Transporting a gun thru DC and Maryland

C

Corona

New member
So I've done a search on the interwebs, and I can't seem to find a definitive answer to this.

Here's my question. I'm in Texas. I have an old High Standard 22 revolver I'd like to gift to my brother in Maryland. Shipping it is not out of the question, but likely to cost as much as the gun is worth.

So I have business in DC coming up and I know I can carry it in a locked container in my luggage. And so here's where it gets interesting.

I will land in Virginia at Reagan National. No big deal there I think. But I will hop the Metro to ride through DC. Gun still locked away in my luggage. No ammunition.

Will eventually clear to Maryland suburbs. Gun still locked away. Hopefully get one of my brothers to pick me up at Metro station.

Does anybody understand the laws/rules of DC and Maryland re the transport of such a gun?

I'm pretty confused. Should I forget the whole thing? Prepare to crowd source my bail? Or bit the bullet and ship FFL to FFL?
 
Should I forget the whole thing?
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The rules in Washington, D.C. are incredibly unclear and vague to the point that the NRA states:

"Use extreme caution when traveling through Washington, DC with a firearm."

From what I understand, the handgun must be unloaded and stored in a locked container. You can only legally transport the gun if you are traveling to/participating in a "lawful recreational firearm-related activity".

If I'm interpreting this correctly, you need to be traveling to a shooting range for this to be legal. If you are stopped, you need to prove to a law enforcement officer that you are on your way to a shooting range.

One article I located online indicates that there are no shooting ranges on the Metro or bus lines. The author suggests that this could open you up to some legal issues if stopped.

After reading the various laws and people's interpretation, I'd ship it to a FFL.

Is private shipper to FFL not an option here?

It's not worth the potential headache IMHO.
 
Unlike questions about automobile travel through anti-gun states or cities, this question involves actually carrying the gun in your hand bag, which would be considered "on or about the person" and would be illegal in both D.C. and MD without a license (and in many other states as well, not all as anti-gun).

My advice is don't do it.. Have your brother contact a local dealer in MD, and have that dealer send an FFL copy to your dealer in Texas, who will ship the gun to the MD dealer, where your brother can pick it up. (If the gun is not a C&R, he will have to have, or obtain, a MD Handgun Qualification License.)

Believe me, the cost of shipping will be a lot less than the cost of making bail, even if eventually no charges are brought. And I don't need to say that going to prison is not something you want to do to save a few dollars.

Edited to note that a shipping dealer is not necessary, but your brother should make sure the MD dealer has no problem accepting a shipment from an individual before you ship it yourself. Either way, make sure the shipper (you or your dealer) has the MD dealer's FFL before shipping.

Jim
 
Here's a thought. What if the brother has his license and picks you up at the airport? Does that change the options at all? Still have to drive through DC at some point so maybe not.
 
Thanks. Precisely the way I read the rules and articles .... Clear as mud. I suspected as much. Not sure he has a MD permit, probably not, so that further complicates a FFL transfer.

I was hoping to make this a surprise. Maybe I'll send him a picture and tell him he needs to drive to Texas to get it.

Thanks guys for your thoughts.
 
I simply would not do it. If the gun is not worth the price of shipping, then it is not worth the risk of a criminal offense. You certainly do not want to risk never being able to buy or own a firearm in your future. Just my gut reaction.
 
The gun may not be worth much, but the downside if you are caught is huge. My FFL only charges $10 to ship a gun and can ship by USPS, so it's really quite inexpensive.
 
Space coast has good advice as do others. I travel with work and have moved several times across state lines. Even the moving companies have stopped moving guns for the vagueness and irregular stupidities of our gun laws. Doesn't it make you feel more secure that you are having so much trouble and angst just trying to give your brother a family heirloom???
 
PS - Also be aware that if you have a flight connection through New York city the Transportation Authority there seizes properly shipped and labeled checked guns. They do this because the passenger that is only passing through their fine city has to prove that the city in the state of departure and the city in the destination state do not have any laws forbidding the gun or possession of.
 
Transfer in MD MUST be done via someone with an FFL if from out of state. Handgun must be on the written approved list. If you do not have an MD HQL you're in violation. It doesn't matter where you're from just being here in MD is enough. There have been a few incidents.
 
Corona said:
Thanks. Precisely the way I read the rules and articles .... Clear as mud. I suspected as much. Not sure he has a MD permit, probably not, so that further complicates a FFL transfer.

I was hoping to make this a surprise. Maybe I'll send him a picture and tell him he needs to drive to Texas to get it.
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Forget the surprise. You and your brother are residents of different states. The transfer MUST go through an FFL in Maryland. If you skip this step, you become a felon. If your brother accepts the gift, he becomes a felon. Not worth it.

Have an FFL in Texas ship it to an FFL in Maryland.
 
As the receiver is a Maryland resident, I believe the transfer must be done in Maryland.
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Correct MSP has to verify the HQL & are the only point of contact for the NICS check. They also need to verify the firearm is on the "approved" list for make & model listed in CoMar.

