Crossing State lines (CA to NV)

[gunsgunsguns]

I am going to Vegas in two weeks and I want to stop in Barstow and shoot up in the mountains. I know thats legal my question is, can I take my guns across state lines when we finish shooting?
I will be carrying three rifles(Mauser and Nagant) and a 1895

 

[loneviking]

I'm a little confused---why would you think you couldn't? Nevada gun laws are far less restrictive than the Peoples Republik of California! Just unload the rifles, toss 'em in the trunk and come on in. You can shoot them here in Nevada as well. It's late, I'm at work so I'm a bit tired, but if memory serves me correctly the rule is that the gun can be loaded but no round in the chamber if you are transporting them in your car.

You can also open carry a loaded sidearm as well. If you are in Vegas you may get hassled for OC, but they can't do anything about it. When it Vegas, stay around where the street signs are green. If they turn blue you're headed into the ghetto of North Las Vegas and need to get the heck out of there!

 

[psyopspec]

gunsgunsguns, I just wanted to clarify your post. Are you asking about bringing guns in to NV from CA, shooting, then returning? If so, it sounds like you're fine. Always check state and local laws before taking internet advice, though.

 

[gunsgunsguns]

I am shooting in CA (barstow specifically) but continuing to NV (vegas) for a couple days and then driving back home to Los Angeles. I want to leave the guns in the trunk for the trip across state lines. I am new gun owner(as of one week ago) and just wanted to make sure travelling between my state and NV was ok.

 

[csmkersh]

Do you go through a check-point returning to California? If yes, you may have problems there. No problems at all will be incountered when entering the free state of Nevada.

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[psyopspec]

By my estimation, you're fine. Unload, case, and place in trunk while traveling and roll on.

 

[Zoogster]

By my estimation, you're fine. Unload, case, and place in trunk while traveling and roll on.

On the CA side they do not even have to be cased. There is no law on transport of an unloaded long arm in CA that specifies that.

Handguns do not have to be cased either if they are in the trunk of the vehicle unloaded (though they should be cased transporting to and from the vehicle so they will usualy be cased anyways.) They can be cased or in the trunk. You can do both with them, but it is not required by law.

Long guns can technicaly be uncased, unloaded, anywhere in the vehicle.
In fact the law against concealing a firearm also applies to firearms capable of being concealed on the person, which is how CA law describes handguns. Short barreled rifles and shotguns are illegal in the state, so no grey area there.

Essentialy it is quite difficult to technicaly violate the law with an unloaded long arm in a vehicle in CA.
Nevada being a more free state should be less restrictive.

 

[maestro pistolero]

Handguns do not have to be cased either if they are in the trunk of the vehicle unloaded (though they should be cased transporting to and from the vehicle so they will usualy be cased anyways.) They can be cased or in the trunk. You can do both with them, but it is not required by law.

Better double check that. I'm relatively certain that California requires handguns must be locked in a case and separated from the ammo, whether in the trunk or not.

Also for those coming from other states in to CA., do not bring magazines over 10 rounds, as it is a felony.

 

[Zoogster]

Better double check that. I'm relatively certain that California requires handguns must be locked in a case and separated from the ammo, whether in the trunk or not.

Straight from the attorney general's website (which in general is slightly more restrictive than the actual law) and also the case if you read the statutes.

http://ag.ca.gov/firearms/travel.php

"California Penal Code section 12025 does not prevent a citizen of the United States over 18 years of age who is not lawfully prohibited from firearm possession, and who resides or is temporarily in California, from transporting by motor vehicle any pistol, revolver, or other firearm capable of being concealed upon the person provided the firearm is unloaded and stored in a locked container.

The term "locked container" means a secure container which is fully enclosed and locked by a padlock, key lock, combination lock, or similar locking device. This includes the trunk of a motor vehicle, but does not include the utility or glove compartment. For more information, refer to California Penal Code Section 12026.1."


The trunk qualifies as a locked container under CA law. So it still has to be in a locked container for transport, but the trunk itself is considered a locked container and an additional locked container is not necessary.
Further open carry of an unloaded firearm is technicaly legal. So transport without a case in a locked trunk, and then transport openly from the trunk to the outdoor shooting would be legal, but not advised in a public setting.

The ammunition can be anywhere you want. Even with the firearm. It just cannot be 'attached to the firearm' or loaded into the firearm. As a precation people usualy keep it seperate. That is not a legal requirement.
(Case law even considers a side saddle attached to the firearm with ammo in it unloaded for that definition.)

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

I lived there for a time (and detested it, but this is not germane to the topic.)

