Firearm Transportation
H.R. 131: Protecting Lawful Transportation of Firearms
The Firearm Owners Protection Act (FOPA) is an important provision of federal law intended to protect the right of law-abiding gun owners to transport firearms throughout our nation. Yet in the years since its enactment, it has been ignored by anti-gun local officials and effectively gutted by the courts. H.R. 131, introduced by U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), would rewrite the law to restore the effect Congress intended when it was passed more than 25 years ago.
FOPA (codified at 18 U.S.C. § 926A) guarantees the right of a law-abiding person to transport an unloaded firearm between a location where he or she may legally carry it and a destination where he or she may also legally carry it, regardless of state or local laws along the route of travel that would otherwise apply. Under the current law, the gun must be cased or otherwise not readily accessible.
Most states have never had a problem with this law. However, both before and after enactment of FOPA, gun owners have had serious problems lawfully traveling in two states in particular: New York (especially New York City) and New Jersey. Rather than recognize the intention of Congress to protect the rights of Americans traveling with legally owned firearms, these jurisdictions have used overly restrictive state licensing laws to harass and persecute travelers. Read more for the full fact sheet...
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