New York and CCW

T

Troop362

New member
I am licensed to carry concealed in 46 states. My worry is driving around and flying out of New York State. Does anyone actually know the law about transporting a firearm in the state of New York? I've heard stories of people being charged with a felony for just having a locked firearm in their suitcase at the airport. Question: Can I drive with it locked in my car, ammunition separate, and can I lock it in my suitcase prior to flying out of NY?
 
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your best bet is to contact the NY state police and ask. Maybe also the port authority about the air port.
NYS does not recognize any other states permits.
 
The police know nothing. Contact a lawyer familiar with NY firearm laws.

Also check out Handgunlaw.us
 
here's a short answer: Do not bring a handgun into NYS.

NYS does not recognize other states permits. It is a felony to bring an unregistered handgun into NYS, with a few very specific exemptions for competitions and travel directly to another state that you are legally allowed to possess a handgun in.
 
I am licensed to carry concealed in 46 states. My worry is driving around and flying out of New York State. Does anyone actually know the law about transporting a firearm in the state of New York? I've heard stories of people being charged with a felony for just having a locked firmed in their suitcase at the airport. Question: Can I drive with it locked in my car, ammunition separate, and can I lock it in my suitcase prior to flying out of NY?
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Good afternoon sir, it is good you have come here to ask this before you set off on your trip. DO NOT bring a handgun into NY State unless you have an NY State issued CCL. New York is.....for a lack of a better term.....special. And by that, it is not in a good way at all.

This state has formulated a unique blend of predatory capitalism and trampling on gun rights. If you get caught with an unlicensed handgun, you will be arrested. And then, they will plea down your charges and let you go but only after making you pay an extraordinary fine. And if you happen to have any money left in your account after that fine, they will make sure that you use that to pay off the rest of the ridiculously high attorney and legal fees for your case. And most likely you will not get your gun back.

In New York City, this is the third biggest revenue generator, after parking tickets and sidewalk vendor permits. The powers that be here seem to get a kick out of entrapping poor out-of-state tourists who thought they could bring their handguns with them, and then sharking them down to their underpants.
 
There is a general blanket protection in Federal Law, the 1986 FOPA (Firearms Owner Protection Act) that covers you against prosecution by the state, IF you are traveling THROUGH the state, from one place your gun is legal to another where it is legal.

There are certain requirements that must be met in order for this protection to apply, state law enforcement officers cannot be relied on to know what these are, and when they are applicable. Some might, but don't count on it. And, even if you are compliant with the rules, so the Act does cover you, it will not prevent arrest or incarceration awaiting a hearing, and may not prevent charges and an actual trial.

In a nutshell, gun and ammo correctly stored for transport (in the legal sense) no stops inside the prohibitive state (allowances for refueling, comfort stops, and breakdowns) you're covered. If you have a "destination" inside the state, you're not covered.

in other words, you can drive through NY on your way to Maine, and meeting all the other requirements, you're good. But, if you make a side trip to visit Aunt Martha in New Rochelle, that is a "destination" inside NY and you are not protected by the FOPA if you do that. And when you aren't protected by FOPA, you ARE breaking NY law, so expect the maximum if you get caught.

This is NOT legal advice, I'm not a lawyer. My advice is worth what you paid for it. Get actual legal advice, from a NY lawyer about NY law. Don't assume NY police or any well intentioned internet voice can give you valid advice on NY law.

Good Luck.

(and yes, the best advice is don't take guns into NY if you don't HAVE to...
it ain't right, it ain't the way it once was, but it is the way it is today..:()
 
In a nutshell, gun and ammo correctly stored for transport (in the legal sense) no stops inside the prohibitive state (allowances for refueling, comfort stops, and breakdowns) you're covered. If you have a "destination" inside the state, you're not covered.
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Airports are also covered. If you are flying out of JFK or LGA you can leave your weapon stored in your vehicle IAW the FOPA and be legally considered "in transport".
 
Non resident permits like you would get from states like Utah; get enough of them, and you can get many states covered.
 
44 is about the most anyone can have and that is tough to get and you have the right Resident permit. Unless you have a state FL, CO, SC and PA honors you can't carry in any of those states with a Non-Resident permit from any state. Yes you can get a PA and FL non-resident but then you would lose CA, OR, IL, HI, NJ and MD at a min. That would mean getting non-resident permits from MA which requires a trip to MA to apply and most non-residents are now getting a restricted permit for the first few years until they can get a non-restricted one. There are just to many ands ifs or buts. I don believe Troop362 has incorrect info on what states they can carry in and could end up in jail and lose all his firearm rights.
 
davidsog said:
Airports are also covered. If you are flying out of JFK or LGA you can leave your weapon stored in your vehicle IAW the FOPA and be legally considered "in transport".
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Citation?

What you wrote is the way it should be, but not the way it is. Anyway, the original question was not about leaving a gun locked in your car when you fly.

https://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?s=NJ&d=43309

Yes, the Revell case was at Newark Airport, but Newark, LaGuardia and JFK are all under the same Port Authority, which has its own police force. Other airports in New York are not policed by the NY-NJ Port Authority Police, but New York in general is even more anti-gun than New Jersey, so act accordingly.
 
