Court Says Lending Weapon Not Covered By Gun Law
Thursday, July 27, 2006
WBAL Radio and The Associated Press
Read the decision on lending guns from the Maryland Court of Appeals.
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Marylanders can lend a gun to a friend without going through the seven-day waiting period and background check required by state law before guns can be transferred or sold to a new owner, the Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The state's highest court, in a 4-3 decision, said lending a gun to another person does not constitute "transfer" of a weapon and therefore is not covered by the gun control law dealing with the waiting period and police background checks of potential buyers.
The ruling came in an appeal filed by Todd Lin Chow, a District of Columbia police officer, who had lent a 9 mm, semiautomatic handgun to a friend. The friend's guns had been confiscated by police because he had a Glock pistol in his car but did not have a permit to carry it. Chow was convicted Dec. 1, 2003 of illegally transferring a regulated firearm and was fined $200.
The Court of Special Appeals had upheld the conviction, but the majority of the state's highest court disagreed and overturned the conviction.
"We find that the temporary gratuitous exchange or loan of a regulated handgun between two adult individuals, who are otherwise permitted to own and obtain a regulated handgun, does not constitute an illegal 'transfer' of a firearm" in violation of state law, the majority opinion said.
The word "transfer" in the law "can only refer to a permanent exchange of title or possession and does not include gratuitous temporary exchanges or loans," the ruling by Judge Dale Cathell said.
The minority ruling by Judge Alan Wilner said loan of a weapon should constitute transfer when "possession and control of the firearm is relinquished for anything more than a momentary period."
Wilner noted that the 1996 law was intended to close a loophole that allowed private gun sales to escape the seven-day waiting period and background check required when weapons are sold by licensed dealers.
By its ruling, the majority of the court seemed to say that dealers and non-dealers could evade the waiting period by transferring possession of a weapon "through the fiction of a loan," Wilner wrote.
"If so, the court will have absolutely eviscerated the law, at least with respect to the secondary transfers ... ," the minority opinion said.
Thursday, July 27, 2006
WBAL Radio and The Associated Press
Read the decision on lending guns from the Maryland Court of Appeals.
> View Document
Marylanders can lend a gun to a friend without going through the seven-day waiting period and background check required by state law before guns can be transferred or sold to a new owner, the Court of Appeals ruled Thursday.
The state's highest court, in a 4-3 decision, said lending a gun to another person does not constitute "transfer" of a weapon and therefore is not covered by the gun control law dealing with the waiting period and police background checks of potential buyers.
The ruling came in an appeal filed by Todd Lin Chow, a District of Columbia police officer, who had lent a 9 mm, semiautomatic handgun to a friend. The friend's guns had been confiscated by police because he had a Glock pistol in his car but did not have a permit to carry it. Chow was convicted Dec. 1, 2003 of illegally transferring a regulated firearm and was fined $200.
The Court of Special Appeals had upheld the conviction, but the majority of the state's highest court disagreed and overturned the conviction.
"We find that the temporary gratuitous exchange or loan of a regulated handgun between two adult individuals, who are otherwise permitted to own and obtain a regulated handgun, does not constitute an illegal 'transfer' of a firearm" in violation of state law, the majority opinion said.
The word "transfer" in the law "can only refer to a permanent exchange of title or possession and does not include gratuitous temporary exchanges or loans," the ruling by Judge Dale Cathell said.
The minority ruling by Judge Alan Wilner said loan of a weapon should constitute transfer when "possession and control of the firearm is relinquished for anything more than a momentary period."
Wilner noted that the 1996 law was intended to close a loophole that allowed private gun sales to escape the seven-day waiting period and background check required when weapons are sold by licensed dealers.
By its ruling, the majority of the court seemed to say that dealers and non-dealers could evade the waiting period by transferring possession of a weapon "through the fiction of a loan," Wilner wrote.
"If so, the court will have absolutely eviscerated the law, at least with respect to the secondary transfers ... ," the minority opinion said.
