If you are legally allowed to possess a weapon at both ends of your journey (FL & NJ,) you may transport it so long as you follow any other local carrying laws on the way.
If you got a non-resident NJ handgun permit, which would allow you to legally possess a handgun in NJ, then you could drive there w/the gun.
If you passed through any other states that required a permit that you didn't have, you could transport the gun on through so long as it was locked in the trunk, away from the ammo. All magazines must be unloaded.
If you don't have the NJ permit, you can't drive through any place in between FL & NJ that requires permits, registrations, etc without first getting proper paperwork.
NJ is a dead loss unless you have a NJ permit.
That is just so loaded with errors...where to start.
If you are legally allowed to possess a weapon at both ends of your journey (FL & NJ,) you may transport it so long as you follow any other local carrying laws on the way.
What are you doing? Are you carrying or are you transporting. Those are two different actions completely. As long as you are transporting a gun, you do not have to comply with any state laws regarding carrying a gun. In your scenario, if you are transporting, local laws in between the origin and destination mean nothing, if you are transporting in compliance with FOPA (18 USC 926a). Now if you are carrying your firearm on the trip, then, yes, you must comply with local carrying laws.
If you passed through any other states that required a permit that you didn't have, you could transport the gun on through so long as it was locked in the trunk, away from the ammo. All magazines must be unloaded.
The only requirement that you have correct, according to FOPA (18 USC 926a), is that gun must be unloaded and locked in the trunk, if the vehicle has a trunk (or external compartment). FOPA does not require separation of the gun from the ammo. FOPA does require separation of the ammo from the occupants of the vehicle. FOPA also does not require magazines to be unloaded, and most states' laws do not require magazines to be unloaded either.
If you don't have the NJ permit, you can't drive through any place in between FL & NJ that requires permits, registrations, etc without first getting proper paperwork.
That is absolutely not true. If your gun is not legal for you to possess in New Jersey, you can still possess and transport that gun up to the New Jersey state line so long as the state laws in between do not forbid possession of that gun. FOPA would not offer protection if New Jersey was your destination, however, if you made somewhere short of New Jersey an intermediate destination to drop off the gun before entering New Jersey, then FOPA would apply. BUT, even if you continue to claim New Jersey as a destination, you can still transport your gun, legally, up to the New Jersey state line, by obeying all the transport laws of the states you travel through, which, in most cases, is the same as FOPA anyway. In most states there are no permits required for possession or transportation of firearms.
