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
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 & ...

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. 

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

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Monday, September 8, 2025

NRA Files Amicus Brief Urging SCOTUS to Hear Challenge to Washington’s Magazine Ban

Today, the National Rifle Association filed an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to grant certiorari in a case challenging Washington State’s ban on firearm magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Wednesday, September 3, 2025

Illinois: Governor Signs Mandatory Firearm Storage Law

Earlier this month, Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 8 into law. This legislation imposes new mandatory firearm storage requirements on law-abiding gun owners.  

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Tuesday, August 26, 2025

Update: North Carolina House Reschedules Veto Override Vote

Today, the House rescheduled the veto override vote on Senate Bill 50, Freedom to Carry NC, to Monday, September 22. 

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Friday, August 15, 2025

Supreme Court Review Sought in NRA-Backed Challenge to California’s Magazine Ban

Today, a Petition for Certiorari was filed asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear Duncan v. Bonta, a case—backed by the National Rifle Association and California Rifle & Pistol Association—challenging California’s prohibition on magazines capable of holding ...

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

Friday, September 12, 2025

Minnesota: Senate Gun Violence Prevention Working Group Meeting on Monday

On Monday, September 15th, the Minnesota Senate will hold a special working group on "gun violence prevention."

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

News  

Monday, March 17, 2025

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

In a turnabout worthy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Washington Post (WAPO) published an editorial last Tuesday criticizing the gun control movement for ignoring the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and pursuing its agenda in ...

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.