Flying out of BDL covered by FOPA?

[xtry51]

True fact: if police want to ruin your life they can for no reason whatsoever, regardless of whether you broke a law or not.

So either just bring the damn guns, or live your life in fear of government.

Personally I'd have no problem carrying 40rd PMAG with a receipt for purchasing it today with me to BDL to fly to Texas.

 

[dcmdon]

The only things we are all arguing about are CT Defined AWs and handguns passing through an airport.

Posession of Rifles and Shotguns as defined in CT law is completely unregulated. A Mass resident could drive down I95 with a Benelli M4 across the back seat and not expect to get hassled.

When driving handguns and AWs, I believe that we are in agreement that its not a problem if done within the requirements of FOPA.

Large Cap mags we all agree are a universally bad idea to travel with regardless of the transportation method. - I'm fuzzy here, so I'll err on the side of caution. Besides, its easy and cheap to ship mags.

 

[aeromarine]

Please see the link below.

This is an example of exactly what I meant when it comes to the minions mindlessly (viciously?) enforcing firearms laws in Connecticut. This guy would have been legal with 10 rounds in the mag and 1 in the chamber for a total of 11. However, because he had 11 in the mag and 0 in the chamber he was charged with a misdemeanor violation which he will have to fight in court at great expense. I wish him luck and hope that justice prevails.

This is the kind of mean spirited and capricious enforcement of the gun laws in CT I described above earlier in this thread. Would it really be wise to roll the dice and drive to BDL with anything that might possibly be considered to be questionable given this is how townie local cops might enforce what they see to be the intent of the new laws? You tell me.

Don't get me wrong. I have always loved Connecticut and have long hoped to move back there again. But given how things are these days I'm now much more inclined to head to New Hampshire when the time comes for me to leave Mass. And that makes me sad.

BDL is a great airport and a wonderful alternative to JFK and LGA. Fortunately, in my case I can always fly via MHT or BOS where I have never had a problem and don't have to tangle with CT gun laws. After all, things are already bad enough in Massachusetts so I'm glad to avoid any of the uncertainty that may exist regarding the laws in CT!


http://www.thehour.com/news/norwalk...cle_8f850412-69cf-5772-8942-fb7f302eff3d.html

 

[xtry51]

I don't even know how to address the level of fail on the "suspects" actions during that stop.

On the OPs point and that article, it's moot because to fly the mags need to to be unloaded anyway, so there should be zero rounds in the mags.

You'll also note the officer did not confiscate the mag, though he is still a douchebag for enforcing such laws and issuing the summons.

 

[SpaceCritter]

Don't get me wrong. I have always loved Connecticut and have long hoped to move back there again.

I've lived here my entire life. My father's mother's family has been here since 1698 or thereabouts. It is a state infested by *******s - a situation not likely to change in my lifetime - and I cannot wait to get the **** out.

 

[dcmdon]

Please see the link below.

This is an example of exactly what I meant when it comes to the minions mindlessly (viciously?) enforcing firearms laws in Connecticut. This guy would have been legal with 10 rounds in the mag and 1 in the chamber for a total of 11. However, because he had 11 in the mag and 0 in the chamber he was charged with a misdemeanor violation which he will have to fight in court at great expense. I wish him luck and hope that justice prevails.

This is the kind of mean spirited and capricious enforcement of the gun laws in CT I described above earlier in this thread. Would it really be wise to roll the dice and drive to BDL with anything that might possibly be considered to be questionable given this is how townie local cops might enforce what they see to be the intent of the new laws? You tell me.

Don't get me wrong. I have always loved Connecticut and have long hoped to move back there again. But given how things are these days I'm now much more inclined to head to New Hampshire when the time comes for me to leave Mass. And that makes me sad.

BDL is a great airport and a wonderful alternative to JFK and LGA. Fortunately, in my case I can always fly via MHT or BOS where I have never had a problem and don't have to tangle with CT gun laws. After all, things are already bad enough in Massachusetts so I'm glad to avoid any of the uncertainty that may exist regarding the laws in CT!


http://www.thehour.com/news/norwalk...cle_8f850412-69cf-5772-8942-fb7f302eff3d.html

I guess you didn't even bother to read the news clipping.