If by any chance you find yourself in either area, at least as of 2005, North Las Vegas (a different city than Las Vegas, also - as mentioned - a bad area) and Boulder City have handgun restrictions. BC's city limits begin over 10 miles from any actual civilization, too. You should be OK if they are cased and locked, however, under the FOPA "peaceable journey" law.

 

[Zoogster]

Oh in addition, though this is most definately not advised in CA:
The restrictions pertaining to transport of a handgun in CA only apply to a concealed handgun. The exemption is essentialy for concealed handguns which are in a locked container, whether the trunk or a seperate actual locked container elsewhere in the vehicle.
The exemption is saying that having them in a locked container is a legal defense against having a handgun concealed.

Those rules are exemptions to the concealed statute on handguns, which is what PC12025 deals with.
PC12025 is the law against carrying a concealed handgun. Those 'requirements' are exemptions to pc12025, not the requirements for transport.
They are not the general requirements of handgun transportation, even though they are presented that way. If the handgun is not concealed and is unloaded then it does not have to even be in a locked container for transport.

I do not advise openly transporting a handgun in the vehicle unloaded, but it is perfectly legal. It only has to qualify under the exemptions to PC12025 if it is concealed.

Long guns do not even have those restrictions. They just have to be unloaded inside the vehicle.
People usualy put the firearms in the trunk to avoid trouble with ignorant officers, because if you are charged, even with a bogus charge it can be a major pain and expense.

There is also 626.9 the
Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1995 (the CA version not the federal one) a law against being within 1,000 feet of a school with a firearm. So it is simply easier to comply with the laws by having them in the trunk.
Having the firearm in a locked container under the same definition of PC12026.1 (the exemption to pc12025 cited above) is an exemption to 626.9
So simply having a handgun in a locked trunk or in a locked container is an exemption to that law as well. A locked trunk is a locked container under the definition of law.

 

[gunsgunsguns]

Update Followup Question

Thanks guys for all the info

Basically what I take from what you guys are saying is that if I leave them in the trunk locked I can take them across state lines

To go over it again

I am going to Vegas from Los Angeles and want to shoot in Barstow on the way. The guns will stay in the trunk while im not shooting and I'm ok.

But I now have a new question. Because of all the annoying laws about plinking and shooting apples in CA (lol I can't even believe they have those rules) I am thinking to shoot on the NV side on the way to Vegas. Is that allowed? I am a CA resident but can I shoot in the NV desert in ALLOWED locations?

Again I love this site, you guys are a tremendous help

PS- I have decided to join the NRA. I am new to guns and I knew our rights were being stripped but this is just out of control. Its a really horrible all these restrictions, in particular CA, I think my state has been lost to the liberals but I'll try and hold the line and push em back!

 

[Zoogster]

Everything I said has to do with CA law prior to crossing the border. What you have to do after crossing the state border to NV was not answered by me.
I do not claim to know various ordinances or laws in portions of NV well enough to give advice on that.

 

[psyopspec]

My original advice still stands. Unload, case, put in trunk, and you can't violate any laws on transporting in either state. The reason I offer is isn't because it's the letter of the law - it's because if you do this, you can't run afoul of the law. Enjoy shooting in the desert, then unload, case, and put in the trunk. Are we seeing a pattern here?

Also, I forgot to tell you congratulations on the new shootin' irons, and welcome to THR!

 

[loneviking]

Yes, you can shoot in the desert on the way to Vegas. Just get off the road and into the desert so you don't harm anyone. Most of Nevada is BLM land and anyone can use it for recreation, hunting, shooting, rockhounding, etc. If it's BLM land, knock yourself out and have a good time.

BTW--Nevada had a statewide pre-emption statute go into effect as of Oct. 2007 which wipes out the handgun restrictions that Boulder and North Las Vegas used to have. The only regulation peculiar to Clarke county is that if you reside there for 60 days (or more) you will have to register your handgun.

 

[EOD Guy]

By my estimation, you're fine. Unload, case, and place in trunk while traveling and roll on.

On the CA side they do not even have to be cased. There is no law on transport of an unloaded long arm in CA that specifies that.

Handguns do not have to be cased either if they are in the trunk of the vehicle unloaded (though they should be cased transporting to and from the vehicle so they will usualy be cased anyways.) They can be cased or in the trunk. You can do both with them, but it is not required by law.

Long guns can technicaly be uncased, unloaded, anywhere in the vehicle.
In fact the law against concealing a firearm also applies to firearms capable of being concealed on the person, which is how CA law describes handguns. Short barreled rifles and shotguns are illegal in the state, so no grey area there.

