Taken from the Washington Times of February 13, 2001
Annapolis -- The state's concealed weapons law allows Marylanders to hide loaded firearms in their homes, the Court of Appeals ruled yesterday.
The state's highest court reversed a finding that a 14-year-old boy had violated a concealed weapons law by hiding a loaded shotgun under his mattress.
"This is absurd," the court said.
"We hold that, generally, a person in possession of a legal, dangerous and deadly weapon may conceal or store it so long as they are on property which they own, are a legal resident of or are present on as an invited guest if the owner has knowledge of the possession of the weapon," the opinion said.
Jim Purtillo, a gun-rights activist and publisher of Tripwire, a newsletter for gun owners, praised the court for the decision "based on common sense and law".
"That is certainly very refreshing," he said.
"Certainly, the Baltimore city police and prosecuters did not distinguish themselves in how they proceeded," Mr. Purtillo said.
The case involved a boy, whose name was not disclosed because he is a juvenile, whose mother called police after she found a loaded shotgun under his mattress. One of the four counts lodged against him was violation of the state law prohibiting carrying a concealed weapon.
The state's second-highest court, the Court of Special Appeals, ruled there was sufficient proof to infer that the weapon was hidden in such a way that it was available to the boy for immediate use. Previous appeals court rulings that someone can be convicted for carrying a dangerous weapon if it can be obtained immediately for illegal use.
But the Court of Appeals, overturning the lower-court ruling, said there was no evidence that the boy "had the general intent of doing anything other than placing the weapon in its hiding place in the bedroom of his home, presumably a place of safety for him."
The high court said it would "turn the statute on its ear" to rule that mearly hiding a weapon in a private home violates the prohibition against carrying a concealed weapon.
"How could a person place knives in a kitchen drawer without concealing them and violating this statute upon closing the drawer? How could a responsible hunter place shotguns in a cabinet without concealing them and violating this statute?" the opinion asked.
The court said such an interpretation of the law would violate another state law requiring guns be kept out of the reach of small children.
"Under the state's theory, a resident or owner of premises would have to keep his knives, his handguns, his rifles, his shotguns, and every other type of weapon, or potential weapon, in the open, i.e. standing in the corner, on the coffee table, on the counter, on top of the bed, in the center of the floor," the opinion said.