The man was given a summons because the law he broke is a civil infraction. The officer gave him back the gun and magazine. He went home He got to keep his gun, he got to keep his pistol permit and he got to keep all the rest of his guns. No arrest, no swat teams, no criminal record.

I'm not in any way saying this is good. I'm just saying that it isn't so bad that it should dissuade someone from exercising their rights within the law.

Don

 

[drgrant]

I guess you didn't even bother to read the news clipping.

The man was given a summons because the law he broke is a civil infraction. The officer gave him back the gun and magazine. He went home He got to keep his gun, he got to keep his pistol permit and he got to keep all the rest of his guns. No arrest, no swat teams, no criminal record.

I'm not in any way saying this is good. I'm just saying that it isn't so bad that it should dissuade someone from exercising their rights within the law.

Don

What happens if he gets convicted for this? Will it screw him later or is it just a fine?

-Mike

 

[SpaceCritter]

I guess you didn't even bother to read the news clipping.

The man was given a summons because the law he broke is a civil infraction. The officer gave him back the gun and magazine. He went home He got to keep his gun, he got to keep his pistol permit and he got to keep all the rest of his guns. No arrest, no swat teams, no criminal record.

Even if this is so, this is his ONE free "oops" under the law. After that, it's a FELONY.

 

[dcmdon]

What happens if he gets convicted for this? Will it screw him later or is it just a fine?

-Mike

Civil infraction. Think speeding ticket. Actually, think, failure to carry your drivers license.

He won't get convicted of this unless he just mails in the ticket. (Its a nolo contendre, which I believe counts as a conviction. Please correct me if I'm wrong) If he does not plead it down and he is convicted of actually carrying over capacity, he has used up his 1 get out of jail free card. A smart person will plead to any reduced infraction to ensure one more "oops". These kinds of issues are typically handled at the magistrate level in CT. The guy will go to a state superior court. If he does not hire an attorney, the state's attorney will offer him some kind of a plea deal to avoid trial. If its anything less than the original charge, he could just take the plea, pay the fine and still have his one get out of jail free.

I've sat in on a number of these minor firearms court proceedings and the prosecutors are harried and overworked. They've got 30 cases to plead out before lunch break. If you got busted for failing to carry your PP, you show them the PP and promise to not do it again, and they nolle it. Either way, he won't be meeting any budding Eliot Spitzers there. These are the guys who on Tuesday and Thursday handle traffic court.

Don

- - - Updated - - -

Even if this is so, this is his ONE free "oops" under the law. After that, it's a FELONY.

Yup. If he had played it smart, this never would have happened. He did not need to answer the cops question. The cop did'n't have RAS to inspect his firearm. It was a simple traffic stop. Seeing a pistol permit does not give the cop RAS to justify inspecting the firearm. Finding that over filled mag would have been fruit of the poisoned tree. He also could have popped the mag at the first sign of a traffic stop and dumped a couple of rounds onto the passenger seat, cup holder, ground, whatever.

 

[xtry51]

What Don said. If he goes into court they will either throw it out or knock it down and make him pay $100 or something stupid.

 

[SpaceCritter]

What Don said. If he goes into court they will either throw it out or knock it down and make him pay $100 or something stupid.

Well now, we're now under the Schriro regime, so we'll have to wait and see how they're gonna handle this.

 

[Rob Boudrie]

The officer wrote Watson a summons and gave him back his gun and the magazine

Wow - cited for possession of contraband, and the contraband evidence is returned to the suspect. Nice police work.

 

[SpaceCritter]

Wow - cited for possession of contraband, and the contraband evidence is returned to the suspect. Nice police work.

That's the law in CT, as regards to this horseshit. It ain't contraband, per se.

 

[aeromarine]

I guess you didn't even bother to read the news clipping.

The man was given a summons because the law he broke is a civil infraction. The officer gave him back the gun and magazine. He went home He got to keep his gun, he got to keep his pistol permit and he got to keep all the rest of his guns. No arrest, no swat teams, no criminal record.

I'm not in any way saying this is good. I'm just saying that it isn't so bad that it should dissuade someone from exercising their rights within the law.