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I currently have eleven CCW permits and plan to travel to Pennsylvania to get my twelfth.
When I leave Pennsylvania I plan to drive to Buffalo NY to fly home. I will be carrying a licensed Sig P239 that I would like to return to San Diego with at the end of my trip.
 
Troop362 said:
When I leave Pennsylvania I plan to drive to Buffalo NY to fly home. I will be carrying a licensed Sig P239 that I would like to return to San Diego with at the end of my trip.
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Your Sig P239 is NOT licensed in New York State. To fly with it, you will have to declare it, first to the airline counter agent, and then to the TSA at baggage check. Unless you are exceedingly lucky, either the airline agent or the TSA agent will call the airport police (who are probably NY State Troopers), and then you'll be in for more excitement than most people want in one lifetime.

Greg Revell was legal at home and he was legal at his intended destination, which was Pennsylvania. A missed connection resulted in an overnight stay -- at an airport hotel -- in Newark, NJ. Because he had taken his luggage to the hotel, he had to check the bag with the gun again the next morning. I think it was the airline agent who called the Port Authority Police. They didn't think flying with an overnight stay fit the parameters of the FOPA, so they arrested him.

His case ultimately didn't go to trial, so that aspect of the FOPA has not been clarified by the courts. If you read the language, it basically describes travel in an automobile. I think everyone on this forum probably agrees that the intent was to cover airline travel -- but it doesn't say so. You're treading into uncharted territory.

Either leave the gun at home, or fly through a Pennsylvania airport. Remember, or ask Greg Revell: "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride."

From almost any county in central or western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh is about as close as Buffalo.

Oh, and while you're in PA: Open carry is legal before you get your license, concealed carry is not.
 
FITASC said:
Non resident permits like you would get from states like Utah; get enough of them, and you can get many states covered.
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But not most of the northeastern states. AFAIK, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island don't have reciprocity with any other states, and they don't unilaterally recognize any other states' permits.
 
I will be carrying a licensed Sig P239 that I would like to return to San Diego with at the end of my trip.
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You most certainly will lose that gun forever, along with a ton of hard earned cash, time, and energy if you try to fly out of Buffalo without having a NYS pistol permit.

You'll have to declare it at the airport, and they WILL ask for your NYS permit.
 
In the Revell case, I believe his error was picking up the bag with the gun from the airline in NJ. If he had left that bag in the custody of the airline, and not taken possession of it in NJ (where he was not legal to have it) there would have been no case. Its obvious he didn't know that, at the time, though.

When I leave Pennsylvania I plan to drive to Buffalo NY to fly home. I will be carrying a licensed Sig P239 that I would like to return to San Diego with at the end of my trip.
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Ain't gonna happen the way you describe it. The INSTANT you cross the NY border with your pistol, and don't ALREADY have a valid NY permit for THAT gun, you are breaking NY law.

To the best of my knowledge, the state of NY does not recognize other state's permits and does not issue non-resident permits. So, the instant you leave PA and cross into NY, you do NOT have a licensed Sig P239 in the eyes of NY law. You are in possession of an ILLEGAL HANDGUN. And there is no valid defense. FOPA will not protect you in this case. As you have described it, the Buffalo airport is your destination. Your pistol is not legal in NY, so you do not meet "from legal to legal" destination requirements.
Now, you can argue that your trip starts in PA where you are legal, but you won't get to make that argument UNTIL you are in NY court. And, by that time, your lawyer should be the one doing the talking.

Good Luck, a NY jury MIGHT rule in your favor. Personally, I'd take the gun to a PA FFL and have it shipped to an FFL in your home state, paying the applicable costs is much cheaper than what a successful defense will cost you, and infinitely cheaper than what you will pay should you lose. And, you might.

Alternately, fly from PA (where you have the legal permit), even if you have to make connections in NY as long as the gun (properly declared and in airline and TSA approved storage) stays as checked baggage, then you aren't ever possessing it in NY, and therefore not breaking NY law.
You've been advised, the rest is up to you.

Good Luck
 
44_AMP said:
In the Revell case, I believe his error was picking up the bag with the gun from the airline in NJ. If he had left that bag in the custody of the airline, and not taken possession of it in NJ (where he was not legal to have it) there would have been no case. Its obvious he didn't know that, at the time, though.
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That is correct, although as I remember it, the airline didn't give him the choice of leaving the bag in their custody. And, as you mentioned ... he didn't know that he should have asked.
 
Ass'n of NJ Rifle & Pistol Clubs, Inc. v.Port Auth. of NY & NJ , No. 12-3621 (3d Cir. 2013)
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https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca3/12-3621/12-3621-2013-09-13.html

What you wrote is the way it should be, but not the way it is. Anyway, the original question was not about leaving a gun locked in your car when you fly.

https://www.morelaw.com/verdicts/case.asp?s=NJ&d=43309

Yes, the Revell case was at Newark Airport, but Newark, LaGuardia and JFK are all under the same Port Authority, which has its own police force. Other airports in New York are not policed by the NY-NJ Port Authority Police, but New York in general is even more anti-gun than New Jersey, so act accordingly.
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You can even walk thru JFK, LGA, or EWR with you weapon in your locked box and suitcase on the way to check your luggage in without fear of being hassled by the Port Authority.
 
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