Traveling from Massachusetts to Wisconsin. FOPA in New York.

73 MPH.
It's the best of both worlds -
you're going faster than average,
but you're going slower than more than half of the guys going faster than average.
Yup. Keep up with traffic, don't stand out. Stay out of the left lane. Don't piss off Drivers (real ones. In tractors).
 
There isn't one, because FOPA is silent on that issue. The pant shitters believe FOPA does nothing for things like mags or so called "AWs" and so on.

My personal opinion is that if you're running under FOPA with your shit locked up/encased (including supposed "prohibited" items, etc. ) and out of view/touch, then it's not anything worth getting bent about.

I've never heard of this phantasm becoming a real problem in that circumstance.
This would be one of those cases where, if it came to it, the courts would have to interpret the intent of the law. Since FOPA does explicitly mention ammunition and other courts have found that magazines constitute an indispensable part of a firearm, a good lawyer could make the case that the intent of the law was to also cover ammo and mags. But that would probably have to happen at the appellate level and I certainly would not want to be the test case. As far as I know, no such case has ever been adjudicated.
 
This would be one of those cases where, if it came to it, the courts would have to interpret the intent of the law. Since FOPA does explicitly mention ammunition and other courts have found that magazines constitute an indispensable part of a firearm, a good lawyer could make the case that the intent of the law was to also cover ammo and mags. But that would probably have to happen at the appellate level and I certainly would not want to be the test case. As far as I know, no such case has ever been adjudicated.
If this were the case, and everyone believed that, there would be no reason to file a bill to amend the law, which people presumably more in the know than we have done.
 
First first time I drove west almost 2 decades ago I heard the same horror stories about NY. I finally ended up calling the local ATF Boston office to ask them about the legality‘s of traveling through New York with firearms. They sited the fed laws allowing me to do it and told me to print it out and carry it With me to present if pulled over. They were very helpful. Would it have made a difference if some NY JBT trooper pulled me over? who knows. But I knew I was legal.
You could use that paper to fight your way out of Rikers.
 
If this were the case, and everyone believed that, there would be no reason to file a bill to amend the law, which people presumably more in the know than we have done.
I wasn’t saying that the courts would HAVE to find that the law covered mags and ammo. I was saying that there would be a good legal argument for this interpretation. Laws are often amended to make them clearer and remove any ambiguity from the interpretation thereof. Laws are often ambiguous as originally written. Sometimes they are clarified by the courts, sometimes by additional legislation. It would be very difficult to write a law that was completely unambiguous. I like to look at the famous mathematical cooperative referred to by the nom-de-plume Nicolas Bourbaki. That group has been trying to write the definitive mathematics text since 1934. It took them many many pages just to clearly define the “identity element”, i.e. the number 1. Most laws have certain ambiguities since to eliminate them all wold require them to be ridiculously long. That’s one of the things courts do, interpret the intent of a law.
 
Here's why I recommend a combination lock:

The 4th Amendment protects against unreasonable searches, but there are a bunch of exceptions. The two that are important here are the automobile exception and the inventory exception. In many jurisdictions, a locked container is not fair game under the automobile exception. They seize the container and apply for a search warrant. In obtaining that warrant, the police need to articulate probable cause to believe the box contains evidence of a crime.

An inventory is "intended" to protect the police from false accusations of theft. Allowing the police to open a locked container defeats that purpose.

As unbelievable as it may sound, police have been known to claim someone consented when they did not, or claim the key was in the lock and not the defendant's pocket.

When the police smash open the box to get inside, their claim of consent doesn't carry much weight. Of course, the existence of the locked box may not make it into the report and they'll claim the gun was sitting, loaded, on the back seat in plain view.
I have combo locks on all my shit. For this and many other reasons....like losing my keys😂😂.
 
I have combo locks on all my shit. For this and many other reasons....like losing my keys😂😂.
I know a boat owner that could have been hospitalized with exposure,
or worse, because of combination locks.

Late in the season, after the evening's race and subsequent socializing in the yacht club bar,
he takes the launch's last ride of the night through the mooring field to overnight on his boat.
Waves goodnight to the launch captain, and pokes around topside for a while.
Maybe has a nightcap in the cockpit. And then it's time to go below and hit the bunk.

The companionway hatch has a combination lock -
that lets crew start rigging the boat for racing without needing a key
if they arrive first on a race day.

But the lock is latched.
There's no moon, and his flashlight isn't in his duffel bag.
The launch driver is long gone, it's a weeknight,
and no one else is in the mooring field, or at least partying topside.
It's late September/early October, and getting windy,
but there's no jacket in the bag. Even if he swam ashore,
he'd be on the wrong side of the harbor, miles from his car.

