I am planning to help someone get her car from just east of Maine (New Brunswick, Canada) to New Mexico in a month or so.  For now, the only reasonable option we can see is driving.  The trip will take around 5 days, with about 10 hours of driving per day.

There is no chance in hell that I will be doing this unarmed, apart from the portion in Canada.  I still haven't figured that bit out, and am open to suggestions (can I somehow ship the gun and ammunition ahead, and pick it up in Maine?).  I'm planning to take a handgun.  I have a NM CHL so will be able to carry, or at least have it available in the car, in almost every state along the way.

FWIW, by "reasonable," I mean that the auto shippers want around $2200 to ship the vehicle, whereas a road trip would cost maybe half that, and would be really neat and fun and we'd get to see parts of the US one or both of us never have...except for the part that terrifies me.

The part that terrifies me is driving through New York state.  It is simply unavoidable.  Before NY, we will be driving from Maine through New Hampshire and Vermont.  After NY, we will be going through PA, WV, KY, TN, AR, TX, and finally home to NM.  These are all states where there is either reciprocity for NM CHL holders, or no restriction on carrying a handgun in a vehicle, or both.

I'd love to cut through MD so we can go through VA, but MD is about as bad as NY, with respect to guns.

I have no plans to stay overnight in NY, or linger any longer than absolutely necessary (supposedly, it's a boring drive anyway).  Is it possible to travel through NY with a handgun as a non-licensed non-resident and not get arrested, or am I nuts for even considering doing this?  Thoughts?  Suggestions on alternate plans of attack?

(I am aware of having to have the gun unloaded, locked in the trunk, ammunition separate, magazines unloaded, etc.  But I am also aware that NY has prosecuted people who were following the law, even though the federal law says they can't.)

You're nuts.

Don't drive through New York.  fedex your gun or figure out some alternative.

Fedex it to where?  I don't have relatives or friends in any of the towns we'll be passing through.

Then don't bring it.

Not an option, as I explained.

Anyone have an actual helpful suggestion?

Your options are extremely limited if you refuse to detour or ship the gun.  In fact, they're limited to not taking one -- those are your options, ship the gun ahead, detour around NY, or don't bring the gun.

MD is not known to prosecute if you're covered under FOPA, so while their local laws may be restrictive, you are likely be able to travel through MD without an issue as long as you're in compliance with FOPA.

Will not comply?

I live in NY. IF you get pulled over and IF they find the pistol you are in a world of hurt. You will get arrested. It use to be 5 years mandatory jail sentence.  Eventually you will get off if you were merely passing through and you are legal to have the pistol in the first place. It might end up costing you thousands if not tens of thousands in legal fees. It just depends if they want to make an example out of you and since this new SAFE act is in place and Cuomo is running the show you will be in major trouble. Even the law abiding citizens in NY are having problems. Also make sure if you are dumb enough to even attempt this that your magazine capacities is 10 or under or your charges will be trumped up on that as well. My suggestion is to forget it and YES there is ALWAYS an option

Drive straight through the state, obeying all speed limits and traffic laws.  Don't drive a vehicle that has NRA/gun stickers on it.  Keep your guns unloaded, and store the guns and ammo in separate, sealed containers in your trunk.  Don't use ammo cans or gun cases for this purpose.  If you're pulled over, refulse any search.  In the event you are pulled over and a search warrant is obtained then you're probably fucked.  

There's really no way to go through states like NY, NJ or MD with a handgun that puts you on 100% safe legal ground.  All you can do is make it as unlikely as possible that anyone will see or find your weapons, and then set it up so that if it comes to trial then you can claim you were driving through the state without ready access to the firearms, i.e. you were simply transporting them.

ETA: You aren't "nuts" for considering this, but you need to carefully weigh risk vs. reward for your particular situation.

I'm gonna go out on a limb...it may be possible for you to ship the gun to yourself, from NM to a UPS hub in ME (addressed to "UPS c/o Objekt"), then from VT to PA.  The rules about shipping guns to yourself are pretty narrow though.

send it to a UPS hub and mark as picking it up there only.
I did that for a computer once.

If you get stopped. They will come after you. I lived in NY (stationed at drum) for 7 years. No way I'd have a pistol there without a permit.i don't even drive through it with a handgun

The FedEx idea is probably the best one so far.  Maybe I could ship it ahead to PA, since after that we'll be driving through "friendly" territory.

A friend at work suggested meeting her in a friendly city, e.g. flying in to Philadelphia.  But I don't want her to have to make the first portion of the trip by herself.  Making a small portion of the trip unarmed is better than being defenseless the whole way, for sure.  

