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Gift Guns

PadreC
My granddad just gave me a nice Taurus model 85. I'd like to go shooting at the range on saturday but I have to admit that I'm fairly ignorant about the legal issues.

1. Are you allowed to give a gun to someone as long as both are legally allowed to own guns?
2. Does the gun need to be registered in the new owners name?
3. Does moving the gun over state lines matter (from giver to receiver)?
4. When going to the range will they take the gun serial number and information like that (I'm in Maryland)?

Thanks for any and all help,
Nick
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Comments

4 comments

Date Votes
  • eastwood44mag
    Good advice would be to contact the range to see what their policies are. Also, you may want to talk to the Sheriff's office, to find out about transfer requirements and the like. Good luck, and happy shooting.
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  • nmyers
    Well Nick, there's good news & bad news.

    The bad news is that you've already violated Federal law & Maryland state law, felonies in both cases. Federal law prohibits a non-licensee from transferring a firearm to a resident of another state; it must first go to a Federal Firearms Licensee in the recipients state. Maryland law requires all handgun transfers, both dealer sales & private transfers, be approved before the transfer is made by the Maryland State Police.

    The good news is that, now that you have the gun, no one will care. Maryland does not have firearms registration (except for full auto weapons). I've never seen a range in MD that requires proof of ownership or records serial numbers; I suspect that any range that did so would find themselves quickly out of business. Some ranges DO inspect guns for safety; if you aren't familiar with range rules, you can take a short course at On-Target near Ft Meade.

    The only problem that you might have is if your gun was made > 1/1/03; if so, it is contraband & possession is prima facie evidence that you violated Maryland state law.

    Neal
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  • PadreC
    Thanks for the good and bad news. You say if it was made BEFORE 1/1/03 it's contraband? Could you explain the Prima Facie thing?

    I'd like to remedy this so if I need to take the weapon back to Va and then have a dealer ship it I will, also I can get a liscense and then transport it and pay for the paperwork to be done correct?

    Thanks
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  • nmyers
    I may have spoken prematurely about the 1/1/03 issue. Any handgun made after that date cannot be approved for transfer in Maryland unless it has an internal lock. There are only 6 handguns on the approved list, but some Taurus models are on that list. If your gun has an internal key lock, then it will be approved for transfer. If not, it's illegal.

    Prima facie is a legal term meaning "on it's face". For example, if you were found in possession of an unregistered machine gun, that, by itself, is legal evidence that you violated federal law; no, "but...", no excuses, it's all the evidence needed to convict you.

    There's no license involved. First, you must find a Maryland dealer willing to accept the gun (for a fee), & your granddad will ship the gun directly to him.

    Neal
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