And then he remembered he was wearing a Timex Indiglo watch...
 
Tip from experience - if you have an EzPass take it down and put it in a Faraday cage while in NY. Big Cuomo IS watching you.
 
Not a big deal, I know this is too late for this trip but the next?
Take 95 to last fuel stop in Conn if your getting 28+ in fuel mileage, Top off.........Take 287 over the Tapenzee and give the bird to cuomo . Follow 78/81 west to Harrisburg if your vehicle gets lousy mileage top off exit 7 in nj yeah I know but its a truck stop and is off/on..........onto 83 south connect with 15 south to 270 to 495 (or stay on 15 to Va)...around dc and hop back on 95 Stop at exit 243 in Va (fuel)
I also leave around 9-10 pm stay within the +5 on speed..... No traffic, Law Enforcement looking for drunks,...Just watch out for deer on 78 and 15 you don't need a gun,...thru Jersey and Pa.. I also bring a gas can Just for that off chance But shit happens.....
 
Every time I see FOPA, I think of the old Noah routine by Bill Cosby. "Voopa, voopa, voopa. . . . NOAH! WHAT!?!?!?!"

Ha ha
I think you're talking about the bit where he is a kid, climbs inside the toilet tank, pretends it's a submarine, flushes it, floods the bathroom, etc?

I had that album back in the 80's I think. It was absolutely hilarious!
 
I am driving to Wisconsin tomorrow to visit my first grandchild. I am legal in Mass and Wisconsin to carry but I have heard horror stories of people getting pinched in new york for transport. I would lock the pistol in a compartment that I cannot access from in the vehicle as well as ammo in another. From what I have read New York had laws that contradict federal law for fopa.
Can anyone cite a person convicted or arrested for it? It really sucks. I can not leave new England without passing thru New York and it is the only state I would drive thru that has me worried.
i make a similar trip all the time. WHY would you go thru NY state? Cross over into PA, BRIEFLY going thru NY at Danbury. then go I80 thru PA until ohio. Problem solved.

NY is nothing but gun grabbers and statie speed traps. keep the hell away
 
I know a boat owner that could have been hospitalized with exposure,
or worse, because of combination locks.

Late in the season, after the evening's race and subsequent socializing in the yacht club bar,
he takes the launch's last ride of the night through the mooring field to overnight on his boat.
Waves goodnight to the launch captain, and pokes around topside for a while.
Maybe has a nightcap in the cockpit. And then it's time to go below and hit the bunk.

The companionway hatch has a combination lock -
that lets crew start rigging the boat for racing without needing a key
if they arrive first on a race day.

But the lock is latched.
There's no moon, and his flashlight isn't in his duffel bag.
The launch driver is long gone, it's a weeknight,
and no one else is in the mooring field, or at least partying topside.
It's late September/early October, and getting windy,
but there's no jacket in the bag. Even if he swam ashore,
he'd be on the wrong side of the harbor, miles from his car.

And then he remembered he was wearing a Timex Indiglo watch...
Thank god I got a power boat😂😂
 
But should I do 67mph or 68mph to avoid suspicion?



That is f-ing wild.

Yup.

I do my best to keep informed regarding GA and CT firearm laws and the laws governing transitions/travel/transactions between them. It's in my best interests to do so, because it's my time and money if I run afoul of any of them, and I spend time each year in both states - traveling between them in my truck.

You want some more f***ery? How's this - I have three AR's in CT right now. I was going to bring two of them home to Georgia to do some mods to them. Why not? I declared them after Sandy Hook, they're not NFA items, I can legally possess them in CT and GA. FOPA says I can transport them in my truck. So, what's the problem?

CT says that you can do any of the following with "assault weapons" that are NOT pre-ban, (the 1994 Federal pre-ban, not Maura's made up FAQ; note that pre-ban MSRs don't have the same restrictions):
1) Continue to possess them if they were declared before January 1, 2014
2) Transfer them to an FFL
3) Transfer them out of state

A friend of mine pointed out that you can't bring non-pre-ban AR's INTO the state. So, if I take my declared AR out of the state, there's no way to legally bring it back in.

Yeah - I know - the odds of getting caught doing this are somewhere between slim and non-existent. The problem for me is that I've already been through the court system in Connecticut and last time it took me eight years to get my firearms permit back. I'm "risk-adverse".
 
Ha ha
I think you're talking about the bit where he is a kid, climbs inside the toilet tank, pretends it's a submarine, flushes it, floods the bathroom, etc?

