a handgun. Then they bring it into Maryland where the law is much stricter about that. So it is important that people educate themselves specifically about the gun laws in Maryland.
