Traveling with handgun

[Dennis6474]

I will be traveling to NY soon by car. I have a FL CC and most states recognize the FL CC permit. However, I don't want to travel with out my handgun but can't take it into NY. I can leave NY by the same road as I went in so I could leave the gun some where near the border and pick it up on my way out.

But where would be the best? I could pawn it and pick it up in a few days or leave it at a gun shop for cleaning I suppose. Both expensive and I don't know the shops. Any suggestions???

[Aguila Blanca]

There is a web site for firearms owners in Pennsylvania, PAFAO. They have a forum, and most of the members are good people. I'd suggest logging on there and asking if anyone would allow you to drop your blaster at their house for a few days. To avoid making it an illegal interstate transfer, keep the gun in some kind of a case that locks, and you retain the key. If you have the key, the temporary host doesn't have ready access to the gun and no transfer has taken place.

Forum link: http://forum.pafoa.org/

[Arrrmaty]

I would just not go to New York. Come to Texas instead, we like guns and people who responsibly own them

[psyfly]

Difficult situation. Pawn shop is a no-no, I believe. I think the FFL in the NY border state will have to transfer it to another FFL in Florida since you don't reside in the border state to NY.

Failing the good advice above (esp. the "visit Texas" recommendation), you might consider a mini-storage unit somewhere on the border.

W.

[Hiker 1]

Good info here: http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/newyork.pdf

You might be ok as long as you don't stop, but you should verify that.

[lcpiper]

Hiker1, NY is his specific destination, how is it he isn't going to stop there? I don't see any remote possibility.

A Bank safety deposit box might be a possibility too.

I wonder, could it be dropped off at a gunshop for some smith work? New grips maybe, something simple where some of the money goes into your gun.

[G. Gunman]

I will be traveling to NY soon by car. I have a FL CC and most states recognize the FL CC permit. However, I don't want to travel with out my handgun but can't take it into NY. I can leave NY by the same road as I went in so I could leave the gun some where near the border and pick it up on my way out.

But where would be the best? I could pawn it and pick it up in a few days or leave it at a gun shop for cleaning I suppose. Both expensive and I don't know the shops. Any suggestions???

In the past I’ve participated in many of these threads. What have I learned? Do not trust the so-called, ‘Firearms Owners Protection Law' and, especially, not in states like New York or New Jersey.

Sad that in America you even have to ask the question. Unless you are a bad guy expecting to be stopped and searched by law I wouldn't fret over it. But, I would unload and put in a case and store in a suitcase or something out of sight and reach. Go about your (legal) business in that sad State.

Forgive me, BUT, that is really terrible advice; and you are grossly underestimating, both, the New Jersey State, as well as the New York State and NYC Police. I’m aware of several motorists who’ve run afoul of these agencies (including my own auto mechanic). Believe me, it wasn’t pretty; and the legal bills can easily exceed $15 to $25 thousand dollars (NOT to mention jail time).

You might be ok as long as you don't stop, but you should verify that.

I’m only going to address what I know for sure: NOT in New Jersey you won’t; and I very much doubt that either New York State, or New York City are any different.

Read THIS; and don’t skip over the part about the so-called, ‘Safe Passage’ provision and states like New Jersey and New York. Among certain other state governments these particular states WILL DEFINITELY TRAMPLE on your Second Amendment Rights - No, ‘ifs’; no, ‘ands’; and no, ‘buts’. THEY WILL!

When the New Jersey State Police caught the fellow who maintains our autos with an unexpected gun in his car, guess what? They even strip-searched the diapers off his 18 month old child! (Absolutely true!) With equal contempt he and his wife, also, had to suffer the same indignity.

They were rushing to Thanksgiving dinner at his mother’s house in NJ; and, until the State Police pulled him over, he had completely forgotten that he had his usual, ‘car gun’ in the glove compartment. Last time I asked him he told me the legal bill was now almost $25,000.00; and, in a few years, his lawyer is going to go back to court in order to have his arrest record expunged. (As a first time, non-repeat, offender New Jersey gives him the right to do that; all it takes are more court appearances and more money.)

If bringing a handgun with you for most of the trip is absolutely positively necessary then I’ll offer the following suggestions: (1) Contact a bank in Pennsylvania and make advance arrangements to rent a properly sized safety deposit box. (2) Alternatively you could contact a company like Sarco, Inc. in Easton, PA and ask their gunsmith to take your handgun in, ‘for cleaning’.

