Traveling with guns

[GSG]

I think the likely need for my guns while traveling through a state is small, the use of them when stored according to FOPA slow and inefficient, and the instant I touch the gun I've shed my FOPA protection. The unlikely event of having to explain the gun is more likely than the unlikely event of my being able to use the gun to any purpose. So I would choose to forget the whole situation and ship them.

But that's just me. You're certainly legal to do it, and there's no reason you shouldn't if that's your choice!

The reason I would choose to bring them in the trunk rather than ship them (aside from cost and hassle of shipping) is the great unknown. If my vehicle breaks down in the middle of nowhere, even if that was somewhere in NY or NJ, a gun could still get me out of a mess. I might be risking a few felonies, but if it's me and my loved ones lives or my spotless criminal record on the line, family comes first. I can think of hundreds of scenarios where one could get stranded, scared, thrust into a natural disaster or something else where a gun a few seconds away in a locked case would be much better than a gun hundreds of miles away on a FedEx airplane.

But I will also respect your decision to excercise your rights however you see fit.

 

[drgrant]

If you are transiting NY or NJ, lock everything up in the trunk and make your car 4th amendment proof. This means make sure you car is in good working order, no busted lights, etc, no dumpy interior, etc. Don't speed or drive like a moron. Don't even stop in the state, not even for gas, if you can avoid it. Plan the shortest possible path to get through either of these. Don't drive in the sticks unless you have to.

If you are moving rifles you may want to use guitar/instrument cases or one of those hard sided golf bags that locks. This way in case you have to change a flat you won't become cannon fodder for the antis.

-Mike

 

[Fooped]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

The lengths that we, as law-abiding citizens go through, to comply with the myriad of ridiculous regulations imposed on us are utterly staggering.

Meh.

Good info being passed here though, for the most part.

 

[Sigmond]

Jose, you are a very well read and knowegable guy and I welcome your opinion and advice.

Peace

 

[vellnueve]

If you are transiting NY or NJ, lock everything up in the trunk and make your car 4th amendment proof. This means make sure you car is in good working order, no busted lights, etc, no dumpy interior, etc. Don't speed or drive like a moron. Don't even stop in the state, not even for gas, if you can avoid it. Plan the shortest possible path to get through either of these. Don't drive in the sticks unless you have to.

If you are moving rifles you may want to use guitar/instrument cases or one of those hard sided golf bags that locks. This way in case you have to change a flat you won't become cannon fodder for the antis.

-Mike

Stopping at a Jersey Turnpike rest stop for food and fuel is generally the limit of my involvement with that state.

 

[RKBA]

Journey through NY

I just read that, in addition to it; is unlawful to transport any handguns threw New York with out a non-res license.

I'm not sure what you read, as NY law has no provisions for the issuance of non-resident handgun licenses. That said, drgrant's advice (post #32) is pretty good. I know that NJ has a "ban" on hollowpoint ammunition, I don't know if there is a carveout in the ban for transportation while on an uninterrupted, continuous journey.

 

[jdubois]

I know that NJ has a "ban" on hollowpoint ammunition, I don't know if there is a carveout in the ban for transportation while on an uninterrupted, continuous journey.

N.J.S.A 2C:39-6 lists a bunch of exceptions to the "Dum-dum or body armor penetrating bullets" ban in N.J.S.A 2C:39-3f. But transportation, other than from the store to your residence, is not one of them.

However, as with this entire discussion, the Federal Safe Passage provision in § 926A overrides any state laws, including 2C:39-3. So if you're transporting hollowpoints for a gun that you are also transporting and you are following the Safe Passage provisions, you are legal.

 

[Sir_Macadoo]

I have a question related to this thread, though very specific for me. Soon I will be flying from Boston to Georgia to visit family. Down there everyone shoots recreationally. My question is, can I bring my pistols, unloaded and locked in an airline approved case to Georgia? I have a restricted LTC from Boston and no other permits in any other state.

Similarly, if we fly into Florida (which we sometimes do as Tallahassee can be cheaper than Valdosta) - can I drive up to Georgia with my pistols unloaded, locked in the trunk?

Will I make it through the airports and across the FL/GA border? Many thanks for your advice.

