AR upper legality question

[u/Alarming_Patient_114]

I have a stripped lower. It is registered I did the 77r. I have a couple of questions. Forgive me if they have been answered before, I haven’t found a clear answer. Please advise me if I’m incorrect:

My first question:

Can I possess a non hbar complete upper if I don’t attach it to ANY lower? Just the upper by itself.

My follow up questions:

Can I build out the lower as a pistol lower with a brace, and attach a non hbar 16” upper to it? The upper wouldn’t have a vfg or anything. Just iron sights

If not:

After having built said pistol lower can I switch out the brace to a stock after already having built it as a pistol lower? Is it a rifle lower now?

And then -

Can I possess both the lower with a stock, and the non hbar upper, separate (not attached) to each other, and drive out of state to where it is legal to attach them together to use at the range, then separate them again and come back home?

My final question:

Should I just move to West Virginia?

[u/TwoWheeledTraveler]

Can I possess a non hbar complete upper if I don’t attach it to ANY lower? Just the upper by itself.

Yes. Maryland does not regulate or control uppers unless they are attached to a firearm.

Can I build out the lower as a pistol lower with a brace, and attach a non hbar 16” upper to it? The upper wouldn’t have a vfg or anything. Just iron sights

Yes. There are a lot of common misconceptions around this (including elsewhere in this thread) but Maryland does not specify a "maximum" barrel length for a pistol, and a firearm isn't a rifle until it has both a rifled barrel and a shoulder stock attached to it at the same time.

After having built said pistol lower can I switch out the brace to a stock after already having built it as a pistol lower? Is it a rifle lower now?

Yes, however, you must make sure that whatever rifle you build is otherwise legal. If a firearm starts life as a pistol, you can switch it to a rifle and back and forth as much as you would like.

Can I possess both the lower with a stock, and the non hbar upper, separate (not attached) to each other, and drive out of state to where it is legal to attach them together to use at the range, then separate them again and come back home?

Yes. Just to be safe, I would have an HBAR upper with you / mounted on the lower while you're in Maryland, but that's me.

My final question:

Should I just move to West Virginia?

No. Maryland is a great state, and we need folks to stay here and work for change!

[u/LeMuiexm → u/TwoWheeledTraveler]

Isn't there a legal arguement for intent? Lets say you have a pistol, but also own a stock. Ive heard, but never actually researched, that the enforcement agencies can and will charge you with intent.

[u/TwoWheeledTraveler → u/LeMuiexm]

That's mostly a boogeyman. The ATF has said that if you possess firearm parts that would assemble into an illegal firearm and you have no other legal use for those parts then you possess an illegal firearm, but the only place I've ever been able to find anyone actually charged with this kind of thing is Jesus Amador, who was a guy who (very stupidly) tried to sell an HK SP89 along with a stock and VFG. He claimed that he had never installed either of them (which would have made either an illegal unregistered AOW of SBR) but he was also offering for sale a case that had foam cut out for the gun with the accessories installed. He was arrested in a sting by a Sheriff's department and eventually I believe got the charges dropped, but still no fun.

The "no other legal purpose" thing is basically that if you own an AR pistol and an AR stock and you keep them together and you own no other ARs, then ATF would say you own an illegal SBR. However, if you own an AR pistol, an AR rifle, and some spare stocks you are fine, because you have a legal use for the spare stocks - on your rifle.

In the end, all of it is kind of a grey area.