Car carry in locked compartment

R

Roland Thunder

New member
I am getting ready to travel through a state that requires guns to be in a locked compartment in ones automobile if the person does not have a permit (which I don't, nor do they reciprocate with my state). Since I don't have a trunk (I have an SUV). Could I legally keep them in a gym back or suitcase with one of those TSA certified padlocks on the zipper. I think the idea is that one would have to go through some gyrations to get the gun out of the locked compartment/bag, minimizing the possibility of an impulse response.
 
You don't provide enough information. What state are we talking about here? I would caution you to read the actual laws for yourself. Don't rely on internet forum wisdom necessarily.

Your idea might be fine or it might not. Start by posting the state and perhaps someone with knowledge from that state will be able to give you some insight.
 
You'll have to check the law in the state(s) you're going through, but generally there's language in most laws that allow for guns to be transported in the cargo area in a locked case, (if the vehicle doesn't have a trunk) with the ammo separate. There's also federal law that covers transport through all states, but you better check the law in your destination state.

Here's an excerpt from the FOPA 1986 from Wiki:

"One of the law's provisions was that persons traveling from one place to another cannot be incarcerated for a firearms offense in a state that has strict gun control laws if the traveler is just passing through (short stops for food and gas), provided that the firearms and ammunition are not immediately accessible, that the firearms are unloaded and, in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment, the firearms are located in a locked container.[11]

Under this provision, someone driving from Virginia to a competition in Vermont with a locked hard case containing an unloaded handgun and a box of ammunition in the trunk could not be prosecuted in New Jersey or New York City for illegal possession of a handgun provided that the individual did not stop in New Jersey or New York for an extended period of time."
 
If you need a tool to defeat a locked case, it's locked. You can break open some hard cases with a screwdriver. The intent of the locked case is to make your firearm not immediately accessible to you. State laws outlining the legal transport of firearms in cars are probably pretty much the same. I've seen countless people at ranges in SUV's & pickup trucks with soft range bags, duffel bags, tool bags (including me) with small locks. They satisfied the intent of the law.
 
If you need a tool to defeat a locked case, it's locked. You can break open some hard cases with a screwdriver. The intent of the locked case is to make your firearm not immediately accessible to you. State laws outlining the legal transport of firearms in cars are probably pretty much the same. I've seen countless people at ranges in SUV's & pickup trucks with soft range bags, duffel bags, tool bags (including me) with small locks. They satisfied the intent of the law.
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Thats not true, most states are very lenient while NJ is not. There is a current story of a guy from the Carolinas who was invited up here to help with electrical outages, after a storm. He had a CCW from his state, and when stopped he let the LEO know he had a gun in his vehicle, per his state laws regarding CCW. He is now facing 5-10 years in prison and a felony charge because he followed his states laws but NJ does not.
 
2ndsojourn said:
If you need a tool to defeat a locked case, it's locked. You can break open some hard cases with a screwdriver. The intent of the locked case is to make your firearm not immediately accessible to you. State laws outlining the legal transport of firearms in cars are probably pretty much the same. I've seen countless people at ranges in SUV's & pickup trucks with soft range bags, duffel bags, tool bags (including me) with small locks. They satisfied the intent of the law.
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Exactly. If the purpose was to make sure that it was impossible to get into, then glove boxes would not be acceptable storage places since you can bust one open with a hammer. As you said, the idea is to discourage immediate access to mitigate impulsively pulling your gone out.


BTW the state is South Carolina
 
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Boncrayon said:
You can open a zipper with a ballpoint pen. That's not considered locked.
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Apparently you did not read my original post where I specified a TSA approved padlock. This is what I have had in mind.

IMG_20150812_100818273_zpskm0kews8.jpg


I don't think a ball point pen will be opening it. I'm not saying it can't be opened, I am saying it can't be opened quickly
 
NJ Gov.Christie Pardons Philadelphia Nurse Convicted of Firearms Possession in NJ

This one is so outrageous, you couldn't possibly make this up;

http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NJ-Christie-Pardons-Philly-Mom-Gun-Charges-298510371.html