 

[drgrant]

I have a question related to this thread, though very specific for me. Soon I will be flying from Boston to Georgia to visit family. Down there everyone shoots recreationally. My question is, can I bring my pistols, unloaded and locked in an airline approved case to Georgia? I have a restricted LTC from Boston and no other permits in any other state.

Similarly, if we fly into Florida (which we sometimes do as Tallahassee can be cheaper than Valdosta) - can I drive up to Georgia with my pistols unloaded, locked in the trunk?

Will I make it through the airports and across the FL/GA border? Many thanks for your advice.

FL, GA, etc are all "free by default". An unloaded gun in a locked case is more than enough.

Hint: All but maybe a half dozen or so states are like this. MA, CT, NY, NJ, IL are not "normal" in this regard. You do not need a "permit" to bring a typical handgun/rifle/shotgun into most states.

-Mike

 

[M1911]

I have a question related to this thread, though very specific for me. Soon I will be flying from Boston to Georgia to visit family. Down there everyone shoots recreationally. My question is, can I bring my pistols, unloaded and locked in an airline approved case to Georgia? I have a restricted LTC from Boston and no other permits in any other state.

Yes. Be sure to declare the guns and any ammunition you bring to the check-in agent.

Similarly, if we fly into Florida (which we sometimes do as Tallahassee can be cheaper than Valdosta) - can I drive up to Georgia with my pistols unloaded, locked in the trunk?

Yes.

Will I make it through the airports and across the FL/GA border?

Yes, no problem at all. You will have escaped occupied territory and will be in a free country.

 

[Sir_Macadoo]

Great, so I'm good to fly down South, locked guns in tow sans ammo.

Thanks Doc.

 

[Sir_Macadoo]

Thanks all! Im sure this has been covered a 1,000,000 times - thanks again!

 

[Harleynut]

I made the choice one time traveling from Mass to Fla to take a small handgun. I knew it wasn't going to be legal everywhere but chose to do it anyway. I was towing a trailer with the bike in it. As we hit the NJ turnpike about 1 AM we were told we had to get off it because it was windy. It really wasn't all that bad it's just their rule. So here we are forced off the highway onto some unknown side roads in a rain storm. I hit a few large puddles and then the car died, I was able to restart it then it wouldn’t shift right. I was lucky and it kept going but I was really expecting it to die at any moment. I was thinking when I was driving past some housing projects with a car with out of state plates (big white caddy that stuck out like a sore thumb there) this is somewhere I don't want to break down.
At that time it reminded me of the saying better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6.
Most of us use common sense on where we travel to and avoid problem areas but sometimes the choices are made by others. Even with careful planning things can change for the worst fast.

 

[DR.A.W. Fast]

Having transported both guns and ammo into and out of Mass. NJ and NY to various Cowboy Shoots, it would be smart even if just passing through to NOT transport both firearms and ammo in the same container. Also both containers MUST be locked and safely stored, preferably OUT of sight, like in the trunk. With a pickup it's smart to have a tool box that can be locked and place the LOCKED containers in the tool box and LOCK that.

Doc

 

[jdubois]

both containers MUST be locked and safely stored, preferably OUT of sight, like in the trunk.

If just passing through and transporting under the federal safe passage law (§ 926A), the firearms and ammo do not necessarily have to be locked up. They must be kept from being readily accessible, or directly accessible from the passenger compartment. Locking them up in the trunk is the easiest way to accomplish this, but locking them is not a legal requirement unless there is no other compartment separate from the passenger compartment in the vehicle.

 

[DR.A.W. Fast]

It may not be law written in stone but doing the way I do does give you the benefit of a 'Cover your A**' quotient. It was a suggestion from a few lawyers that shoot with us that it be done in that manner! Their understanding is that it limits the prosecutors from using the 'ease of access' of the threat level in court should you become entangled in some way!
Doc

 

[RKBA]

FOPA, aka 18 USC 926A

For those who haven't read the statute itself, here's the text:

Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console. ​

Here's from where it came: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00000926---A000-.html

 

[jdubois]

Their understanding is that it limits the prosecutors from using the 'ease of access' of the threat level in court should you become entangled in some way!

Yes, agreed, which is why I said it was the "easiest way to accomplish" compliance with the law. But the more pressing issue is that while the guns don't technically have to be locked up, they do have to be in the trunk, if there is a trunk.