Thursday, August 2, 2012

Northeast Bloggershoot Legal Concerns

In 9 days, I will be taking off for the Northeast Bloggershoot. Hopefully, Brendan will accompany me. Right now he is planning on going if he can get off from work. Earlier today, I started my biannual gun cleanup (maintenance-wise). As I did so, I pondered which guns I should bring along to the bloggershoot. I was and remain at a bit of a loss when it come to making that decision. Late last night into early this AM, I read up on gun laws in both CT and MA, states which we will have to pass through (to get there in a reasonable amount of time) with our guns while on the way to NH for the shoot.  

While NH is pretty gun owner friendly, MA and CT are not. Heck, they may have tougher gun laws than NY State (excluding NY City).  I knew one could transport guns through a state, wherein they would otherwise be illegally possessed by the transporter, as long as they were legal in the starting state and legal in the destination state and kept locked in the trunk - unloaded - while passing through the gun unfriendly state.  I was and am none too sure that transporting the type of guns we want to bring along will be okay in CT or MA. I have more uncertainty about MA, I am pretty sure transport like that through CT is not a problem. I plan to call the MA state police to check on whether or not it will be okay to transport my Romanian WASR AK47 and one of Brendan's AR15s, both with hi-cap mags, though MA to our ultimate destination of NH. Since the hi-cap mags are pre-ban manufacture, there is no legal issue in NY, I think none in CT, but I am a bit confused about MA. I am also concerned about the actual guns. we want to bring. If we cannot bring them along, we will go nonetheless but we will bring along only my pistols (I can carry them nationwide under the conditions of the LEOSA) a lever action rifle some bolt action rifles, and a pump action shotgun. 

I would rather we not get arrested and charged with a felony. Hopefully though. the McClure-Volkmer Act will cover us. It is a federal law that sought to overcome the Draconian provisions of the 1968 gun control act and it allows U.S. citizens, legally in possession of firearms, to transport them interstate from a starting point where the guns were legal to an ending point where they also are legal, through states wherein they are considered illegal, provided you make stops only for fuel or emergency repairs, and the guns are transported in a certain manner. The firearms must be in a gun case, placed into the vehicle's locked trunk, unloaded, and I think any magazines must also be unloaded and ammo kept in a separate container apart from the guns. Not difficult to do, my car has a trunk and it locks and I have a few gun cases that will also be locked. Hopefully MA and CT honor said law and I also hope that hi-cap, pre-ban, magazines are also okay to be transported through those states in that manner.

All the best,
Glenn B

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