1 hour ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

Scenario:

A man in his 90's who has cancer and dementia lives alone in an apartment. The apartment below him catches fire and the building has to be evacuated and is now unlivable. He is in REALLY, REALLY poor health and may not ever go home again, either because of passing away or because of being placed in a nursing home. 

Said man own three rifles, nothing special, a bolt action, a lever action and another one that I'm not sure of. All valued at probably less than a few hundred dollars each. Nothing at all special. Not that that matters, they're all still rifles. 

A woman who was helping him, is at the apartment and notices the maintenance guys kind of rummaging through things and 'admiring this and that'. She says something that makes them leave. So she takes possession of the rifles and a few other items that would surely vanish, if she didn't. 

So now she is in possession of these rifles (in Maryland), strictly for safe keeping while the man is in the hospital and decisions can be made. 

Said woman takes said rifles to one of her friends homes for safekeeping, said friend is a family member of mine whose son in law has now frightened her into thinking that she's now a federal felon for being in possession of 'unlicensed firearms'.

What is the best way to deal with these rifles? My initial thought is that if the man can't go back to living on his own and can't re-take possession of the rifles, call the State Police and see how they suggest to proceed. 

Any thoughts?

https://www.baltimoresun.com/politics/bs-md-pol-ga-gun-check-override-20210211-qafvs4kwmfh3jibcuvl7k4axfe-story.html

 

Background check needed for all sales and transfers. 

I would consult with a MD-based lawyer who specializes in MD gun laws. 

Some may offer a free consult 

8 minutes ago, iladelphxx said:

Background check needed for all sales and transfers.

Technically this may be considered a 'transfer', but at this moment it's just to keep them safe so that they won't be stolen. They still belong to this man, he just can't safeguard them at this moment, and they WILL be stolen otherwise. He already had his grandfathers rifle (which was used in 'the war') stolen. He's 90, so what 'the war' means, I don't know. Civil War? Spanish American War? WWI? WWII? I'm imagining that we're back into the mid to late 1800's to be his grandfather. 

I told her (she's a family member), that if he passes away or otherwise can't retake possession I'd call around for her (she's in her mid 80's herself), and see what I could find out for her. Her son in law was afraid to even talk to her about them lol. 

1 hour ago, VaBeach_Eagle said:

Scenario:

A man in his 90's who has cancer and dementia lives alone in an apartment. The apartment below him catches fire and the building has to be evacuated and is now unlivable. He is in REALLY, REALLY poor health and may not ever go home again, either because of passing away or because of being placed in a nursing home. 

Said man own three rifles, nothing special, a bolt action, a lever action and another one that I'm not sure of. All valued at probably less than a few hundred dollars each. Nothing at all special. Not that that matters, they're all still rifles. 

A woman who was helping him, is at the apartment and notices the maintenance guys kind of rummaging through things and 'admiring this and that'. She says something that makes them leave. So she takes possession of the rifles and a few other items that would surely vanish, if she didn't. 

So now she is in possession of these rifles (in Maryland), strictly for safe keeping while the man is in the hospital and decisions can be made. 

Said woman takes said rifles to one of her friends homes for safekeeping, said friend is a family member of mine whose son in law has now frightened her into thinking that she's now a federal felon for being in possession of 'unlicensed firearms'.

What is the best way to deal with these rifles? My initial thought is that if the man can't go back to living on his own and can't re-take possession of the rifles, call the State Police and see how they suggest to proceed. 

Any thoughts?

Ex-cop. Not a lawyer, nor am I yours. Grain of salt, ymmv, etc.
 

There’s no federal possession of an unlicensed weapon charge, as there’s no way to license a firearm with the federal government. State laws can vary, but most states you don’t have to register a weapon with the government. You just buy it and it’s yours and nobody cares. 
 

There’s no theft involved because no one is possessing the property of another with the intent to deprive them of it. Someone is essentially holding on to it until you can figure out what to do with it. 
 

See if the guys has any NOK, and then get the firearms to them. That should about do it. 

3 minutes ago, Bill said:

Ex-cop. Not a lawyer, nor am I yours. Grain of salt, ymmv, etc.
 

There’s no federal possession of an unlicensed weapon charge, as there’s no way to license a firearm with the federal government. State laws can vary, but most states you don’t have to register a weapon with the government. You just buy it and it’s yours and nobody cares. 
 

There’s no theft involved because no one is possessing the property of another with the intent to deprive them of it. Someone is essentially holding on to it until you can figure out what to do with it. 
 

See if the guys has any NOK, and then get the firearms to them. That should about do it. 

Those were my thoughts too. Maryland has some strict laws concerning background checks and such, but these rifles aren't being owned by my family member, they're only being kept safe for now and there's no desire by anyone involved (other than the owner), to own these particular rifles. 

If they were given to me, I'd take them and put them away but I wouldn't really want to be bothered with them. Give me a nice 1903 and I'll be as happy as an Eagles fan holding a shiny new Lombardi trophy. Much short of that, though, and I'm not really interested. 

27 minutes ago, Bill said:

Ex-cop. Not a lawyer, nor am I yours. Grain of salt, ymmv, etc.
 

There’s no federal possession of an unlicensed weapon charge, as there’s no way to license a firearm with the federal government. State laws can vary, but most states you don’t have to register a weapon with the government. You just buy it and it’s yours and nobody cares. 
 

There’s no theft involved because no one is possessing the property of another with the intent to deprive them of it. Someone is essentially holding on to it until you can figure out what to do with it. 
 

See if the guys has any NOK, and then get the firearms to them. That should about do it. 

If it was PA, this would be my advice. 

MD is a different animal.... Not as bad as NJ or NY, but close enough. 

Do a Google search for gun stores in that area and find the one with the best reviews and call and ask them, if you don't want to talk to a lawyer.