I live in Pennsylvania with a valid PA License to Carry. I commute into South Jersey daily for work. Of course, my PA permit is not reciprocal with Delaware, which I have to drive through to get to Jersey, and of course, my PA Permit is not reciprocal with New Jersey. I cannot apply for an NJ Licence to Carry since Jersey is a "may issue" state for firearms carry licenses, and my occupation does not qualify me to be approved for an NJ carry permit, forget the 2nd Amendment and my right of self-defense. To physically transport my gun & ammo into New Jersey, I would need to lock my gun up in one hard container, and lock the ammo in a second hard container, then lock both up in the trunk of my car. If I am stopped in NJ with both my gun & ammo secured as described, I'd have to convince the officer that I was on my way back to Pennsylvania to complete my trip where my gun & ammo are legal to own & transport. Guns and ammunition in New Jersey are not legal to own, transport & use at a firing range, without a NJ Firearms I.D. Card, AND an individual NJ Firearms Purchase Permit for the gun being transported to a firing range. The NJ Firarms I.D. Card is necessary to buy ammo and use it at one of the very few firing ranges in the state. And Jacketed Hollow Point ammo is illegal in New Jersey! These are both separate documentation from an NJ carry permit. Since the company I work for prohibits keeping a firearm in the trunk of my car as described. I would be subject to termination and arrest if company security asked to inspect my car, such request being legal on company property.

So this is what it is, I am unarmed for at least 12 hours each weekday because of the draconian state laws that I have to comply with to make my living.
 
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From Griz:
"Thats not true, most states are very lenient while NJ is not. There is a current story of a guy from the Carolinas who was invited up here to help with electrical outages, after a storm. He had a CCW from his state, and when stopped he let the LEO know he had a gun in his vehicle, per his state laws regarding CCW. He is now facing 5-10 years in prison and a felony charge because he followed his states laws but NJ does not. "

Griz, the subject of the thread is transporting firearms through another state. We are protected by federal law via FOPA of 1986. Federal law offers no protection in the destination state; you must comply with the law of that state. NJ doesn't like people riding around with a gun(s) in their vehicle. Basically, you are allowed to transport it from a place you're allowed to have it to another place you're allowed to have it - ie: your home to a firing range / gun shop/ gunsmith / shooting match / hunting location. Without more information, I'm thinking that guy wasn't doing any of that.


From JD:
"To physically transport my gun & ammo into New Jersey, I would need to lock my gun up in one hard container, and lock the ammo in a second hard container, then lock both up in the trunk of my car. If I am stopped in NJ with both my gun & ammo secured as described, I'd have to convince the officer that I was on my way back to Pennsylvania to complete my trip where my gun & ammo are legal to own & transport. Guns and ammunition in New Jersey are not legal to own, transport & use at a firing range, without a NJ Firearms I.D. Card, AND an individual NJ Firearms Purchase Permit for the gun being transported to a firing range. The NJ Firarms I.D. Card is necessary to buy ammo and use it at one of the very few firing ranges in the state. And Jacketed Hollow Point ammo is illegal in New Jersey! These are both separate documentation from an NJ carry permit. "

JD, there's a number of things incorrect there. You don't necessarily need a FID card to own a firearm. I moved here with some guns, and didn't have one for awhile. People come from other states to shooting matches and don't need one. I don't have time to look it up right now, but I remember reading somewhere that you don't need a FID card to transport to the range. The only restrictions I saw was buying firearms and ammo. (But I may be wrong on that one. :o) There is no requirement to have an individual permit to use a gun at the range. Guns I brought with me when I moved here can be taken to the range. There are shooting matches here and folks come from other states without any permits, and they're not breaking any laws. Also, HP ammo is not illegal in NJ. It's legal to use at the range and on your on property for self defense. You're not allowed to use it in SD carry, but NJ doesn't issue carry permits anyway.

Anyway, we're getting off track. Federal law protects you when transporting firearms through various states. State law applies at your destination state.
 
Guns and ammunition in New Jersey are not legal to own, transport & use at a firing range, without a NJ Firearms I.D. Card, AND an individual NJ Firearms Purchase Permit for the gun being transported
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This is too general of a statement, and must only apply to handguns; whereas there are several large shotgun tournaments that draw folks from all over the region that bring guns and ammo without permits or fear of being arrested.
 
He's been mis-informed. It's only illegal to transfer guns & ammo to someone who doesn't have a FID. NJ firearms law makes no mention of transporting without a FID. But you must be transporting from a place you're allowed to have it to another place you're allowed, including a firing range. You can't be driving around with it, locked up or not.
 
travel through a state that requires guns to be in a locked compartment in ones automobile
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O/P, it sounds as if you have already researched the law, and know what it is. Now an unloaded firearm in a locked bag meets the spirit of the law, but it MAY not meet the letter of the law. I can only tell you with 20 plus years of L/E experience. If I were to stop you for nothing more than routine traffic violation, I would see no reason to search you vehicle. Even if I did search your vehicle, I would tend to believe that you were making every effort to obey the law, and therefore we would have no problems. Now if you were a jerk/smart mouth that would be a different story.
 
Anyway, we're getting off track. Federal law protects you when transporting firearms through various states. State law applies at your destination state.
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Here is the governing federal law;

Interstate transportation is covered under the Safe Passage provision of the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA), 18 USC § 926A, which states:

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.
 
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