Traveling in the northeast with a handgun

[fireman 9731]

I appreciate everyone's thoughts... Its looking like no gun at all is the best option.

I never really thought about other state's gun laws. I'm spoiled with Kentucky's. Some folks in the northeast really are deprived.

 

[oneounceload]

Have you never been pulled over when you had no idea why they were doing so?

No, not in over 40 years of driving - if I got pulled over, it was usually because I ignored the speed limit sign in my younger days.

Want to avoid most of this hassle? Stay off the Interstate and drive the scenic backroads through the small towns - the OP is, after all, going on a scenic fall trip.

 

[razorback2003]

If you are driving directly to Maine, you can put your handgun in the trunk of your car when driving directly across New York. If you are spending time in New York to sight see, you can't bring a handgun there unless you are shooting in an NRA sanctioned match. You can have a handgun in Maine without any sort of license. I have no idea if you can carry it there with your KY license.

You can bring a rifle or a shotgun to New York as a non resident. A Remington 870 is easy to break down and put back together for staying in a hotel room. You might want to look into pepper spray. Only New York City requires a license to possess a long gun. If you aren't going to NYC, you are legal to have a long gun.

 

[AStone]

Subscribed.

Sometime next spring, I'll need to travel from Florida (overwintering for professional reasons) to Maine (home).

I hope to do it by train (Amtrak). (I really hate commercial flight.)

But I'll need to transport 2 rifles and a handgun.

I'm wondering if I should just ship the guns.

Reading...

 

[xxjumbojimboxx]

I wouldnt set foot in massachusetts, they dont care about your permits, or safe harbor. Theyll arrest you and lock you up, even if you do it properly while just passing through.

 

[vito]

Interesting thread because several times a year I travel from IL to visit my elderly (now 100) mother in a nursing home in NY. Passing through NJ as well is unavoidable. Despite having several state license's to carry, none, of course, cover me in either NY or NJ. I am legal to carry from IL, through IN, OH and PA. But as soon as I cross into NJ I would be committing a felony to have a handgun in the car, even if unloaded, in a locked steel container, and placed in the trunk of my car. Knowing that I could be stopped for a traffic violation (not seeing a change of speed limit sign and getting pulled over for what I thought was the legal speed, or something similar) and that the officer could readily find that I am licensed to carry, I just do not bring a firearm when making this trip.

The risks and consequences of having a gun when going to or through NJ and NY are so high that I just leave myself unarmed for the entire trip. I have actually contemplated renting a safe deposit box in a bank near in PA near the NJ border where I could stop and leave my firearm, but the reality of bank hours would likely make me add a day on the road both coming and going. And anyway, once my Mom is no longer with us I do not plan on EVER coming back to NY. Relatives who want to see me can come visit me in IL instead.

Traveling to NJ or NY makes me feel like I have left the US and entered a foreign and hostile country.

 

[dh1633pm]

And Vito you live in IL. Not exactly a gun friendly place. Especially Chicago. Yes, New York is not gun friendly. I don't think it ever will be. Run by too many people from NYC bringing their hair brained ideas with them. You take a big risk traveling across the state with a pistol. The state will not recognize permits of any type from any other state. The permitting process is too cumbersome even for New Yorkers so I don't have one or want one.

 

[vito]

IL is now a pretty gun friendly state, even Chicago since state law preempts local restrictive gun laws. Since 2014 we have had the right to carry, and this applies even in Chicago. Sure, we have a bunch of areas where carry is illegal, such as schools, parks, public transportation, sporting events, etc. but essentially our 2nd Amendment rights are now secure.

I understand that NY is unlikely to change its anti-gun laws, unless forced to by federal court rulings that might again give New Yorkers their constitutional rights. In the meantime I would not live in NY, the place where I was born and raised. IL may not be the perfect state from a 2nd Amendment perspective, but it is now infinitely better than it was just a few years ago, and much, much better than the hostile-to-freedom states of NY, NJ, MD, MA, RI, CA, and maybe a few other of the lower 48.

 

[oneounceload]

Yes, New York is not gun friendly

And yet they have a huge number of gun clubs - imagine that..........
143 shotgun clubs:
http://www.claytargetsonline.com/new-york/

SOMEONE must be shooting to keep all those clubs open..............

 

[Red Wind]

Subscribed.

Sometime next spring, I'll need to travel from Florida (overwintering for professional reasons) to Maine (home).

I hope to do it by train (Amtrak). (I really hate commercial flight.)

But I'll need to transport 2 rifles and a handgun.

