Most gun owners know that they can transport firearms in their luggage when they go on flights. All they have to do is follow the TSA’s procedures. The gun must be unloaded, locked in a secure case, and declared when you check in. You can fly with ammunition as well under similar procedures.
However, what the TSA fails to mention is that in certain cities this can land you in jail. They mention on their website that passengers must “comply with the laws concerning possession of firearms as they vary by local, state and international governments,” but that’s about it.
As John Stossel warned in a new video from Reason TV, carrying a firearms in your luggage while traveling to New York City can result in hefty fines and prison time. He interviews two individuals, Avi and Patricia, who had to pay $15,000 for this “crime,” one of whom was only guilty of carrying an empty pistol magazine.
But the most infuriating segment of this piece, was when Stossel went to interview district attorney Jack Ryan, who was responsible for charging these people. When asked about why Avi was charged for carrying an empty magazine, he deflected blame on the legislature for passing these laws.
Stossel: It’s an empty piece of plastic!
Ryan: Whether the magazine is made out of plastic, kevlar, or metal, I think is immaterial to make a question of how many bullets it holds. That’s why New York has banned them.
Stossel: Isn’t it what’s material is whether it held any bullets? It didn’t. It was empty.
Ryan: You can discuss that with the legislature. They didn’t make it a crime only if there’s bullets in it. They made it a crime.
And when asked why Patricia was charged for carrying her unloaded weapon and ammunition in the same piece of luggage, Stossel was told that it’s illegal to transport loaded firearms. See if you can wrap your head around this exchange.
Ryan: Under New York Law if they’re together, they loaded. And so we have prosecuted a number of those cases.
Stossel: They’re loaded even if they’re not loaded?
Ryan: If the weapon and the ammunition are together they’re loaded.
Bottom line, if you’re a gun owner, don’t even think about taking it to New York City. New York is determined to persecute gun owners, and if you have a firearm, you’re an easy mark for the nanny state justice system in that city.
Has the New York City administration ever heard of the 2nd Amendment. My wife and I travel to that part of the country annually. We avoid New York City like the plague. Other Democrat strongholds are similarly avoided. Of course that means none of our money is spent there.
Stupid ass yankee’s.
Not all of us are stupid. I live in the great state of Maine and we have constitutional carry. In fact we have virtually no gun laws besides filling out the federal form if you buy from a store. I am retired Army and lived in Georgia/Tennessee for many years and had more restrictions there. Granted I can’t travel outside my state but I don’t travel anymore, I already saw the country and the world.
On top of what I said about Maine’s awesome gun laws look up our demographics and lack of violent crime.
Thanks NRA
Ghandi
Why are you blaming the NRA for New York City gun laws? If it wasn’t for the NRA you would have them where you are.
…and now, for something a touch light-hearted (because really, who the hell ever wants to go to NYC anyway?)
==
AN OLD WOMAN WALKED UP AND TIED HER OLD MULE TO THE HITCHING POST.
AS SHE STOOD THERE, BRUSHING SOME OF THE DUST FROM HER FACE AND CLOTHES, A YOUNG GUNSLINGER STEPPED OUT OF THE SALOON WITH A GUN IN ONE HAND AND A BOTTLE OF WHISKEY IN THE OTHER. THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER LOOKED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND LAUGHED, “HEY OLD WOMAN, HAVE YOU EVER DANCED?”
THE OLD WOMAN LOOKED UP AT THE GUNSLINGER AND SAID, “NO,… I NEVER DID DANCE… NEVER REALLY WANTED TO.”
A CROWD HAD GATHERED AS THE GUNSLINGER GRINNED AND SAID “WELL, YOU OLD BAG, YOU’RE GONNA DANCE NOW,” AND STARTED SHOOTING AT THE OLD WOMAN’S FEET.
THE OLD WOMAN PROSPECTOR — NOT WANTING TO GET HER TOE BLOWN OFF –STARTED HOPPING AROUND. EVERYBODY WAS LAUGHING. WHEN HIS LAST BULLET HAD BEEN FIRED, THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER, STILL LAUGHING, HOLSTERED HIS GUN AND TURNED AROUND TO GO BACK INTO THE SALOON.
THE OLD WOMAN TURNED TO HER PACK MULE, PULLED OUT A DOUBLE-BARRELED SHOTGUN, AND COCKED BOTH HAMMERS.
THE LOUD CLICKS CARRIED CLEARLY THROUGH THE DESERT AIR, AND THE CROWD STOPPED LAUGHING IMMEDIATELY.
