This needs a ruling?
The state’s highest court has ruled that 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, 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 a District of Columbia police officer who had lent a 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. The officer was convicted in 2003 of illegally transferring a regulated firearm and was fined 200 dollars.
The Court of Special Appeals had upheld the conviction, but the majority of the state’s highest court disagreed and overturned the conviction.
I’m shocked that the vote was close. But, it is Maryland.
July 28th, 2006 at 2:20 pm
For me, the scary part of this is if the convicted offender had not been a law enforcement officer, I suspect the principles upon which this was decided would have changed and the conviction upheld.
I would hope I would be wrong, but the trend seems to bear me out.
July 28th, 2006 at 3:44 pm
a $200 fine, eh? That isn’t because he’s just like you and me only better, now is it? I am, however, glad it was overturned. I don’t even think that commerce between free people is a crime.
Here in Maryland, however, all firearms sales (or maybe it’s only pistols, not 100% sure) need to be transferred through a registered FFL holder.
Maryland ranks #1 in robberies and #4 in both violent crime and murder. Are we allowed to credit this new transfer law? Because before it passed we were only #2 in robberies.