Explore The NRA Universe Of Websites

APPEARS IN News

Sen. Daines Introduces Bill to Update Federal Protections for Lawful Transport of Unloaded Guns

Sunday, January 19, 2020

Sen. Daines Introduces Bill to Update Federal Protections for Lawful Transport of Unloaded Guns

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) introduced a bill late last year that would reestablish the rule of law for people traveling with firearms in the New York City Metropolitan area.

Traveling with a lawfully-owned pistol can get you arrested at airports in New York and New Jersey. This happens so often that local “gun lawyers” advertise their services on the Internet for unwary out-of-towners who end up in handcuffs for the “crime” of trying to check bags with legally stowed handguns. A local newspaper recently reported that “483 people … have been arrested for possessing a firearm at JFK and LaGuardia airports since 2014,” with 67 such arrests happening in 2019.

These cases, as frequent as they are, rarely make the news. As the New York Times reported, “With the exception of high-profile defendants, most of those arrested remain anonymous after they make a plea deal, as they often do, and their records are sealed.”

In 2017, John Stossel interviewed a number of people caught up in this dragnet, including one woman who emphasized the paralyzing effect it had on her life. "I could barely function," she said in response to her felony arrest and the threat of years in prison. "I had to get on, like, anxiety medicine. I was throwing up every day."

Legislation was passed all the way back in 1986 to protect travelers who followed simple federal procedures for transporting guns. Under the Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA), travelers who can lawfully possess a firearm under federal law can transport that firearm for lawful purposes – unloaded and not readily accessible – between places where it may be legally possessed and carried. The law is explicitly meant to supersede “any other provision of any law” of any “State or any political subdivision” along the route of travel.

In most places throughout America, FOPA has worked exactly as written and intended.

But not in New York and New Jersey, which continue to violate the federal protections by enforcing state requirements for handgun licenses that residents of other states cannot realistically obtain.

Moreover, New York City area airports require airlines to report travelers checking bags with firearms to Port Authority Police. If the firearm is a handgun, and the traveler doesn’t have a New York or New Jersey license to possess it, police may seize the gun and arrest the traveler.

To make matters worse, the police are on notice of the federal law. But in New York and New Jersey, they are protected by regional case law that holds FOPA applies only to travelers who are in vehicles (not on foot at airports), that it doesn’t allow passengers to handle baggage containing guns during the journey, and that local police have official immunity when violating the law’s protections.

The result is that it’s basically impossible to travel with a handgun through any New York City area airport. Even if the charges are later dismissed or reduced, the traveler is usually forced to forfeit the firearm and to suffer unjustified indignity, delay, expense, and stress.

Sen. Daines’s seeks to change all this with the Lawful Interstate Transportation of Firearms Act.

This legislation would clarify that FOPA covers travelers throughout the country, whether or not they are in a vehicle and during activities incident to travel, including overnight lodging and stops for food, fuel, maintenance, and emergencies. It would also explicitly incorporate ammunition and detachable magazines into the law’s protections, provided they are not loaded into the firearm.

Most importantly, the act would give FOPA teeth by prohibiting arrest for those complying with its terms and by allowing travelers whose rights were violated to seek redress in court and to collect costs, attorney’s fees and other appropriate relief. It would also protect the due process rights of accused travelers by requiring a state or local jurisdiction seeking to enforce its gun control regulations against an otherwise law-abiding traveler to prove the person was not complying with FOPA’s conditions.

The lawlessness in New York and New Jersey has gone on far too long. As NRA-ILA Executive Director Jason Ouimet said, “On behalf of the NRA’s five million members, we thank Senator Daines for having the legislative courage to stand and fight against local bullies who were hoping to suppress our Second Amendment rights.”

IN THIS ARTICLE
Steve Daines
TRENDING NOW
Trump’s DOJ Will Participate in Oral Arguments in Illinois Semi-Auto Ban Case

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

Trump’s DOJ Will Participate in Oral Arguments in Illinois Semi-Auto Ban Case

Within six months of the landmark United States Supreme Court decision of NYSRPA v. Bruen (2022), Illinois disregarded the Court’s clear directives and enacted into law H.B. 5741, the Protect Illinois Communities Act (PICA). 

Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

Armed Citizens: Not Just an American Concept

We frequently post stories about law-abiding citizens who, by exercising their rights protected under the Second Amendment, bring an end to violent criminal assaults.  

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

New York Law Imperils U.S. Olympic Target Shooting, Favors China’s Dominance

As U.S. shooting sports athletes prepare for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, New York law is burdening target shooters in the Empire State.

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Third Circuit Strikes Some New Jersey Carry Restrictions in NRA Case

Yesterday, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Siegel v. Platkin, striking some of the carry restrictions New Jersey enacted in response to the NRA’s landmark Supreme Court victory, New York State Rifle & ...

“Sensitive Places” Embolden Criminals and Threaten the Law-abiding

News  

Monday, September 15, 2025

“Sensitive Places” Embolden Criminals and Threaten the Law-abiding

A beyond horrific murder flashed before our eyes in recent weeks, and a nation collectively mourned Iryna Zarutska after the sickening attack that took her life on a public train in Charlotte, North Carolina

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Gun Control “Journalist” Says the Quiet Part Out Loud

Pure gun control. As in disarmament and banning of firearms. It’s rare that anti-gunners get straight to the exact point that we have been warning of for decades. 

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

Monday, September 15, 2025

California: Legislature Adjourns with Anti-Gun Bills Headed to the Governor's Desk

On Friday the California State Legislature adjourned the 2025 legislative session in typical California fashion, advancing anti-gun legislation to Governor Newsom's desk. Contact Governor Newsome today and urge his veto of AB 1078, AB 1127, AB ...

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

Colorado: CSSA Files Suit Challenging "Polis Permission Slip" Permit-to-Purchase Law

Last week, the Colorado State Shooting Association (CSSA), the official state affiliate of NRA, filed a lawsuit challenging Senate Bill 25-003...

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

Due Process: The Backbone of Legal Legitimacy

Close observers of the gun debate often see references to due process.

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

News  

Monday, September 8, 2025

The Desperate Deflection to the “Red State Murder Problem”

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) may have thought he had scored against President Donald Trump in a recent war of words over rampant crime and the deployment of federal law enforcement agents to Democratic-led cities

MORE TRENDING +
LESS TRENDING -

More Like This From Around The NRA

NRA ILA

Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.