I'm wondering if I should just ship the guns.

Reading...

A Federal Law passed in 2010 now allows you to carry firearms on Amtrak in checked baggage.

 

[AStone]

Thanks for that info ^ , Red Wind. Very useful. And good timing. I was not aware. Last time I rode Amtrak, it was still a no no.

Even so, I may still consider shipping them -- just for security reasons.

 

[MacTech]

I live in Maine, and the furthest South I go is NH, as far as I'm concerned, New England stops below the NH/VT state lines

Currently, Maine only requires a CCW permit for concealed carry, no registration of any kind.

Come Oct. 15, we will become the eighth state to have Constitutional carry, like our close neighbor, Vt, the same legislation also decriminalizes switchblades, and allows hunting with suppressed firearms

Now all we need is to get our neighboring state of NH to pass constitutional carry, and we can have the Free Northern New England states!

Come and join us, NH, the water's fine

 

[GAF]

I would just leave the gun at home. Small comfort is knowing that millions of people go about their everyday business and never have a bad thing happen to them. Also those same millions go about their everyday lives not being stopped buy the police .

If I was going to travel through NJ, NY, MD, or DC I would just not have a gun with me. I would feel naked though.

 

[macadore]

Remember also that the FOPA protects you only if you are just passing through. If you're planning to spend any time in New York or Massachusetts, the FOPA wouldn't apply.

You might want to look into Massachusetts and Maine non-resident permits. But you're sunk as far as New York (and New Jersey) go.

Thanks Frank. My son recently moved to New England and I was concerned about driving half way across the U.S. and back unarmed. As I understand the FOPA, all I have to do before I get into New York is unload my firearm and lock it in a box in the trunk. Does the ammunition have to be locked in a separate box? can I lock high capacity handgun magazines in the box with the handgun as well?

 

[scaatylobo]

Your life,YOUR choice

I see that many advise you to go unarmed,that has a good 'chance' of working out.

I do not like 'chances'.

I was born in NYC and now live in NYS [ total 68 years ].

And yes, a gun has saved my butt a few times,both on the job [ became an LEO after NYC ] and off the job.

I believe that a UNLOADED 12 bore S/S broken down and in a suitcase is how I would go.

Just know the NJ and Mass are worse than NY by a country mile.

IF your in any of those states and in ANY city --- be careful where you go and the time of day.

A much wiser man than I once said"nothing good happens after 11 pm".

Hope its a great trip,right now we are in the Adirondacks and it is amazing.

 

[shafter]

If you lock it unloaded in a box in the trunk you probably won't have any issues. Obey traffic laws, make sure your vehicle doesn't have any defects (headlight out etc) and if you are stopped be respectful and courteous but don't consent to a vehicle search if asked. However, you may as well leave it at home for all the good it will do you locked in your trunk.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

I felt the risk of being pulled over and searched and going to jail for a number of years was greater..... /QUOTE]
I have read this kind of comment before and do not understand the fear>
Pulled over and searched??? Why? What would you be doing that a police officer or trooper would a) pull you over and b) search your car?
Pete

Do you know for sure that every light on your vehicle is working at any given moment?

Have you ever crossed a solid white or yellow line?

Have you ever weaved within you own lane or ever swerved to avoid something?

Have you ever driven faster or slower than general traffic?

Do you know whether or not your vehicle happens to match the description of one the police are looking for?

All these things, and many more, constitute valid reasons anybody could be pulled over. There are so many laws on the books that it's nearly impossible for an officer NOT to find a reason to pull anybody over at any given time.

As for searching...whether you consent or not, if an officer makes the determination that he has probable cause to search your vehicle, it's game over for you until you go to court because you won't be able to contest it roadside. Maybe it's valid, maybe not. And, like finding a reason to pull you over in the first place, I'm sure probable cause isn't too far fetched for an officer on a mission to "get" someone. All it takes is one person in the vehicle to say or do the wrong thing after being pulled over.

With so many states tying their CCW permit data to their DMV databases, it's not an unreasonable assumption that if an officer runs your plates for some reason that he will also find out whether or not many of us have such a permit. And from there, if he chooses to pull one of us over, it's also not an unreasonable assumption that some of his questions might be related to firearms.

It's not in the job description of LEOs to NOT look for violations...rather the opposite.


I don't think that there is much real "fear" involved here. Rather, I think there's a fair amount of "I'm not willing to risk it based on the virtually infinitesimal odds that I may actually need my gun" going on.