The donor would need to go to an MSP barracks & admit to a LEO that he was illegally transferring a firearm of the "regulated type" without a MD HQL. Probably not a real smart move.
 
Aguila Blanca and mehavey hit the nail on the head: You can't give the gun to him in a private transfer no matter where the transfer takes place, and you can't do a transfer through an FFL anywhere but in his state of residence. That's federal law, not state law; make sure you also include considerations for Maryland law.

Per federal law, if you want to gift, sell, or otherwise transfer a firearm to a resident of another state, that transfer MUST be done through an FFL. If it's a long gun, that transfer can happen at an FFL in either the transferee's or the transfer's home state (provided that long gun is legal in both states). If it's a handgun, the transfer MUST occur at an FFL located in the transferee's home state.

So the only way for you to avoid a federal felony is for the transfer to occur at an FFL in the state of Maryland. You can either take it there physically (be careful, Maryland has some wacky laws), you can ship it FFL-to-FFL, or you can ship it directly to the FFL yourself (check with the FFL first; many FFLs don't accept gun shipments from private individuals).

It seems like a lot of people aren't aware of this requirement of federal law, because I can't tell you how many times I've heard of things like a father visiting from out-of-state and giving his son his childhood .22 rifle. But a face-to-face transfer like that is breaking federal law because it's occurring between two residents of different states.
 
Corona said:
So I've done a search on the interwebs, and I can't seem to find a definitive answer to this.

Here's my question. I'm in Texas. I have an old High Standard 22 revolver I'd like to gift to my brother in Maryland. Shipping it is not out of the question, but likely to cost as much as the gun is worth.

So I have business in DC coming up and I know I can carry it in a locked container in my luggage. And so here's where it gets interesting.

I will land in Virginia at Reagan National. No big deal there I think. But I will hop the Metro to ride through DC. Gun still locked away in my luggage. No ammunition.

Will eventually clear to Maryland suburbs. Gun still locked away. Hopefully get one of my brothers to pick me up at Metro station.

Does anybody understand the laws/rules of DC and Maryland re the transport of such a gun?

I'm pretty confused. Should I forget the whole thing? Prepare to crowd source my bail? Or bit the bullet and ship FFL to FFL?
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Goto this web site. " www.gunlawsbystate.com" they have the Gun laws for every state. And it will let you know what and how to do what you what to do. I hope this helps.
 
18 U.S. Code § 926A - Interstate transportation of firearms

Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle:

Provided
, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.
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This law has perplexed me. You are clearly allowed to transport, possess, and carry an unloaded and inaccessible firearm and ammo, but there are modes of interstate transportation other than vehicles. What about horseback or hiking? People do hike the Appalachian Trail, which traverses many states. If you kept your gun and ammo in a locked case in your backpack that would seem to satisfy the spirit of the law. I doubt I'd care to lug such dead weight up and down a long trail, as it likely would be useless in the event of being attacked by a bear or a criminal.

Does the reference to a vehicle in the law mean only vehicular interstate transport is covered? Or, is the definition of transport limited to movement by vehicle?

I agree it's not worth the risk of being someone trying to set case law on the matter. People have been arrested at JFK in NY for trying to declare their firearm to TSA when checking in for a departing flight. This after transporting the gun with no problem on a flight to JFK while following TSA's rules, which conform to the statite above. The gun is illegal if the passenger's final destination is NYC, but if you land at JFK, rent a car, and drive to your final destination outside the city where the gun is legal, then there should be no problem. But, it doesn't seem to work that way.

I've flown in and out of O'Hare with no problem at all, despite Chicago's paranoia about guns. I called the Illinois State Patrol about how to do it legally, and I got the same story as the statute tells. And to get the bag with the locked gun case onto the plane, I had to carry the bag from the parking lot into the terminal to find the TSA guy who issues the gun "ticket." In Chicago, carrying an unloaded gun in a locked case while wandering the parking lot and terminal obviously isn't considered a violation of their laws, but I was engaged in interstate transport.
 
The key words are "readily accessible"; a gun in a hand carried bag, even if in a locked case, could be considered "readily accessible". The FOPA is a law with good intent, but poorly written and totally oriented toward transport in a private vehicle. Lawyers could argue about whether transport by a hand carried bag is covered, whether horseback is included, whether the pilot of a UFO carrying his ray gun is included. But while that goes on, someone sits in jail. IT IS NOT WORTH IT!

Have the brother contact a local MD dealer and have the gun shipped to him. That should not be too hard to understand. If the brother doesn't know a MD FFL dealer, he probably is not interested in shooting anyway, so gift the gun to somebody else.

Jim
 
It does not matter even 1/1000 of 1% HOW you transport into MD. It does matter101% that without a current MD HQL you are committing a felony IN the State of Maryland.

In addition you are not "passing through" MD, you are TRANSFERRING IN the state of Maryland, a second felony. It MUST be done between 2 FFLs or, if totally within the state of MD (NOT coming in) at a barracks with police supervision & checking for the NICS.
 
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