On Jul 29, 2009, at 2:53 AM, Jk wrote:
A friend of mine just got arrested in ny on an illegal weapons
charge. They were travelling back to la thru a ny airport, when
they went to the counter to declare their firearm (unloaded, locked
hard container) they got arrested for illegal possession of a pistol.
Point of origin and destination were legal places for ownership/
possession. A quick google search shows this is apparently not
uncommon.
Terribly sorry about your friend, but this booby trap is infamous in
the gun owner community.
If anybody had any advice for my friend, I would greatly appreciate
it(!), but, separately, I am not sure how this law (and the
enforcement thereof) is constitutional?? It seems like this should
fall under protections of interstate commerce as well as equal
protection, or, am I misreading the situation?
Honestly, I don't see how somebody could legally travel if they
have an in transit stop in nyc and that seems like it shouldn't be
the jurisdiction of the city to decide.
Unfortunately, all the advice in the world comes too late for your
friend. Best article I know of on the subject:
http://www.womenshooters.com/archive/old0108issue/macnutt0108.html
"Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey are particularly bad states to
pass through. If you check your luggage in, then find because of some
delay that the airline is asking you to claim your luggage, do not do
so. As soon as you take possession you could be arrested. Go to the
baggage counter or to customer service. Explain that the baggage
cannot leave airline custody. If that results in the bag missing the
connection and arriving late, so be it. If they insist you take the
bag, tell the clerk that he may be violating the law, could be
arrested for the unlawful transfer of a firearm. That should get his
or her attention. Ask for a supervisor. If you have to, ask for
airport security. Explain to them that you can not take possession of
the bag. Ask them to instruct you as to what you should do. They may
be willing to escort you to wherever you have to go to re-check your
bag."
Demographically, my friend would probably make a good test case for
a challenge of the law (upright citizen/socially conscious/does
academic research in social welfare for minorities), but, that too
seems probably a battle that is hard to fight in terms of time/
resources.
Already in process in any case: <http://www.bachbio.com/LawsuittoStopArrests.htm
>. (Haven't been able to find anything about the progress of this
case, though?)
--
Escape the Rat Race for Peace, Quiet, and Miles of Desert Beauty
Take a Sanity Break at The Bunkhouse at Liberty Haven Ranch
http://libertyhavenranch.com
_______________________________________________
To post, send message to [email protected]
To subscribe, unsubscribe, change options, or get password, see
http://lists.ucla.edu/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/firearmsregprof
Please note that messages sent to this large list cannot be viewed as private.
Anyone can subscribe to the list and read messages that are posted; people can
read the Web archives; and list members can (rightly or wrongly) forward the
messages to others.