I had that album back in the 80's I think. It was absolutely hilarious!

I'm pretty sure that's Noah building the ark. With his neighbors laughing at him.

Yup -
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgsFCyD4nEw
 
Thank god I got a power boat😂😂
I still remember the time one of you guys cut through the middle of a racing fleet,
and my captain yelled, "take up golf!" at the top of his lungs.

CT says that you can do any of the following with "assault weapons" that are NOT pre-ban, (the 1994 Federal pre-ban, not Maura's made up FAQ; note that pre-ban MSRs don't have the same restrictions):
1) Continue to possess them if they were declared before January 1, 2014
2) Transfer them to an FFL
3) Transfer them out of state
Sounds like a restriction on interstate commerce.

But...
...meh, weak.

In Massachusetts, if you bring a large-cap weapon or feeding device
onto the grounds of a licensed shooting range,
it's illegal to bring it back to your home.
 
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CT says that you can do any of the following with "assault weapons" that are NOT pre-ban, (the 1994 Federal pre-ban, not Maura's made up FAQ; note that pre-ban MSRs don't have the same restrictions):
1) Continue to possess them if they were declared before January 1, 2014
2) Transfer them to an FFL
3) Transfer them out of state

Transporting them to your house in GA is NOT an out of state transfer. Transport does not equal transfer.
 
I always amazed that people actually believe cops will not notice the equivocation in these mealy-mouthed responses.

Cop: "Do you have any weapons in the car?"
MM: "I have no weapons on my person, officer."
Cop: "Is that what I asked? Step out of the car."

Cop: "Do you have any weapons in the car?"
MM: "I have no illegal weapons, officer."
Cop: "Is that what I asked? Step out of the car."

Same people:

Cop: "Do you know how fast you were going?"
MM (cruise control set at 80mph): "Nope."
Cop: "Do you know why I stopped you?"
MM (tried to make the yellow light): "Nope."
You forgot:

Doctor: "sir, do you have weapons at home"

NES MEMBER: "I will not talk about guns with you, it is none of your damn business if I have weapons at home. You have no authority to ask me that question"
 
Taking them home to GA isn't the problem. Bringing them back into CT is the problem.

Why is some magic faerie going to show up and audit your guns when you show up at the airport or you get pulled over when coming back into the state... and they're going to find.... guns you already registered? [rofl]
 
Dear Original Poster,

I just saw this. To all the people telling you to avoid NY, or drive around it, bull crap.

Last year I offered to give $100 to the pro gun charity of the choice of anyone who could come up with a single instance of an otherwise law abiding citizen screwed while transporting a gun by car in NY, DC, or NJ.

I still have the money.

The simple fact is that if you drive normally, only make stops incidental to the trip (food , fuel, lodging, auto repairs if necessary) and pack your guns in compliance with the Safe Passage portion of FOPA, then you have NOTHING to worry about. NOTHING.

p.s. Before all of you scramble off and goodgle that woman or that guy recently screwed by NJ, do realize they were not anywhere near in compliance with FOPA.
 
Dear Original Poster,

I just saw this. To all the people telling you to avoid NY, or drive around it, bull crap.

Last year I offered to give $100 to the pro gun charity of the choice of anyone who could come up with a single instance of an otherwise law abiding citizen screwed while transporting a gun by car in NY, DC, or NJ.

I still have the money.

The simple fact is that if you drive normally, only make stops incidental to the trip (food , fuel, lodging, auto repairs if necessary) and pack your guns in compliance with the Safe Passage portion of FOPA, then you have NOTHING to worry about. NOTHING.

p.s. Before all of you scramble off and goodgle that woman or that guy recently screwed by NJ, do realize they were not anywhere near in compliance with FOPA.
Lodging is NOT covered under FOPA. The PA guy staying overnight at NJ airport spent 3 yrs in NJ prison, lost all appeals.
 
Lodging is NOT covered under FOPA. The PA guy staying overnight at NJ airport spent 3 yrs in NJ prison, lost all appeals.
Lodging IS covered if it is incidental to the trip. If you need to stop to sleep, you are covered under FOPA.

Incidental to the trip means if you stop to sleep on a trip between MA and NY, no you aren't covered.
But if you stop to sleep on a trip between MA and TX, you are covered.

Without reading about that specific instance, I can't comment. Could he have headed straight home after a flight? Did he instead CHOOSE to stay at a NJ airport?

Also, its pretty well established that Port Authority airports in NY and NJ ignore FOPA and let you sort it out in the courts.
 
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