Traveling with guns in the US.

This article is about how to legally transport a firearm across state lines in your vehicle in the United States. Firearm laws are regulated by both state and federal laws. No two states are the same and some states have extremely restrictive firearm laws, so gun owners need to be particularly careful when transporting firearms across state lines. Gun owners who transport firearms across state lines have some protection thanks to a federal law called the firearm owner’s protection act or FOPA. This law provides protection for gun owners who transport firearms through restrictive states subject to strict requirements, the law states in part that any person who is not otherwise prohibited from transporting shipping or receiving a firearm, shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from a place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm, to another place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm. What this means is that when you are in a state that either honors your permit or otherwise allows you to carry your firearm, you may generally transport your firearm in any manner that you prefer. However when traveling through states that do not honor your concealed firearm permit or that otherwise prohibit you from carrying, you must follow some very specific steps in order to receive the federal protection. 

In order to ensure compliance with the federal law, you must abide by the following five steps: step number one, you must be traveling from a place where you may lawfully possess and or carry your firearm to another place where you may lawfully possess and or carry that same firearm. Step number two, the firearms must be unloaded. Step number three, the firearms and ammunition must be stored separately meaning in separate containers. Step number four, the firearms and ammunition must be stored so they are not readily or directly accessible from the passenger compartment of the vehicle, this means they must be in the trunk of your vehicle if possible. If your vehicle does not have a trunk the completely unloaded firearms must be locked in a hard sided case, the glove box or center console does not satisfy this requirement, the firearms must be stored in a separate locked case, put the case as far away from you as possible. And finally step number five, in order to guarantee the federal protection your transport through the state should be continuous and uninterrupted, this means that you are not a tourist. At any time as a general rule, you should not spend more than 24 hours inside the jurisdiction. Once the above five steps have been satisfied you are entitled under federal law to lawfully transport a firearm in your vehicle even through a restrictive state. Some states do not require you to complete all of the above steps in order to transport a firearm through their state, but some states are far more restrictive. New York, New Jersey and California for example are responsible for nearly every case on the books dealing with this law. If you are visiting a restricted state for a prolonged period of time, the federal law discussed in this section will not offer you protection, you will need to verify what is required by the state where you will be visiting before transporting your firearm to that state. It is important to understand that although this federal law allows you to transport some firearms through a restrictive state, it does not allow you to transport items that are prohibited under state law such as high capacity magazines or assault weapons. The federal law discussed above does not prohibit states from enforcing bans on large capacity magazines or bans on other weapons such as assault firearms. Meaning if you have an item that you are transporting through a state that is prohibited under that state’s law, the federal law will not protect you and you will still be charged for breaking the law, it is essential that you know the laws of the states through which you will be transporting your firearms. 

There is no solid answer to the question of how long you may be in a state and still be considered transporting, the law does not provide a time threshold and there are very few court cases dealing with this question. In one of the only cases dealing with this specific question, the man had traveled in his boat from his home in Florida along the eastern seaboard to New York and then planned on returning to Florida prior to being arrested given that the man was acting as more of a tourist than a transporter. In New York the federal law does not protect him from prosecution, in this case the defendant was not transporting his gun interstate, but rather admitted that he was traveling along the eastern seaboard docking at various states for undefined periods of time and that is more of a tourist activity. Although it doesn’t provide a clear answer of what time frame would be considered transporting, it is clear the courts will look into the facts of each case to determine if you’re a tourist or a transporter. In other words if you plan on visiting an amusement park, staying multiple days to see the sites or doing other tourist related activities, you should not plan on having protection from the federal law.