Maryland Gun Penalties
There are several benefits to attaining a lawyer if someone is facing Maryland gun penalties. The attorney in a private firm is going to be handling much fewer cases than the public defender, have more time to focus on the case, and conduct a private investigation. They will use firearm experts to verify their theory of the case and determine whether that defense would be winnable at trial.
A person can consult with their attorney if they have any questions or concerns. If you are facing gun charges, it is imperative that you speak with a knowledgeable firearm lawyer. These charges are taken seriously in Maryland and can have immediate and long-term impacts on someone’s criminal record.
Potential Penalties
It depends on exactly which statute was violated because there are different penalties associated. Most people think of is being convicted of wearing, carrying, or transporting a handgun. If they violated that particular statute, then the maximum penalty for that is three years. However, it is one of the laws in Maryland that includes a mandatory minimum sentence, and that period of time is 30 days. This means that there is no latitude for the judge to sentence a person to anything less than the mandatory minimum of 30 days.
If there are other offenses, a person could get more serious Maryland gun penalties. Depending on a person’s prior record, they actually could end up being sentenced under subsections of this law that allow for mandatory minimums of up to five years, depending on which part of the statute they violated.
Long-Term Consequences
There are the general penalties for being convicted of any type of crime, which includes having it on a person’s record. Maryland gun penalties can be on their record, and that’s just going to follow somebody for the rest of their life, and depending on which crime the person is convicted of committing, they will be prohibited from ever possessing a firearm again.
Reciprocity With Other Jurisdictions
There is no reciprocity with other jurisdictions. Unfortunately what could happen is someone may be able to legally wear, carry, and transport their gun in a certain way in their state in compliance with the law, and as soon as they cross over into the State of Maryland, they are violating Maryland law. This has happened to plenty of people who either were driving through Maryland to get to another state or were temporarily in Maryland visiting for a vacation or something like that, and they legitimately didn’t know that as soon as they crossed that imaginary borderline, they were now engaging in illegal behavior.
Carrying a Concealed Weapon
The law in Maryland is the same throughout each county. These laws apply regardless of where the person lives and, generally speaking, people are prohibited from carrying a handgun concealed. There are exceptions to that rule, but that means that someone went through the process of requesting from the state a concealed carry permit. If they’ve done that, they have a much greater latitude about how they can transport or carry their handgun.