Travel to airport

GL2020

NES Member
Joined
May 17, 2020
Messages
1,151
Likes
1,886
Location
Rhode Island and Providence Plantations
Feedback: 0 / 0 / 0
Anyone familiar enough with RI firearm law to comment on the drive to TF Green airport with my pistol?

I'm a RI resident. One doesn't need anything but a blue card and not federally disqualified to buy a pistol.

It can legally kept home, at one's place of business, and locked in the trunk while traveling between work and home (or going to a range in MA for a "bona fide competiion").

I don't have an LTC in RI yet. I do have a UTAH non-resident CCW
Assuming I own a pistol legally, and I'm traveling to a state that I can legally possess/carry said pistol, where does the drive TO the airport come in? Can the TSA at TF Green ask to see an LTC when the gun is declared?

Generally, I don't like conversations with the state troopers at airports or police barracks.
 
Let me get this straight - you're taking the handgun on the plane to be used outside of RI, yes?

If so, bring the handgun in a locked container, just like you'll need to get the handgun into checked baggage. Unloaded mags.

There isn't a specific statute on point here, but 11-47-10 allows transportation of a handgun in "broken down" condition to ranges, places of business, and residences. Note that 11-47-8(a)'s "passing through" exemption doesn't apply here because you're not "passing through" RI, you're starting your trip in RI.

Remember, what 11-47-8 and 11-47-11 prohibit is unlicensed "carry" of a handgun. So don't "carry" the handgun - transport it in a locked container, just like you'll have to to get the handgun into checked baggage.
 
I think OP is concerned when he arrives at the airport to check his bag with the declared gun, he'll be accused of carrying illegally. Classic overthinking based on the legal minutiae that RI and MA put on guns, with the fact that the OP will have contact with the TSA and maybe the police during the trip.

This is part of your journey- it's just like you are traveling to the range or your place of business or home or anywhere else you are legally entitled to possess the gun. You're just getting on a plane as part of the trip, which means you have to pass it off to the airline to effectively put in their trunk for that part of the journey.

Pack it at home to meet the airlines requirements (unloaded, locked case, etc) which also happens to meet RI's criteria for transporting a handgun without a carry license and you are all set.

Print out and bring with you a copy of TSA and the airlines policies for checking firearms for reference if you have to deal with someone who's unfamiliar with the rules. Be prepared to open the case and show them it's unloaded. Don't overthink it.

If you were flying out of Logan or some other jurisdiction (NY/NJ) where possession requires permission then overthinking may be called for.
 
^^^ This. I’ve probably checked a hand gun 100x over the years and not once has anybody ever asked for an LTC or any other kind of paperwork. Get to the desk, politely and cooley tell them you need to declare a firearm and they’ll hand you a slip to fill out. Just a personal info contact slip and they tape it to your box and put it back in your luggage for check in.

On occasion here at Logan and TFG they’ve brought me aside in a back room with the suitcase and they may or may not ask you for the keys to the gun box to make sure it’s unloaded but that is rare. Typically they swab everything in my suitcase for explosive residue and never even touch the gun box. It can be a pain in the ass so leave yourself ample room for a 20-30 min delay just in case that happens. But don’t panic it’s kind of normal and they’re just kind of mouth breathing and checking boxes while they think about lunch.
 
If I were flying and my plane happened to be diverted to either NY or NJ, I would refuse to accept the gun back from the airline, and insist that they maintain custody of it until it reached either my destination or the airport in RI.

 
Last edited:
why would the tsa be involved with your drive TO the airport?
86c.png
 
If I were flying and my plane happened to be diverted to either NY or NJ, I would refuse to accept the gun back from the airline, and insist that they maintain custody of it until it reached either my destination or the airport in RI.

I think I heard about this story. Just a gapping hole in the law(s). If they're going to have a ridulous setup then there should be a means to either have the airline hold it as you suggested, or to transfer it temporaily elswhere for holding (TSA?).
 
I think I heard about this story. Just a gapping hole in the law(s). If they're going to have a ridulous setup then there should be a means to either have the airline hold it as you suggested, or to transfer it temporaily elswhere for holding (TSA?).
In a rational world, absolutely. However, as NY and NJ will do everything they can to discourage the hoi polloi from even thinking about owning a firearm, the current state of the laws isn't a bug, it's a feature.
 
For what it's worth, I've never been asked for an LTC by ticket agents at Logan when declaring firearms for travel, and TSA never got involved. But I do understand your concern.
 
Back
Top Bottom