From the MD state police web page:
How can I legally transport firearms within / through Maryland?
They must be unloaded, in a carrying case, holster with a flap and the ammunition should be separate. It would be best to keep the unloaded weapon in the trunk where you do not have access to it. There are further regulations but essentially you can only transport a handgun between residence, to and from a repair shop, a shooting sporting event, between a residence and place of business if substantially owned and operated by the person. For more information please contact our Licensing Division.
http://mdsp.maryland.gov/Pages/FAQs.aspx
Other than what's quoted above and the provisions laid out in the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act for travelling through the state, I dont think you can just lock up the gun and go about your business in MD without inviting some deep you-know-what.
The MD SP explanation is a bit vague, ie "unloaded, in a carrying case, holster with a flap and the ammunition should be separate" Does that mean you need to have the gun in a flapped holster inside a carrying case with ammo somewhere else?
And the part I put in bold: why not just list the, "further regulations"?
Does anyone have a clear take on this.
Sorry for helping to redirect the thread.
The State police are wrong in saying you must be part of a "shooting sporting event". Section 4 clearly allows for Carry to informal target practice as long as the unloaded handgun is in a closed case or holster. See below:
4-203
(4) the wearing, carrying, or transporting by a person of a handgun used in connection with an organized military activity, a target shoot, formal or informal target practice, sport shooting event, hunting, a Department of Natural Resources-sponsored firearms and hunter safety class, trapping, or a dog obedience training class or show, while the person is engaged in, on the way to, or returning from that activity if each handgun is unloaded and carried in an enclosed case or an enclosed holster;
In any case, unless you are passing through to a legal state, you may not routinely have a hand gun in your possession without a Maryland license. This is also true for Pennsylvania and New Jersey.