Question of transporting a gun through NY state.

C

chexmix

New member
Just Learned that there is gonna be a family reunion in Vermont the beginning of this summer. I live in Michigan and would be driving there. I can't drive through Canada with a gun (would be the quickest). Can I take my gun through the State of New York with a magazine greater than 10 rounds? The gun would be in the trunk and locked up. I can carry in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Vermont so I'm not worried about those states.
 
A long gun or a handgun?

According to fed regs, you can transport through NYS if you can legally have the firearm in the destination state. However, you can not stop in NYS ( other than for a quick rest area break and gas). NYS police will confiscate any firearm found in your vehicle that does not meet our NYS assault weapon laws, or any handgun that is not registered in NYS. Don't even dream about driving anywhere near NYC....You might eventually get them back but it'll cost you time and effort.

IMO, don't bring a handgun though NYS, and don't bring in a long gun that does not comply with NYS law.
 
^^^^

Mike is right about the law.

Personally, the odds of having problems are SOOO remote that I wouldn't worry about it. Even if you get stopped, the officer would not know you have a gun in the car and would have no reason to search the car or even inquire as to the contents.

Overnight stopping would be illegal and you should plan to drive straight through. I assume you'd be on the thru-way so a non-stop trip would be an easy thing. Should be 5 or 6 hours if I remember correctly.

Were it me, I'd follow the law, including the unofficial thru-way speed limit of 75, and not worry about it. They'll have no reason to stop you.
 
Comply with the federal transport laws and drive right through stopping only for gas and bathroom breaks. If you do get pulled over you need not volunteer anything. Do not even think to mention you have legally transported firearms. Just thank thrm for theticket and drive on. You could legally transport a full auto through NYS so long as you comply with the federal transportation laws and can have it at your destination and origin.
 
peetzakilla said:
Overnight stopping would be illegal and you should plan to drive straight through. I assume you'd be on the thru-way so a non-stop trip would be an easy thing. Should be 5 or 6 hours if I remember correctly.
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Why would stopping overnight be illegal?

While I agree that it removes any question if you DON'T stop overnight, I don't think it's illegal. If your view is correct, that would mean someone driving from Houlton, ME, to San Diego, CA, could not stop for the night unless he/she could plan an itinerary that would present a "safe haven" every night.
 
Aguila Blanca said:
While I agree that it removes any question if you DON'T stop overnight, I don't think it's illegal. If your view is correct, that would mean someone driving from Houlton, ME, to San Diego, CA, could not stop for the night unless he/she could plan an itinerary that would present a "safe haven" every night.
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I could be wrong. I was under the impression that staying the night represented a "destination".
 
Staying the night mattered alot to the gentleman in NJ that recently lost his SCOTUS appeal case. He prevailed in the end but it was a major hassle. I would assume that the less time the OP spends in NYS, the better for him....
 
The problem with staying the night is it opens the destination of the trip up to debate and with states like NY and NJ while you MAY win the war e battles will cost you dearly.

Remember, the lawsuit was I believe more about the damages from the detention of the traveller and his property. The case was not challenging the legality of the detention as those charges were dropped. THAT would have been an interesting case.
 
Aguila: You don't THINK it's illegal? No offense friend, but I wouldn't take legal advice from someone who only thinks or doesn't think anything. Staying the night does present a problem because if you're here a day or a year, you're IN New York without a NY permit. Forget about carrying, you need a permit just to own a handgun here. As for your other comment, if you planned a cross country trip carrying firearms in your vehicle, would you need to plan an itinerary? The answer is yes if you plan to obey the law. Massachuesets says you can't even pass through. Laws vary a great deal from state to state, it's our responsibilty to be aware of them.
 
I will be traveling with my hand gun. I didn't know if it was just New York City or the entire state that had the magazine ban.
 
Just to reiterate : Legally a non resident can not possess ANY handgun in NYS ( other than a few exceptions for competitions/ matches). You'll lose the handgun and spend a day or two with free room and board at the gray bar motel.

That being said, drive safe, drive at the speed limit, and don't stop for anything other than gas and bathrooms. Enjoy Vermont, it is a beautiful state to visit!
 
About 3 years ago I went TDY to Texas with the military for about a year. I am from PA so I sat down and checked every state between here and there that reconized PA CCW and planed my best route buy that. The only state that I had a problem with was Maryland so I did some reserch and even called the MD state police and asked them what to do. They told me the exact same thing I was "legal" as long as I made only short stops for gas food ect. That was not a problem since it was only about 20 miles of MD to drive through on my way.
 
