depends on where you live as to the laws regarding garters, very few laws on them....some are just dumb..like can't own sirtalis sirtalis when it is one of the most common ones...some are protected in states due to very small ranges...even if the overall range is big..... that person probably don't know what they are talking about......garters are one of the most common snakes around. best thing for you to do is look up on line the state wildlife people and look at state regs.....then you will know exactly what your states laws are.