Gun cleaning is a perfectly legal thing to do; and, thereafter, you would have a good several weeks before you have to return to the store in order to retrieve it. Easton, by the way, is just over the Pennsylvania state line from New Jersey; and only about an hour outside of New York City. (Make sure to have your Florida CWL with you - OK!)

Whatever else you do, do NOT trust yourself or your Second Amendment Rights to the Federal, ‘Firearms Owners Protection Act’. No Washington politician is going to come rushing to your rescue if you run afoul of some state’s local firearms laws - No politician! The only thing you can count on is that it’s going to cost 10’s of 1,000’s of dollars in order for you to extricate yourself from any, ‘firearms mess’ you become involved in.

NEVER COUNT ON, OR TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT, ‘THEY’RE NOT GOING TO CATCH YOU.’ (You’ve already asked this question via the Internet; AND someone, somewhere, has already logged your details and IP address - OK.)

[Don P]

The FLA CCW is of no use in MD, NJ, NY. Leave is at home in NYC minimum sentence if caught is 2 1/2 years and thats if they are feeling lenient. Max is 7 years for violating the Sullivan Act.

[Aguila Blanca]

Originally Posted by Don P

The FLA CCW is of no use in MD, NJ, NY. Leave is at home in NYC minimum sentence if caught is 2 1/2 years and thats if they are feeling lenient. Max is 7 years for violating the Sullivan Act.

It's easy enough to get into Pennsylvania (where the FL permit is recognized) without traversing NJ (although New Jersey DOES observe the FOPA -- it's even reproduced in NJ statute and can be found on the NJ State Police web site). Driving up from the south, the stretch through Maryland can be short, and is also covered by the FOPA if the destination (insofar as the firearm is concerned) will be PA. After all, to drop off the firearm anywhere in PA would require a stop and interaction of some type, thus making PA a "destination" for purposes of the FOPA. If you use I-81 instead of I-95, the portion through MD is only a few miles.

The case of the auto mechanic (see above) who was busted in NJ was not a FOPA case. He was traveling TO New Jersey, and that's a different story entirely.

[FoghornLeghorn]

You're driving all the way from Florida to New York?

You're a better man than I.

Re your handgun. You can't take it into New York. That you already know.

I personally would not trust any option that required me to leave it with a "trusted gun owner that I met off the internet", etc. The whole thing is too much hassle and has the potential to bite you in the butt.

Long guns are allowed in New York, yes?

I would investigate the legality of carrying a shotgun with 18 inch barrel in the car with me, and take it into the hotel when I stopped for the night.

Failing that, I simply would travel unarmed. I have had to do that anyway on numerous trips. Canada. Mexico. Hawaii.

You get the idea.

[ClydeFrog]

Id suggest these resources; www.floridafirearmslaw.com www.gunlawguide.com www.nra.org www.mylicensesite.com .
You may want to speak to your atty too if you have one. They can explain the gun laws & travel issues related to New York.
In short, NY does not allow you to travel around with a handgun or carry a loaded concealed handgun where ever you please.
The FL Div of Licensing can explain this to you also.
I would not risk arrest or jail thinking you can travel around NY with a handgun.
Cops in the NE United States(especially around I95) love to make "gun collars" . They can detain & even arrest you if you have a loaded handgun in New York.

Stay safe & be smart.
Clyde

[G. Gunman]

It's easy enough to get into Pennsylvania (where the FL permit is recognized) without traversing NJ (although New Jersey DOES observe the FOPA -- it's even reproduced in NJ statute and can be found on the NJ State Police web site). Driving up from the south, the stretch through Maryland can be short, and is also covered by the FOPA if the destination (insofar as the firearm is concerned) will be PA. After all, to drop off the firearm anywhere in PA would require a stop and interaction of some type, thus making PA a "destination" for purposes of the FOPA. If you use I-81 instead of I-95, the portion through MD is only a few miles.

The case of the auto mechanic (see above) who was busted in NJ was not a FOPA case. He was traveling TO New Jersey, and that's a different story entirely.

