Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association
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  1. #11
    Join Date
    May 2006
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    127.0.0.1, Pennsylvania
    (Lancaster County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Was the rest of the deceased's property returned to his family, or are they holding that too?
    Rules are written in the stone,
    Break the rules and you get no bones,
    all you get is ridicule, laughter,
    and a trip to the house of pain.

  2. #12
    Join Date
    Jul 2013
    Location
    Clearcreek Township, Ohio
    (Warren County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Thanks for all the thoughts and recommendations.

    To answer a few questions:

    1. The deceased's mother knows very little about firearms, and doesn't have specifics on the model. I do know it is a Springfield and believe it is a 9mm XDS.

    2. It would not be worth it, in my opinion, from a fiscal standpoint, to go full-bore into legal action to recover the handgun. To us it is mainly a matter of principle--the MD State Police have no right to keep this property.

    3. The remaining personal effects were returned to his mother yesterday. The MD State Police sergeant who returned the other items yesterday stated it would be at least a year before the "investigation" on the handgun was completed. It appears that even though it wasn't involved in any manner with the accident, MD conducts tests to determine if there are any links to other crimes committed in the state.

    We are going to write a letter and attempt to get an official response on the rationale for keeping the firearm.

    Thanks again!

  3. #13
    Join Date
    Nov 2013
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    north, Pennsylvania
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Quote Originally Posted by kwc View Post
    Thanks for all the thoughts and recommendations.

    To answer a few questions:

    1. The deceased's mother knows very little about firearms, and doesn't have specifics on the model. I do know it is a Springfield and believe it is a 9mm XDS.

    2. It would not be worth it, in my opinion, from a fiscal standpoint, to go full-bore into legal action to recover the handgun. To us it is mainly a matter of principle--the MD State Police have no right to keep this property.

    3. The remaining personal effects were returned to his mother yesterday. The MD State Police sergeant who returned the other items yesterday stated it would be at least a year before the "investigation" on the handgun was completed. It appears that even though it wasn't involved in any manner with the accident, MD conducts tests to determine if there are any links to other crimes committed in the state.

    We are going to write a letter and attempt to get an official response on the rationale for keeping the firearm.

    Thanks again!
    Bolded is the part that bothers me. As long as there is an ongoing investigation into the firearm's links to other crimes, no court is even going to listen to you. The police will simply say "We are still conducting an investigation," and no judge is going to order a halt to the investigation just so some other guy in a different state can get the gun.

    The year is just an estimate, so maybe it will take five years. Who knows!

    Presumably at some point they will conclude that the gun was not used in any other crimes, but are they under obligation to call you and inform you that the investigation is over?

    Nope, they aren't.

    You are left with calling every day to see if the investigation is over, hope you actually get someone on the phone who is both knowledgeable and truthful (unlikely) and then you can finally challenge it in court,

    and lose.
    Sic semper tyrannis

  4. #14
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    Dec 2016
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Does the NRA or some other kind of group take on legal cases? Similar to the ACLU(except for non-liberals).

  5. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Quote Originally Posted by allenr View Post
    The deceased driver was in violation of MD law since MD does not have a reciprocal relationship with PA. If the driver had survived his gun would have been confiscated and not returned. I don't think there is chance that the estate gets possession of the gun.
    However, driver hasn't been convicted of anything...and along the lines of dying before appeals are exhausted resulting in a conviction becoming an abatement anway......driver never received due process of law resulting in the loss of the property.

    If I were the widow, and I wanted this gun, AND MD were pushing on THAT front, that's what I would try arguing.

    But then again, I'd just forget about the gun and move on.

  6. #16
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    127.0.0.1, Pennsylvania
    (Lancaster County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Quote Originally Posted by hog45 View Post
    Bolded is the part that bothers me. As long as there is an ongoing investigation into the firearm's links to other crimes, no court is even going to listen to you. The police will simply say "We are still conducting an investigation," and no judge is going to order a halt to the investigation just so some other guy in a different state can get the gun.

    The year is just an estimate, so maybe it will take five years. Who knows!

    Presumably at some point they will conclude that the gun was not used in any other crimes, but are they under obligation to call you and inform you that the investigation is over?

    Nope, they aren't.

    You are left with calling every day to see if the investigation is over, hope you actually get someone on the phone who is both knowledgeable and truthful (unlikely) and then you can finally challenge it in court,

    and lose.
    Sometimes, that's the best course of action. When you have an uncooperative person that owe you something, you become their personal PITA. Get the name and the contact information of the person conducting the "investigation". Call them EVERYDAY at the same time. So that they know when the phone rings, they know it's you. Eventually they'll tire and give in.
    Rules are written in the stone,
    Break the rules and you get no bones,
    all you get is ridicule, laughter,
    and a trip to the house of pain.

  7. #17
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
    Location
    Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
    (Philadelphia County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Quote Originally Posted by streaker69 View Post
    Sometimes, that's the best course of action. When you have an uncooperative person that owe you something, you become their personal PITA. Get the name and the contact information of the person conducting the "investigation". Call them EVERYDAY at the same time. So that they know when the phone rings, they know it's you. Eventually they'll tire and give in.
    Or they could call them once a month, not be a PITA and get final closure that could be positive.

  8. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2012
    Location
    Douglassville, Pennsylvania
    (Berks County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    You could try your Senator and/or Congressman sometimes they can pull some strings and get things done.
    Gender confusion is a mental illness

  9. #19
    Join Date
    Apr 2014
    Location
    Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
    (Allegheny County)
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Quote Originally Posted by Walleye Hunter View Post
    You could try your Senator and/or Congressman sometimes they can pull some strings and get things done.
    There's usually a fee involved.

  10. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2009
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    Berkeley Heights, New Jersey
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    Default Re: Recovering a handgun from MD

    Quote Originally Posted by Carson View Post
    Or they could call them once a month, not be a PITA and get final closure that could be positive.
    depends on whether the person on the receiving end of the call actually wants to go the PITA route or not. I always give people the choice: solve it or I'll nag you until your death, and then into your afterlife.

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