THE YOUNG GUNSLINGER HEARD THE SOUNDS, TOO, AND HE TURNED AROUND VERY SLOWLY. THE SILENCE WAS ALMOST DEAFENING. THE CROWD WATCHED AS THE YOUNG GUNMAN STARED AT THE OLD WOMAN AND THE LARGE GAPING HOLES OF THOSE TWIN BARRELS.
THE BARRELS OF THE SHOTGUN NEVER WAVERED IN THE OLD WOMAN’S HANDS, AS SHE QUIETLY SAID, “SON, HAVE YOU EVER KISSED A MULE’S ASS?”
THE GUNSLINGER SWALLOWED HARD AND SAID, “NO M’AM… BUT I’VE ALWAYS WANTED TO.
THERE ARE FIVE LESSONS HERE FOR ALL OF US:
1 – Never be arrogant.
2 – Don’t waste ammunition.
3 – Whiskey makes you think you’re smarter than you are.
4 – Always make sure you know who has the power.
5 – Don’t mess with old people; they didn’t get old by being stupid.
Whiskey numbs my brain so I can have a conversation with average idiots. Otherwise I can’t stand them and they have nothing intelligent to say.
I waste a fair amount of ammo practicing and honing my shooting skills.
Don’t kid yourself, there are a LOT of stupid old people….
Nice, I like that one
6–Old people aren’t able to fight you. They have to shoot you.
NYC sucks for many reasons.
NYC, Venezuela same difference.
Yes I’d rather take an ass-whoopin than go to either of those places. Chicago, Detroit, Memphis and others come to mind also.
Awful, horrible places run by the DemoRATS, they should be so, so damn proud!! My God, what a true disgrace those mutts are.
Well,this really isn’t a issue:
DON’T GO TO FUCKING NEW YORK!There,that should sove any problems.I get their are folks in city and the state who hate what has happened,fight these bastards or vote with your feet.I really see no reason to go to NYC especially,did see the Who there in the late 70’s as a kid,also,once saw Kansas there but me grandma lived across bridge right in Jersey so was kinda cool trips in me youth.
So,how do you avoid this:DONT GO TO FUCKING NYC,that tis all.
Coward
Warchild Dammit!
“grandma lived across bridge right in Jersey”
Bring a gun into NJ, locked according to the Firearms Owners Protection Act Of 1986 and stop for gasoline and you just committed a felony. Want even worse? Be a NJ resident with a Firearms ID Card. Stop for gasoline with the gun cased, locked, separate from the ammo, inaccessible to the driver in the trunk going to or from the range or your business and guess what? Yes you guessed it, bingo behind door number 2 (for number 2) a FELONY.
The place is absolutely nuts. Its NYC with a beach.
About three plus decades ago two armored car guards traveling in their armored car, on duty, with cargo were forced due to a traffic detour into NJ at the Delaware Memorial Bridge. They stopped in NJ and they were arrested by the NJ State Police because they didn’t have NJ permits even though they had PA, DEL and MD. Eventually charges were dropped.
A NJ State Trooper will jump over two crack dealers and a rapist to get to any gun charge including a BB gun which is a firearm by NJ law.
Kevin,was late 70’s,was a kid and did not carry.I have no reason to travel in jersey/ny/ct/ect.The northlands of New England have all I need,oh,and VT./N.H./Me.,all constitutional carry(at the moment!).
I have relatives in Jersey, I make them visit me and when they do we all head to the rifle range for some reprogramming
If it wasn’t for the NRA handguns would have been banned in NJ in 1976.
Thats a fact.
Move to Arizona. Here you can own a gun for every personalty and and carry it down the street. 🙂
That’s the bottom line – they desire to give gun owners a hard time – the worst they can contrive ….
All kinds of gun crap happens daily at Chicago Ohare and to a lesser extent at Midway – don’t even hear about it unless it’s a celeb or some hardazz thug type ….
Maybe you want to or need to or have to go to New York City.
I am glad I learned not to bring a gun to NYC commercial airport. Just learned something. But, I would not be bringing a gun onto a commercial plane. Better to travel on a private plane and land on a private airport. Have a limo waiting for me.
That’s how I roll.
At least, that is how I’ld roll in New York. There is only one way to enjoy life as a New Yorker, and that is to be rich. It costs a fortune to rent a little apartment. There is the theatre and the Opera if you are well off. It is like San Francisco in that respect. I have been to both cities. New York City is a nice place to visit. All you need is money. Save up. New York has the best clothes shopping. Stock up on clothes and fur coats. Need a suit made just for you. No problem. New York tailors will sew you the best fitting, top-of-the-line suit you ever imagined.
The pizza is the real deal. Ethnic restaurants have been feeding people for generations. New York is great if you know and have the dough.