That's right; and you've made a very good reply. The reason for bringing the Florida CWL along is in case anyone storing or otherwise processing an out-of-state firearm asks to see it. (I doubt Sarco, Inc. would take in such a gun if they discovered the owner was from another state, AND wasn't licensed to carry in PA.)

New Jersey is a little different: In New Jersey it's illegal to either possess OR use a firearm unless you have an NJFID card. About half my family lives in New Jersey; and several family memebers are, or were, in NJ law enforcement. Whenever I visit them I won't even touch a firearm or any ammunition. Why? Because I am very well aware of how NJ's gun laws are, both, written AND remain open to courtroom interpretation.

Right now the only way I can use a firearm (and especially a handgun) in NJ is for me to make application to the New Jersey State Police for an out-of-state NJFID card. (The one I already possess from my days as a New Jersey state resident is invalid.)

I don't really need to go shooting in New Jersey; I can do all the shooting I want, right here, across the Delaware in Pennsylvania; and I'm not interested in throwing away a whopping $75.00 dollars in order to get re:fingerprinted for another NJFOID card. (Which would be the fourth firearms ID card that I've possessed during my life!) So, in spite of never having been a criminal and coming from one of the most well-regarded public education AND law enforcement families in the state, I don't go shooting with either friends or relatives, anymore, while I'm visiting New Jersey.

WHAT MANY PEOPLE THINK THE GUN LAWS ARE IN NEW JERSEY, AND WHAT THESE LAWS CAN (AND SOMETIMES DO) TURN OUT TO ACTUALLY BE ARE TWO ENTIRELY DIFFERENT THINGS.

Now, a word about the FOPA. Is it within the scope of the law to stay overnight in New Jersey, or to even stop for food or fuel WITHOUT immediately losing the protection this act offers? (I've had better legal minds than my own say that these areas remain legally, 'gray'.)

[jnichols2]

I'm in Texas, and my daughter lives in White Plains, NY. White Plains borders NYC.

When I go visit, I DO NOT take a gun. In fact, I don't even take a pocket knife. New York state isn't so bad on knives, but NYC is.

[ClydeFrog]

My good friend lives in Westchester County NY & is going through the formal gun permit process. He wanted to use Blueline Tactical, a local FFL holder & police supply shop but they cut his scheduled class at the last minute. He did the mandated class in July 2013 & is still waiting for the NY gun license .
I advised him to obtain a Florida CCW(out of state resident W). It's fast & his state training meets Florida's requirements. Blueline teaches a Utah CCW class also. Neither UT or Florida's concealed carry(non resident) license is allowed in New York.
I would also suggest anyone who wants to travel in NY with firearms to review the 2013 SAFE Act laws. Gov Cuomo modified them to allow 10rd magazines for training ranges or NRA match but they can not be fully loaded anywhere else.
BTW; several of the New York DAs & elected sheriffs say they don't support the SAFE act and feel its of no real value to New York's law abiding gun owners/hunters.
Id add that other defense items or weapons may be illegal too; knives, pepper spray, impact weapons(ASP or PR24), Tasers etc. Id check those state laws too.

[Dennis6474]

Thanks for al the advice. I checked with a couple of banks about safety deposit boxes and that seems like a good way to go. Pretty cheap and easy access.

I never thought of pocket knives. Where I am from everyone carries a knife and not for protection but as a handy tool.

From the posts on here is NY really part of the USA any more?

[vito]

It truly is becoming a two-nation country: one part which honors the 2nd Amendment and one part which does not. I recently returned from a trip to New York where I was in NYC for most of 4 days. My Utah concealed carry license would cover me from as soon as I left Illinois and traveled through Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania, but would not for the time I was passing through New Jersey and the time that I was in New York. Rather than just risk being stopped, I chose to go the entire trip unarmed and it was not a problem for me. To some degree I felt like I was traveling to a foreign country, even though I was born and raised in New York City.

Soon I will have my concealed carry license here in Illinois (if all goes well it will be shortly after 1/1/14), which would, along with my Utah license, allow me to legally carry all the way from home to both Iowa and Texas where two of my grown children reside. Driving through Missouri, Oklahoma and on into Texas feels like I am still in America. But as I stated above, when I cross into NJ/NY it feels akin to entering another nation. If I did not have family still in NY I would never cross that state line for the rest of my life.

[Evan Thomas]

The OP's question has been answered, he's made a good decision, and it's time to close this.