Flying into Maine and picking up the gun in PA vastly simplifies the Canada portion of the trip.  I don't know whether an FFL in Maine would have even been willing to cooperate with a ship-ahead (and I'd then have to ship it ahead from VT before we cross through NY...not really feasible).

States with paranoia-level gun laws piss me off.

It's worth considering.  I'll eat $100 in overnight shipping fees (since I'd have to send it twice) to avoid traveling unarmed or risking a gigantic mess in NY.

The hitch would be picking it up in PA.  We'd have to get to the depot before it closes, or else greatly delay the next day's departure.  And that's assuming the shipment isn't late, which does happen.

AFAIK it would be entirely legal to ship my gun ahead via FedEx/UPS.

Seriously, you have me cracking up... you have a SEVERE misunderstanding of US geography...




FOPA should protect you but as alluded to in the above response, it's a crap-shoot.
< Please do not advocate breaking any state or federal laws.  ----- BB >
 

He's the one who said he could detour.  I know how to read a map.
The rest of your post should get you banned from this site.

 

I have.

Please enlighten me as to where he said that in his post... I don't think you do know how to read a map.


Regarding the rest of my post, I was not condoning breaking any laws. If FOPA is to protect a person travelling through the state, yet state officials will still arrest and you will have legal fight on your hands, then it would be best to avoid the arresting part. My post was telling the guy how to avoid that part. The SAFE Act specifically contradicts portions of FOPA, therefore a person that complies with FOPA SHOULD be legally in the right. That does not mean that the jack-boots of NY won't arrest that person. My post did not recommend or condone breaking the law, it told the OP how to NOT get arrested while in compliance with FOPA.

If in compliance with FOPA, and you're transporting through a state where FOPA should be a valid a defense, but you would like to avoid the hassle of fighting it in court what other option is there other than to hide it from the state/local LEO's that would be arresting you for violating their state law? There are many topics we discuss on here that are very similar in basic structure to this (state vs. federal law contradictions and what is permissible and what isn't), those topics are allowed to be discussed, yet I cannot discuss it? WTF?

Nvm.  I see it's already been addressed.

Bring a 12 guage ishotgun nstead legal in all 50 states  ....non ny resident =jail time and lots of lawyers unless your a celebrity at the airport lol

Just avoid it.....

please...for the love of god......

Thank you for addressing this. I respect the things you, as moderators, do, I just didn't see where my post violated any terms.

I specifically quoted a post that did mention FOPA and compliance with FOPA and then continued on to discuss the fact that even though FOPA SHOULD cover the OP he may encounter an officer that will still arrest him on grounds of state law even though FOPA should override that law, and therefore he should possibly consider deep concealment so that the officer isn't even aware he has a gun, not because what he is doing would be illegal, but because the officer may arrest him "to let the courts figure it out later". It's very difficult for an LEO to arrest you on BS charges like that if he doesn't discover the fact that you even have a gun. If that's not mentioning FOPA and compliance with FOPA then I don't know what is.

Where do you draw the line? Either FOPA "should" protect him and what I proposed and discussed was not illegal, or FOPA isn't applicable and the post by Aimless that I quoted also needs to be edited out. Are you acting as a judge determining what is legal/illegal in a legal uncertainty that has yet to be tested? Do we know for a fact that a person, in compliance with FOPA, but arrested under the SAFE Act would be found guilty? If that is the case then I will admit that what I said was 100% illegal, but as far as I know that hasn't yet been tested and until that time it's a reasonable assumption that FOPA should cover an individual that falls into that situation.

I would suggest what is the proper way to transport a handgun through the state to the AG of NY.  I would however avoid NYC and go around it if you are going down I then you got NJ I 84 to I 81 would be best.  You be out of there in about 4 hours the most.  Also, use cable locks, one the the barrel and one down the mag well while in NY and put it in a lock box like one of those small fireproof box.  Put the mags where the spare is and the ammo under the back seat.  
Rob

I can see that; it certainly wasn't my intention, but I can see how it was understood that way.

Ammo under the back seat is NOT in compliance with FOPA. Better read that law very carefully before acting on it or advising others.

A guy driving thru MA got jammed up badly due to ammo being in the passenger compartment of his truck. That gave PC for further investigation and it all led to criminal charges. He wasn't FOPA-compliant. And as bad as MA is, they do abide by FOPA.

 
I have.  Both long gun and pistol.

Trip cancelled for reasons.  Oh well.