Maryland Handgun Roster
Maryland has a system called the "Handgun Roster". It was created in 1988 and "to increase public safety" by keeping unsafe handguns out of circulation in Maryland. It consists of 11 members mostly appointed by the Governor to 4-year terms. Anyone can apply to be appointed to the Handgun Roster, along with a lot of other appointments by the Governor. Members include:
- one shall be a representative of the Association of Chiefs of Police;
- one shall be a representative of the Maryland State’s Attorneys’ Association;
- one shall be a handgun dealer, gunsmith, or representative of a handgun manufacturer;
- one shall be a resident of the State who is a representative of the National Rifle Association or its affiliated State association;
- one shall be a representative of an organization that advocates against handgun violence; and
- and five shall be public members, two of whom shall be mechanical or electrical engineers.
A person may not purchase or transfer a handgun unless it is listed on the Handgun Roster. This doesn't mean you can buy it out of state and have it transferred to your local gun store waiting for it to be added to the Roster. That process could take months and would violate Maryland law. One exception is if a sample needs to be submitted to the Roster board along with the petition to have it added. Your local store would need to receive the gun to send to the Roster Board. Again, this process could take months and the handgun may be denied by the Board.
According to Maryland law (MD. Public Safety Code Ann. § 5-405 (2021)), the Roster Board shall:
- compile and maintain a handgun roster of authorized handguns that are useful for legitimate sporting, self-protection, or law enforcement purposes;
- annually publish the handgun roster in the Maryland Register; and
- semiannually send a copy of the handgun roster to all persons who hold a State regulated firearm dealer's license under Subtitle 1 of this title.
The Board shall consider carefully each of the following characteristics of a handgun without placing undue weight on any one characteristic in determining whether any handgun should be placed on the handgun roster:
- concealability;
- ballistic accuracy;
- weight;
- quality of materials;
- quality of manufacture;
- reliability as to safety;
- caliber;
- detectability by the standard security equipment that is commonly used at an airport or courthouse and that is approved by the Federal Aviation Administration for use at airports in the United States; and;
- utility for legitimate sporting activities, self-protection, or law enforcement.;
Any citizen may petition the Roster Board to have a handgun added. The petitioner has the burden of proving to the Board that the handgun should be placed on the handgun roster because the handgun is useful for legitimate sporting activities, self-protection, or law enforcement purposes. The Board has 45 days to deny or approve the peition. Unfortunately, if the Board fails to deny or approve the petition, it is automatically denied.
The Roster Board has a website with all sorts of valuable information, to include proposed meeting dates (they are open to the public), submission closing dates for each meeting, the agenda from the previous meeting which lists all the handguns that will be approved or denied, and minutes of each meeting currently goung to back to 2017.
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