_
Outside the city there are quiet small towns and life is quite different. People live near clear water lakes and some farm. But there are four seasons. It snows hard in winter. People who live in the outskirts are down to earth. Some are even Preppers.
_
There is absolutely nothing in NYC that I desire to have that I can’t get elsewhere. Theatre? Opera? Rather watch Midway for the 2000th time. Food? Philadelphia will give NYC a run for its money with Italian food, The Big Easy on food will beat them on everything else. Peter Lugers against Steak Restaurants in Texas? Sorry Pete. Regardless I would rather eat a cheesesteak at 9th and Christian with a snubby 38 in my pocket than dine at a 5 star restaurant in Manhattan unarmed.
Last but not least I can defend myself in the other locations and not deal with as much rudeness with the possible exception of Philadelphia that has a healthy dose of sarcasm thrown in.
NJ is only slightly less strict, very slightly.
NJ is a death trap for gun owners.
For people flying with a stop, layover or weather diversion to NJ, traveling between cities where your gun rights are respected, have had their worlds turned upside down when the flight was delayed by weather or canceled.
If the flight is held over or cancelled, the airlines demand you take possession of your weapon. The air has already notified police who arrest you for illegal weapons possession the moment your hand touches the handle of the bag with the gun in it.
NJ prisons are full of Americans who thought the constitution protected them. McDonald v. City of Chicago and the Supreme Court be damned.
NYC might be a tad worse,then again maybe not as I at one time, 4 decades ago, thought NJ was normal. Its not and its got worse. Regardless your going to jail in either.
From the 1980s
A friend of mine is a Licensed NJ gun dealer, class 3 too. Sells 90+ % of his ammo and any guns to Police Departments, Correctional Facilities. He was delivering a shipment of 9MM hollow point ammo to a Police Department in his pickup truck. He gets pulled over by a local cop. He has a carry permit, bill of lading, address to a Police Department up the road. One would think that everything is fine. The officer informs him that hollow points are illegal. He replies no their not for me. The officer angry says “you think your above the law”? My friend replies, “No its just that a different law applies to me”. The cop says, “So your a lawyer now”? He said (I love this part) yes I am, (he is also a barred attorney, USMCR JAG Major too). The cop takes him into the local police station. The Sgt is uneasy with this as my friend points out, “You have hollow point ammo, you make it here”? My friend asks them to call a certain NJ State Police officer to explain the law. The officers are irate when they say, “I don’t care who you know”. After a bit another officer comes in, gets involved, makes calls and lets my friend go with no apologies.
You can’t get more fucked up than this. Sorry for the expletive but no polite words can convey the stupidity, arrogance and lust for a gun arrest than this.
Wrap your gun and ammo in newspaper, then aluminum foil, then newspaper, then aluminum foil, then newspaper, then aluminum foil. Then duct tape your mouth shut.
Who in the Hell wants to go to that rat infested, bed bug incubator 3rd world dump anyway?
I went to NYC ONCE and NEVER will go back and to hell with that Armpit of the East as well – NJ.
NYC is what happens when extremely low IQ people mate.
I wish Stossel asked the prosecutor, well doesn’t the 2nd amendment trump any and all laws of the land?
If you notice, most (if not all) reporters, journalist, etc., tend to steer clear of anything with the words “Constitution”, “Bill of Rights”, or “Amendments”.
It’s like they’re scared of them.
Bad for the career I guess.
Lolz yeah too true, maybe it would cause some sort of disagreement between these “prosecutors” and the law.
Whatever you do in NYC do not chew your pop tart into the shape of Florida or they will take you to the pokie.
So much for the second amendment covering coast to coast.
We should give NYC, Chicago and San Fransico to North Korea in exchange for all of their nukes.
Hey! Lots of us here in northern New England would be happy to toss in Bahston as well !!
No thanks necessary…. we’re happy to do our part
LDH–
Like DPRK would take THAT deal!
You TRYING to get us nuked?
Note to Jack Ryan, who said diverted the blame, saying “… You can discuss that with the legislature.” I.e, “I’m only enforcing the laws.”
Same excuse found unacceptable at Nuremberg, Jack. Remember Nuremberg, where other National SOCIALISTS tried the exact same excuse? Or remember Roland Friesler, Hitler’s hand picked judge to prosecute those who conspired against him?
Your excuse has the EXACT same merit. Or lack thereof.
Nuremberg, where one either got the death penalty, long prison stays or a free trip to America via Operation Paperclip.
My wife just flew into Ottawa, Ontario a couple days ago. She brought some Cliff and Luna bars with her, which she didn’t “declare” on those stupid forms they give you before you land. Somehow they saw them, and found out she didn’t “declare” them.
