Quoted:
Or was he in the State Police firearms unit?
You mean the guys that said, "M1 Carbines are illegal. Well, the model from AO is good to go. Nah, on second thought, that's illegal, too. Well... maybe not..." Others have been told by them, "Only the Colt Match Target is legal here - all other AR-15-like rifles are banned". And, "Yes, you an bring a handgun in to the state - just have it unloaded and locked up" (advice given to an out-of-stater looking to visit friends in NJ and bring his handgun). So, no, I don't trust any legal advice from them, either.
Bottom line, as you intimated, we're all pretty much on our own. Any advice gleaned from this board, regardless of the poster, is worth the money you paid for it. And, even if you pay a lawyer for his advice - it's still not a 100% guarantee that it will be interpreted the same way by the prosecutor, the judge, or the jury. With the amount of ambiguity
purposefully designed in to our gun laws, a lot of things come down to a crap shoot. Hence why I tend to err on the side of caution (some have called me paranoid - a classification I don't entirely disagree with).