Current with changes from the 2024 Legislative Session
Section 4-201 - Definitions(a) In this subtitle the following words have the meanings indicated.(b) "Antique firearm" means:(1) a firearm, including a firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or similar ignition system, manufactured before 1899; or(2) a replica of a firearm described in item (1) of this subsection that:(i) is not designed or redesigned to use rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition; or(ii) uses rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is no longer manufactured in the United States and is not readily available in the ordinary channels of commercial trade.(c)(1) "Handgun" means a pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed on the person.(2) "Handgun" includes a short-barreled shotgun and a short-barreled rifle.(3) "Handgun" does not include a shotgun, rifle, or antique firearm.(d) "Law enforcement official" means: (1) a full-time member of a police force or other unit of the United States, a state, a county, a municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of a state who is responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the enforcement of the laws of the United States, a state, a county, a municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of a state;(2) a part-time member of a police force of a county or municipal corporation who is certified by the county or municipal corporation as being trained and qualified in the use of handguns;(3) a fire and explosive investigator of the Prince George's County Fire/EMS Department as defined in § 2-208.3 of the Criminal Procedure Article;(4) a Montgomery County fire and explosive investigator as defined in § 2-208.1 of the Criminal Procedure Article;(5) an Anne Arundel County or City of Annapolis fire and explosive investigator as defined in § 2-208.2 of the Criminal Procedure Article;(6) a Worcester County fire and explosive investigator as defined in § 2-208.4 of the Criminal Procedure Article;(7) a City of Hagerstown fire and explosive investigator as defined in § 2-208.5 of the Criminal Procedure Article; or(8) a Howard County fire and explosive investigator as defined in § 2-208.6 of the Criminal Procedure Article.(e) "Rifle" means a weapon that is: (1) designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder; and(2) designed or redesigned, and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each single pull of the trigger.(f) "Short-barreled rifle" means:(1) a rifle that has one or more barrels less than 16 inches long; or(2) a weapon that has an overall length of less than 26 inches and that was made from a rifle, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise.(g) "Short-barreled shotgun" means: (1) a shotgun that has one or more barrels less than 18 inches long; or(2) a weapon that has an overall length of less than 26 inches long and was made from a shotgun, whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise.(h) "Shotgun" means a weapon that is:(1) designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to be fired from the shoulder; and(2) designed or redesigned and made or remade to use the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth bore one or more projectiles for each pull of the trigger.(i) "Vehicle" means a motor vehicle as defined in Title 11, Subtitle 1 of the Transportation Article, a train, an aircraft, or a vessel.Amended by 2017 Md. Laws, Ch. 309,Sec. 1, eff. 10/1/2017.