Essentialy it is quite difficult to technicaly violate the law with an unloaded long arm in a vehicle in CA.
Nevada being a more free state should be less restrictive.

Be careful here. The Federal Gun Free Schools Act requires that all firearms, including rifles and shotguns, be in a locked case or the locked trunk of a vehicle if you travel within 1,000 yards of a school.

 

[csmkersh]

Be careful here. The Federal Gun Free Schools Act requires that all firearms, including rifles and shotguns, be in a locked case or the locked trunk of a vehicle if you travel within 1,000 yards of a school.

Can you provide a citation on that. The original law was set aside 10 years back.

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[hvengel]

The PRK has it's own school zone law that is similar to the original federal law.

 

[Zoogster]

Be careful here.

I covered that at the end of post #11, but yes you have to be careful of those laws.

 

[csmkersh]

The PRK has it's own school zone law that is similar to the original federal law.

That's the reason I asked for a cite. Texas' school zone law mirrors current federal law and is now way that stringent.


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[WheelGunMom]

County ordinances for Clark County Nevada are at this link:

http://ordlink.com/codes/clarknv/index.htm

Go to Title 12 for the firearm provisions. My understanding is that the discharge of firearm provisions were NOT pre-empted. Could be wrong on this, but the updated ordinances are at the link above.

You will get some attention if you open carry in suburban Vegas or around the LV Strip. I'll give you a big thumbs up if I see ya though!

 

[EOD Guy]

Can you provide a citation on that. The original law was set aside 10 years back.

After the orginal act was set aside, Congress passed another version that addressed the court's objections. It is current law and is codified in 18USC, Chapter 44 §922(q). The law does not differentiate between different types of firearms as some state statutes do. The Federal law requires that all firearms be locked when transiting a school zone, with a few specific examples.

The PRK has it's own school zone law that is similar to the original federal law.

Yes, except that the California law only requires that handguns be in a locked container when passing through the school zone. It does not require that rifles or shotguns be locked up.

 

[loneviking]

Go to Title 12 for the firearm provisions. My understanding is that the discharge of firearm provisions were NOT pre-empted. Could be wrong on this, but the updated ordinances are at the link above.

Correct. Discharge of firearms and the handgun registration in Las Vegas are not pre-empted. You also can't trust the ordinance sites as the city of Boulder, for example, has been refusing to amend it's code to comply with the preemption law. And yes, you may get hassled for carrying, but as bad as the crime rate is in Vegas, I'd carry anyway!

If you want to gamble, come up here to Reno. It's much safer and there's still lots to do. We just don't have the exploding volcanoes, white tiger shows and all of that stuff!

 

[csmkersh]

Thanks for the citation. And prohibiting of firearms is NOT absolute as I suspected.

Title 18, Chapter 44 Section 922(g)(2)

(2)(A) It shall be unlawful for any individual knowingly to possess a firearm that has moved in or that otherwise affects interstate or foreign commerce at a place that the individual knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, is a school zone.

(B) Subparagraph (A) does not apply to the possession of a firearm -

(i) on private property not part of school grounds;

(ii) if the individual possessing the firearm is licensed to do so by the State in which the school zone is located or a political subdivision of the State, and the law of the State or political subdivision requires that, before an individual obtains such a license, the law enforcement authorities of the State or political subdivision verify that the individual is qualified
under law to receive the license;

(iii) that is -

(I) not loaded; and

(II) in a locked container, or a locked firearms rack that is on a motor vehicle;

1. (iv) by an individual for use in a program approved by a school in the school zone;
2.
(v) by an individual in accordance with a contract entered into between a school in the school zone and the individual or an employer of the individual;
3.
(vi) by a law enforcement officer acting in his or her official capacity; or
4.
(vii) that is unloaded and is possessed by an individual while traversing school premises for the purpose of gaining access to public or private lands open to hunting, if the entry on school
premises is authorized by school authorities.​

I know some will read this to mean that even though you are licensed to carry the firearm must be unladed. That is incorrect.

Search US Code

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[Zoogster]

I have heard though that the prosecutor enforcing the federal version has the burden of proof of showing it is involved in interstate commerce.

It would almost seem homemade firearms would be exempt from the statute as well.
Though the ruling I mention here http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=381338
could have a negative impact on that. Though that ruling came years later and is not concurrent with the spirit of the law in this law, since it was re-written just for the interstate commerce clause after being struck down by the courts previously.
Of course since most firearms are sold in interstate commerce it might never be challenged.