Personally, I don't think that the vast majority of officers are "out to get me". Indeed, that's not my experience at all. By the same token, it's in my best interest NOT to give them something they can hang me for when I know better in the first place.

 

[oneounceload]

And how any times have you been pulled over for any of those things?

Here we go again, with trying to determine every possible "what if" worst case scenario. If you are that paranoid, then buy a mountain top and grow your own food so you never have to interact or venture among the folks who might do all those bad things to you...........

 

[Frank Ettin]

...As I understand the FOPA, all I have to do before I get into New York is unload my firearm and lock it in a box in the trunk. Does the ammunition have to be locked in a separate box? can I lock high capacity handgun magazines in the box with the handgun as well?...

While I'm a lawyer, I'm not your lawyer. I comment on legal issues and offer general information on legal topics, but I don't provide specific legal advice.

The relevant portion of the FOPA is set out at 18 USC 926A:

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.

I believe there have been some cases in the 2nd and 3rd Circuits further narrowing the protections afforded by the FOPA.

 

[RetiredUSNChief]

And how any times have you been pulled over for any of those things?

Here we go again, with trying to determine every possible "what if" worst case scenario. If you are that paranoid, then buy a mountain top and grow your own food so you never have to interact or venture among the folks who might do all those bad things to you...........

I've been pulled over for a brake light out, another time right after a headlight went out. I've been pulled over for drifting across the line on the interstate. I've been pulled over for speeding a few times.

None of them were big deals and I didn't get ticketed for all of them, either.

But my posting wasn't about being paranoid. It was about addressing what a person would be doing that they would be pulled over for. No more, no less.

We all go through life making decisions and choices based on risk assessments, however we each may assign the levels of risks involved. The issue of whether, or how, to go about transporting a firearm in the Northeastern states is no different.

Is the risk of getting pulled over small? Sure it is. Is the risk of having one's vehicle searched small? You bet. Likewise, so are the risks of being in a scenario where a firearm would be needed for self-defense...yet it's safe to say that a great many on this site have assessed that risk to be significant enough, and the potential consequences to be severe enough, to routinely carry a firearm openly or concealed or to have firearms ready for such use at home or in their vehicles.

If YOU think the risk of getting pulled over and/or searched while legally transporting a firearm through states that are openly unfriendly towards firearms owners is insignificant enough to brush it off, more power to you. But others are not obliged to agree, even if you think it's paranoid of them to think so.

 

[toivo]

Long guns are not a problem anywhere in NY State except NYC. Can't be carried loaded in the car.

 

[hotrod67]

orginally from western ny. when we go home i never chance taking a handgun with me

 

[steelerdude99]

From other past post(s) and reading on THR, here is my summary and why I would NOT step foot in NY.

New York State requires a state license to possess a firearm, and does not issue licenses to out-of-state residents. In the eye of New York State, you illegally possess a firearm(s) in their jurisdiction. IF they catch you violating their registration law, you can claim FOPA as your affirmative defense against the charge during processing OR plead to a lesser crime. If you drag it out and insist on your innocence … and if everything else “checks out”, you just may go on your way… eventually. However, an affirmative defense requires that you first admit that you violated the law. From the viewpoint of US government, you were "let off" by use of FOPA; so they don’t see a problem. But the costs .... you'll need a good lawyer, spend some time incarcerated, and by the way, the gun(s) will be kept by them.

If you travel though New York State with a firearm, you need to be aware of this set of circumstances and be willing to accept that you might be stopped and possibly arrested if you have a firearm in the vehicle. BOTTOM LINE is: NY does not agree with FOPA and is no friend to gun owners, especially out of state gun owners. They will act within the policies and procedures that have been able to get away with.

chuck

PS: These harsh tactics come in to play at airline check in too. Many fly in to NY with guns in their checked bags. But when declaring it/them, per airline policy on departure, they get arrested.

 

[oneounceload]

New York State requires a state license to possess a firearm, and does not issue licenses to out-of-state residents. In the eye of New York State, you illegally possess a firearm(s) in their jurisdiction.

Then how do all of those out of state shooters manage to bring those guns into the state and go to all of those tournaments if it is illegal? (Same for NJ, MD, DE, RI, MA, etc.)

 

[Sam1911]

hen how do all of those out of state shooters manage to bring those guns into the state and go to all of those tournaments if it is illegal? (Same for NJ, MD, DE, RI, MA, etc.)

Specific exemptions for people traveling to a formal target shooting competition. You need documentation as well, and if your gear itself is illegal in the state, that's not exempted.