She was told this was a ***felony and a $17,000 fine,**** but was able to talk her way out of it. (I’ll find out on her return how serious the accusation was, and more specific details, but any way you cut it, this is DISGUSTING. Of course, this is no different in the US – e.g., in 2010, the U.S. Federal Register totaled 81,405 pages (to be fair, not all of these pages are laws), per Jim Hemphill, the special assistant to the director of the Federal Register. I haven’t had the heart to look since then how many pages it is now.
Not surprised New York hates guns with all the financial finagling it represents, the epicenter of police state repression. I thought people from New Jersey were smart. Then they elected Chris Christie. Whatever happened to the Kennedy clan member that Trump was considering for vaccine investigator overseer when campaigning? That was just a fakeout too.
Laws are for the little people. US Senator Ted Kennedy’s bodyguards were caught with Sub Machine Guns in Washington DC in 1986. Charges were dropped.
h ttp://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1986-01-15/news/0190180113_1_submachine-guns-bodyguard-uzi
There is equal protection under the law but its just that some people are more equal than others.
” Then they elected Chris Christie. ”
They have zero good choices. Think Democrats are crazy in the US? NJ is the Democrat psych ward who directly compete in the annual insanity contest with NY and California.
Maybe “Climate Change” can bake those areas into something else.
The problem is these parasitic, useless politicians and “law enforcement” agents who have no useful function in life and depend on their government paycheck and therefore “do their jobs” by harassing citizens.
I would rather not have any police. I’d much rather rely on my own defense and knowledge that the buck stops with me and the bullet with the criminal.They are useless and only exist to take your money, whether directly through highway robbery, or as it is known, Civil Asset Forfeiture, or by siphoning off your tax dollars to provide them worth their paycheck. Same for the DA’s. Police and Prosecute for profit.
Totally useless because the real hardened criminals get a disproportionate lesser sentence. It all depends on how “soft” a victim you are, and I’m not talking from the criminal’s perspective, I am talking from law enforcement’s perspective.
And of course, politicians have taken it to a new level. They carry every drop of the elite’s water. They are nothing less than errand boys who write these “laws” for the elites.
We NRA members went to a lot of expense and trouble to get Federal laws passed that that supposedly protect travelers from this sort of crap. These asshole DA’s need to be prosecuted for ignoring the law.
There was a sodomite DA in Houston who willfully ignored Texas concealed carry laws for years. They finally got rid of the asshole but it took quite a while and cost many people a lot of money.
There should be some mechanism to hold these pricks accountable.
Stuart
The Firearm Owners Protection Act only applies if your traveling through not stopping or staying. Even then it doesn’t apply to magazines and ammo. Criminal Intent is not in the law. Travel through NJ from Florida to Maine. Get chest pains, go to the hospital, thats an illegal detour. Will you probably beat it in court? Yes $10,000 + later and kiss the gun goodby. Its now in some cops collection sands purchase permit.
Maybe the North Koreans will do us all a favor a remove that liberal communist stink hole from the face of the earth.
I HATE NY!
NJ prides itself as being “The Garden State” and includes that on vehicle tags.
The reason it calls itself that is:
if you go to NJ you be garden your wallet, garden your car, and garden your life.
I grew up there in somewhat rural southern NJ. That was a night and day difference relative to the congested areas. It got intolerable in 1991. Its got worse since. Its a minefield of confusing often contradictory firearm laws. Take hollow point bullets, they’re not illegal but 90%+ of the cops think they are. They are illegal to transport from anything other than the following, work to home (assuming they are legal at your work), home to range, range to home, shot to home, store to range…..you get the idea. Deviate for gas, food, anything……….FELONY. Even those chosen few with a NJ carry permit can’t load their gun with hollow points. One lose .22 cartridge under the seat, one count, a box, 50 counts.
THE PLACE IS NUTS.
This has happened to two local people here in SD, a university president/ professor and and a well known heart doctor. They followed all the rules of TSA flying out to NYC, but coming back when they declared their firearms, they ended up in jail for however long. the only thing going for NYC is the tv show ” Blue Bloods ” and that is starting to get old.
“If the weapon and the ammunition are together, they’re loaded.”
“If a man and a woman are seated together at the same table in a restaurant, they’re having sex.”
“If butter, brown sugar, vanilla extract, flour and chocolate chips are stored in the same cupboard, they’re cookie batter.”
NYC and NJ WANT firearm owners to stay away. I’ll comply, and so will my money.
They can get it from the turd worlders the say are such a boon to the economy.