This was emailed to me by the NYS Rifle and Pistol Association and should be made known to anyone who could be affected.

Quote:

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From NRA:
The District Attorney in Albany County and Queens 18 months ago
issued an order to arrest anyone coming through the airports
with a handgun in their luggage, regardless if the handgun was
being transported properly by FAA regulations. The criteria is
if you do not have a NY license, you are charged. So what's
happening is 2 different scenarios:

1. People are flying into New York from other states, most but
not all of whom have carry permits from their home states, and
are carrying a pistol. When they go to fly home, they declare
the gun, which has always been unloaded and locked up properly
in their checked luggage, but if they cannot produce a NY
license, they are promptly charged with illegal weapon
possession, and their gun confiscated forever. (The Albany
airport sheriff has been doing it as a lower class misdemeanor,
the LaGuardia cases were charged as a felony.) As their home
state permit is not reciprocal, and they were in NY state for an
amount of time carrying a handgun, this group is screwed.

2. People are DRIVING to the airport from another state where
the NY airport is their closest one to fly out of, and are
getting popped right off the bat an hour or two from their home.
In these cases, we are going to war for them being covered by
FOPA, even the Sheriff's office and TSA in Albany have argued
over that with the DA, but he won't budge. He did, however,
blink on the two cases from Albany, with the people getting a
walk. Didn't get their guns back, though, either time.
Bottom line, UNLESS you are in possession of a VALID New York
pistol license, DO NOT bring a handgun in your luggage to the
airport, you will be charged.

This is not being done in any other state in the country except
at Logan international in Boston, (same thing there) but even at
O'Hare in Illinois, if you come in from another state and meet
FAA guidelines, they feel you are covered by FOPA and off you go
a happy camper.

Jacob J. Rieper, Legislative Director

Just another reason to stay out of the politics of NY.
Frank

Frank:

Easy for you to say but I have to live here! Voting always seems like a waste of time when I see at least 5 obvious votes cancelling me out as I wait in the line at Election Day. (Wish I had taken the advice when younger : "Go west,young man!")BTW, don't blame our Queens County DA too much. He is under pressure from the NYPD -which, if it had its way, would take handguns AND long guns away from everyone. It is notoriously difficult (some might say nearly impossible) to get a carrying permit in NYC. Even a premises permit requires months to obtain - if at all.

Many of us who complain about gun control politicians should be asking the various uniformed police unions why they endorse those same politicians. It's not a "law and order" issue as the cops always proclaim. It's pols sucking up to the typical police attitude that no one should have guns except them. BTW, for any cops out there who think it's sour grapes- I was issued an unrestricted carrying permit in upstate NY a few days after my 18th birthday. (18 was legal age then) I support the right of the police to stop anyone on the street and search for a weapon and then demand proof of a legal right to possess the weapon - but why do they feel safer by taking guns away from people who went through the permit process and who are law abiding? ( If memory serves me we have had several instances in NYC where Hispanic bodega owners defended themselves against an armed robber by using an unlicensed pistol - and got arrested for it. That's turning the "law" on its head)

When people elect Shumer and Clinton as Senators, what do you expect?

Reminds of every time I see a NY license plate in Kansas, I do my best to run them off the road!

(Just kidding).

Bill:

You should ask the New Yorker first who he voted for!

This is nothing new. It has been illegal for non-residents to possess handguns in NYS for a long time (I found out about this 26 years ago).

George

The insanity of handguns in NYC has been that way ever since they passed the Sullivan Law.It wa s started by Sullivan solely for political reasons. The rest of NY state is fairly rational....I assume that olympic handgun shooters are not flying out of NYC ?

Just another reason for me not to ever go to New York.

GeorgeS;

I always thought that people in transit (and, obviously near an airport or RR station, in particular)were exempt. Glad to read your post which reminds me again how much times have changed. The first time that I drove across the country I wanted to take a pistol with me. My local State Police barracks checked for me and the end result was that if I behaved myself and didn't show the pistol openly, that there would be no problems (except that in some states the failure to show the pistol openly was an offense, like in NM. You can't win!) It wasn't "reciprocal" courtesy. It was simply being realistic. No wonder that we New Yorkers are so disliked nowadays.

Hi Gerald,

Yes, FOPA takes precedence over state and local laws for travelers, but NY cops don't give a shit. They WILL try to jam you up, because gun arrests are good for their careers.

Liberty-Newark (in the People's Republic of New Jersey) is a MUCH better airport for traveling with firearms.

George