EricReynolds said:
Aguila: You don't THINK it's illegal? No offense friend, but I wouldn't take legal advice from someone who only thinks or doesn't think anything. Staying the night does present a problem because if you're here a day or a year, you're IN New York without a NY permit. Forget about carrying, you need a permit just to own a handgun here. As for your other comment, if you planned a cross country trip carrying firearms in your vehicle, would you need to plan an itinerary? The answer is yes if you plan to obey the law. Massachuesets says you can't even pass through. Laws vary a great deal from state to state, it's our responsibilty to be aware of them.
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Massachusetts does NOT say you can't even pass through, and even if they did, the Federal FOPA specifically supercedes Massachusetts state law.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/usc_sec_18_00000926---A000-.html
FOPA said:
TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 44 > § 926A

§ 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms

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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Where in the FOPA does it say that an overnight stop is not allowed? The law says what it says -- you may "transport" firearms from any jurisdiction where you can lawfully possess them to any other jurisdiction where you may lawfully possess them. If you think that means someone would have to drive non-stop from Houlton, ME, to San Diego, CA, fine. I don't agree and I don't think any jury would agree.

I concede, however, that some over-zealous police officer somewhere might try to test the law, and I have freely acknowledged that I would prefer not to be the test case. However, I won't fly within the continental U.S., so for any U.S. travel I transport firearms through jurisdictions that don't recognize any of my permits, and I carry printed copies of the FOPA.

Interestingly (or not, if your mind's already made up), but MA and NJ include reiterations of the FOPA language in their own state laws.
 
Aguila; I'm not trying to start a fight, but Mikejonestkd and I are correct. A non NYS resident can not legally possess a handgun within the state. Even locked and in the trunk, you'd be in possesion of it. Think I'm wrong? Ask Plaxico Burress if it's a good idea to bing your out of state pistol to NY without a permit.
 
From http://handgunlaw.us/states/newyork.pdf...

The best way to travel through NY or any state that has restriction is to carry a copy of Title 18-Part 1-Chapter 44 926A of the federal code with you. Some law enforcement may not know the law. DO keep the firearm in a locked box. Keep ammo in another locked box. No ammo in Magazines or speed loaders in the trunk or if no trunk as far back in the vehicle as possible in a locked box. By NY Law if you are traveling across the state and can legally possess the firearm where you started and where you are going you can transport it as above. But if you stop in NY and spend the night in a motel/hotel/camp ground etc you are in violation of NY law and can be arrested if found with a firearm. Stopping for gas and food would most likely be OK but this is not a given in NY.
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Aguila; I'm not trying to start a fight, but Mikejonestkd and I are correct. A non NYS resident can not legally possess a handgun within the state. Even locked and in the trunk, you'd be in possesion of it. Think I'm wrong? Ask Plaxico Burress if it's a good idea to bing your out of state pistol to NY without a permit.



Didn't Burress take is gun in to a bar? And then shot him self? This seems like a whole different situation then what I'm asking about.
 
EricReynolds said:
Aguila; I'm not trying to start a fight, but Mikejonestkd and I are correct. A non NYS resident can not legally possess a handgun within the state. Even locked and in the trunk, you'd be in possesion of it. Think I'm wrong? Ask Plaxico Burress if it's a good idea to bing your out of state pistol to NY without a permit.
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Irrelevant.

Plaxico Burress was not traveling through New York State with a firearm unloaded and locked in the trunk of his car, as required by the FOPA. He was carrying (not "transporting") a loaded handgun IN New York City.

Different situation entirely.
 
Plaxico Burress is in prison for criminal possesion of weapon. Reason by is he didn't have a NYS permit. He didn't even buy the gun on the street, he purchased it legally in Florida. Didn't matter. The fact that it was in a bar didn't matter. The fact that it discharged didn't matter. Possesion of an unlicensed unregistered handgun in NY is a mandatory year in jail. In the 5 boroughs, it's even tougher. Just passing through, as said before, I think you'll be fine, but we got to this line of discussion when it was suggested if the OP were to stay in a motel overnight. A prosecutor could make the argument that staying overnight, you're not just transporting anymore. Just so everyone understands, I believe NY's gun laws are too extreme. I don't think Buress should be in prison, but he is. I'm just stating the facts. Trust me, I know what I'm talking about. I live here. I know NY penal code. I have a degree in Criminal Justice. I work with law enforcement. I'm not just talking out of the side of my mouth. If I'm wrong, I challenge anyone to prove it.
 
EricReynolds, as others have stated the Burress situation is irrelevant. He was not transporting the firearm in accordance with the federal law, he was carrying it on his person into a nightclub when the ghost of Darwin tried to remove his capability to reproduce for his carelessness.

You also attest he bought it legally in FL butthat is not te case if he was not a FL resident (I don't know what his residency status was).

Stick to cases relevant to the discussion which is the legal transport of firearms through hostile jurisdictions when your point of origin and destination are legal areas to possess the firearm.

Edit: your point about staying overnight though is well made. One could argue that if you stay overnight your trip was one of multiple destinations. Say you stayed overnight and got a pizza, then the destination of your trip was NY to get a pizza. Stupid but possible. Even worse if you stop for the night and meet a friend for dinner. Your destination was NY to meet a friend even if move on immediately afterwards.
 
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