What is considered unlawful?

[TDL]

gunstocarry is actually very accurate for DC. it thankfully doesn't include the FUD from Lott on his absurd contention on carry being prohibited 1,000 feet from a school, which I have had three separate firearms related criminal law attorneys say Lott is wrong on.

Someone above mentioned that in the back, beyond the driver's reach, is good enough. That's NOT good enough to satisfy the FOPA, so it isn't good enough to satisfy any state or local law that's based on or similar to the FOPA. I'm sorry for harping on this, but with all the gun laws out there it's just NOT something that has a simple answer.

indeed, even beyond code there are readouts/'advisory opinions from states' attorney generals that are not in code, not as good as a uppr court ruling precedent, but usable as part of defense. EG Virginia's attorney generals readouts on what secured means and whether glove compartment needs to be locked for a gun to be "secured" with AG published opinion that it did not being reinforced by a court opinion But in a different state the same code language could be held to mean locked.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

I wasn't going to prolong this any more, but I will throw out one more example of how seemingly tiny things can make a huge difference:

The federal FOPA says if your car doesn't have a separate trunk, "... the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console." A number of states repeat that more or less verbatim in their state laws -- in regard to people traveling through, not necessarily addressing transport within the state.

I mention this because, a few years ago, I made a road trip that took me up the New Jersey Turnpike. NJ is pretty scary regarding possession of firearms, but it turns out they do (on paper, at least) respect the FOPA. With an important caveat -- where the FOPA says "or," NJ says "and." So their version, as it appeared on the NJ State Police web site as recently as about three months ago, says:

"... the firearm and ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console."

They only changed one little word, but that one word could get someone arrested, and convicted. Say you drive an SUV. You dutifully read the FOPA, you lock your MasterBlaster X237 in a fancy case made for guns (unloaded, of course), close the combination lock, add a padlock for extra measure ... and you throw a dozen boxes of HydraShok ammo in a canvas tool bag and off you go. Under the FOPA, you're good all the way from Florida up through Delaware. Then you hit NJ and you get stopped on the NJ Turnpike. Officer Friendly asks if you have any weapons in the vehicle, and you 'fess up. He looks, he sees a tool bag full of ammo -- unlocked -- and out come the handcuffs.

The devil is in the details.



Yes, I know the FOPA is an affirmative defense, and you may avoid a conviction. But it may cost you time and money. As the saying goes, "You can beat the rap, but you can't beat the ride."