Later this week I will be going up the Virginia Eastern Shore to Annapolis, Maryland to purchase an item from a friend, then back to the Virginia side and then down I95 back down to Virginia Beach. What is the LEGAL way to carry my firearm as I travel to Maryland and make a stop, then back to Virginia ??? I have heard too may stories of Maryland cops. Thank you for reading and any advice. God Bless !!!

Call the Maryland State Police and ask them what is legal.

The Maryland State Police website has a statement on it:

https://mdsp.maryland.gov/Orga...ngDivision/FAQs.aspx

The gist of it - you can only carry between limited places legally. Once you make a stop in Maryland that isn't on that list, you're not legal any longer.

Unless you have a MD carry permit, there is no strictly legal way to transport into Maryland for no particular reason and then return to VA. We can get away with a little more as residents (nobody is going to get busted without other cause for stopping to fill up on the way to/from the range, for example), but coming from out of state with no shooting purpose? Forget it. Sorry - my state sucks donkey balls and 8 years of our POS RINO Governor hasn’t helped a damned bit.

SigSAC is essentially correct. FWIW, there are only a couple of LEAs here which are generally considered to be heavy with JBTs. You’re not going to encounter them, except perhaps the MD Transportation Authority at the Bridge-Tunnel complex. But you won’t have any handguns with you, so no problem.

Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any specific questions or want to discuss.

-Rob

Thanks everyone. This really SUCKS !!! We really need a Nationwide Constitutional Carry / Reciprocity. I may have to go unarmed. God Bless !!!

When I go from VA to DE through MD. I put my carry in a locked metal case in the trunk, with ammo stored separately. I am legal to carry in both VA and DE. This strategy was adopted after having done significant research into the matter, long enough ago that it may no longer be defensible. I do not stop in MD for any reason on trips through the state.

I too have heard the horror stories about MD traffic stops where MD troopers identify VA CHP holders by their license plates so as to give them special treatment. Pulling over apparently counts as an voluntary stop in the eyes of the law thereby disqualifying one from "just passing through."

I will have to try and remember to CLEAN my vehicle of any ammo, etc just in case. Was there not a case a few years ago of a soldier that was passing through Maryland or DC and got stopped. They found empty brass in his car and arrested him ??? God Bless !!!

quote:

Originally posted by VBVAGUY:
I will have to try and remember to CLEAN my vehicle of any ammo, etc just in case. Was there not a case a few years ago of a soldier that was passing through Maryland or DC and got stopped. They found empty brass in his car and arrested him ??? God Bless !!!

wife and I used to frequent a few concert venues in DC and MAryland,
we almost always took her car, of if we took mine, we detailed the inside to make sure nothing ammo related or firearm were inside

FWIW, if you're traveling through, FOPA applies. I have never heard of a legitimate story about a Maryland LEA ignoring FOPA. That doesn't help the OP, of course.

MD Transportation Authority (MDTA) cops are generally regarded by our community as being the worst of the worst (ref. JBT comment in my post above) and it is believed that they go out of their way to stop and harass when possible. However, there is nothing illegal about possessing ammunition in MD, so the brass thing must have been DC. That doesn't mean that you won't get delayed and have your vehicle searched by a power tripping LEO if you give him the opportunity.

All of that said, you shouldn't have trouble with MSP, any of the county LEAs on the shore, or AA Co. Hell, even PG Co. cops are likely to be polite and cooperative during a normal traffic stop.

If you really want to, you can carry a long gun in your vehicle (stay away from anything that could remotely be considered an EBR, since we banned all of those under our RINO Governor's watch). I used to keep a Mossberg 500 and a box of shells in my trunk for emergencies. Just make sure it's unloaded. Because otherwise, you'd be in technical violation of our hunting regulations (loaded long gun in vehicle = presumption of illegal hunting from vehicle, or something like that).

-Rob

MD is a police state and Montgomery PD is the worst. They're heavy-handed and that behavior is one of the reasons their ex-chief is now in charge of Pelosi's gestapo capitol police force.

When I transport a firearm in MD I put it unloaded in my trunk. It's always in a range bag or rifle case or something similar. Ammo separate. Just pull out the mags and make sure the chamber is empty.

The part of the law that gets you is you can't stop anywhere legally really. You can go to the range, gunsmith, hunting, etc. Stopping for food or shopping is technically against the law.

FWIW I live in MD. On the way to an IDPA match, I was stopped for allegedly speeding. I was wearing a shirt and hat Sig on them both. The State trooper never asked if I had any weapons in the car. Took my license and registration. Went back to her car and I can guess ran my info. She came back and gave me a warning and on my way, I went.

So I ended up just leaving my firearms home this weekend for the trip. Did not get stopped anywhere, which is a good thing however it was a good thing I did leave it at home, as the MSP was out everywhere on the Eastern Shore and in the Annapolis / DC beltway area. We had smooth sailing on the Eastern Shore until about 10 miles from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge where it was slow stop and go and took about 1 1/2 hours. I can't wait till we have Nationwide Constitutional Carry / Reciprocity. God Bless !!!

One other thing I noticed is that with many of the malls closing in my area, Tyson's Corner was jammed packed with people. I doubt that mall will close anytime soon. God Bless !!!