Don

My how generous and wonderful! Although the article says repeatedly he was cited for a misdemeanor it was really just on an "infraction" with a $90 fine. That's just great even if the guy was within a gnat's as of a Class D felony charge that would have made him a "prohibited" person under federal law. Who is to say the state won't up the ante by trying to prove he acquired the mag after the sacred April 2013 date and then hit him with the felony charge? I'm pretty sure they'll explore that option.

My point was not so much whether it was a misdemeanor wrap or a simple "civil infraction" but more on the lack of apparent discretion shown by the police officer. The guy was legally allowed to load his pistol with 11 rounds as long as only 10 were in the mag. He may have left the chamber empty out of a sense it was a prudent safety precaution. And for doing this he winds up getting screwed! Such a weasel charge shows a complete lack of common sense about what the law was trying to accomplish! True, it's possible there was more going on here than we know. He was stopped at 1:25 in the morning and there is never much good going on anywhere that time of night, particularly, around Bridgeport. Perhaps the officer could have been pinched him on other charges and the cop cut him a break by just nailing him on the mag issue. We'll probably never know.

All in all, Don, you are correct, gun matters in Connecticut have typically been handled with a much greater degree of wisdom reasonableness than they have been here in Massachusetts. I distinctly remember a case in the late 1970s or early 1980s where a guy driving with his boat on a trailer to a launch ramp was inspected by the MSP while changing a flat tire. They found a signal flare pistol in his safety equipment and charged him with a violation of the Bartley Fox Act that has a one year mandatory jail sentence. He was convicted and actually spent 8 months in jail before the miscarriage of justice was reversed. How screwed up is that? My concern is Connecticut may be rapidly heading in the same direction. So I would caution people not to take any chances when it comes to the gun laws so they don't risk getting caught up in what would be a life altering experience.

 

[aeromarine]

True fact: if police want to ruin your life they can for no reason whatsoever, regardless of whether you broke a law or not.

So either just bring the damn guns, or live your life in fear of government.

Personally I'd have no problem carrying 40rd PMAG with a receipt for purchasing it today with me to BDL to fly to Texas.

To each his own. Good luck!

 

[dcmdon]

You Mass people can continue with your paranoid fantasies.
(I'm in no way saying you are paranoid about MA laws, prosecutors, etc. The paranoia is justified. But you are projecting )

The simple fact is that an overzealous prosecutor can make your life miserable no matter what state you are in.

The laws and the prosecutoral culture in CT don't support this paranoia.

Rob - its not contraband. You can own the mag. You just can't load more than 10 in it. Smart huh? Ha.

Aeromarine - I'm not saying that CT couldn't head in the same direction as MA. But it will take time. It will take turnover among police officers and prosecutors. Its unreasonable to think that Newtown is going to change everything overnight. So far it has not changed anything as far as prosecutions and the general exercise of right within the law.

The last person arrested during an open carry stop was actually arrested because he refused to show ID. The cop actually was familiar with OC and was just checking ID. (Goldberg v Town of Rocky Hill the judge ruled that the presence of an openly carried firearm provided RAS necessary for a Terry stop) CT law requires you to carry your pistol permit but does not require you to actually show it to a police officer. Figure that one out. He identified himself verbally as required by statute, but refused to show ID. So the cop arrested him for interfering with an officer.

The prosecutor offered to plead it down to an infraction of some kind. CT Carry actually offered to cover some of his legal costs. We wanted this case law. But the guy didn't have the stomach for it. I would never judge him on this. We all have financial and family pressures that trump the potential to make good case law. His carry gun and pistol permit were returned. (And no police ever came to his house to take the rest of his guns.)

 

[mcrocker]

Wanted to follow up on this. I traveled last week.

Flying BDL -> DFW on AA was a total non-issue.

I went early, checked in at the AA ticket counter. They had me sign a form declaring the firearms were unloaded. I carried everything over to TSA. TSA wanted the declaration form in the rifle case and had me open it right there by the x-ray machine. TSA poked & prodded the foam a bit then had me lock it back up. After that it was business as usual, go through the security coral like the rest of the herd.

I wasn't traveling with ammo because I had enough in Texas waiting for me. AR, Pistols, shotgun, no problem.