And I may end up having to live here...

[BAC]

Found out at Bass Pro today just how unfriendly Maryland is to the second amendment.  More when I can use a real keyboard.

Why here, Beretta?  PA is very close, and very friendly.  Just sayin'

[jnevis]

Because the military needed a US facility to build M9s  and MSP needed a new pistol so Beretta cut them a deal.  When Beretta started to leave because of the ballistic fingerprinting law, MSP placed an order for more pistols and promised they could still sell here.

[BAC]

Found a Bass Pro today in Maryland.  Asked at the gun counter if they had any Ruger Scout rifles to play with.  He said he'd heard of it but wasn't sure if they could get it.  Looked it up and it didn't show in their system, so MSP must not have approved it for sale in MD yet.

He went on to tell me that it takes at least 6-8 months for them to determine if a rifle has a hunting purpose, proper number of rounds, etc., etc., and approve it for sale.  It really isn't an involved process, they just take their good old time and have a backlog of several hundred different firearms to give the thumbs up/down right now.

Ho told me they had approval for the LC9 and sold 38 of them before the MSP said it shouldn't have been approved yet.  Oops!  The state police then proceeded to visit the homes of all 38 purchasers and take their LC9s away and return them to Bass Pro to be returned to Ruger.  He said it made them look like fools, as if they were selling weapons they shouldn't.

Additionally, he said that they sell a lot of handguns to DC residents, since Maryland is the only state they can make a purchase in.  Apparently the process is so hard and convoluted (including requiring a signed letter from DC's mayor stating that you have an approved reason and need to possess the firearm), that ordinary residents cannot get a handgun in DC.  He said the only people from Washington who ever buy handguns from them are Senators and Congressmen.  You know, do as I say, not as I do.

Just thought I'd share.  On the plus side, there's a Medieval Times restaurant there, and the family is taking me for my birthday (I've always wanted to go).

[jnevis]

I think he's giving you a line about the Scout rifles.  The only approval process I am aware of here is for handguns.  There may be one for rifles as well, but handguns is the only one published.  www.mdsp.org Check "Firearms" "Handgun roster"
Probably just haven't gotten them to thier distributor, since Bass Pro doesn't show them available at the national level on thier website.  The LC9 too.  The shops here can't order a pistol through the distributors until it is approved.  I find it hard to believe that Bass Pro has some "in" to get firearms that aren't completely approved. 

Besides Bass Pro is more expensive than a gun shop anyway.  They are the only place I can find the UMC/Rem yellow box 250 ct ammo but other than that I just look.

[BAC]

Just reporting what the guy told me.  He didn't say they had an "in" to get the LC9.  He said it showed up as approved, they ordered it, sold it, and then the state police came back and said it wasn't approved after all.  Kind of like Gilda Radner..."Never mind."

I asked him about the approval process.  I said "Rifles, too?" and he said yes.  Don't shoot the messenger.

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