Travel Frequently Asked Questions

[aracad]

I have some info that may help someone. I post this in response to several questions raised in this dicussion. I am a new carrier myself and would like to share what I have learned. Had my license about 10 days now

As I understand it, Utah gives you the most bang for the buck as a non resident license. It cost $67.25 if I remember correctly. Yes you must take a class from a Utah licensed instructor!
If you live in Southern Ohio the man to see is Scott Strauss {Please do not post personal contact information in the open forum, please use the Private Message system-sabalo} first class instructor, highly recommended! If you wish to contact me about this for Q/A you can reach me at {Please do not post personal contact information in the open forum, please use the Private Message system-sabalo}. No I am not in any way affilitiated with this instructor, he is just that good! He will do your finger prints and give you everything needed to qualify for Utah and Ohio license. Class fee is about $140.00


This interactive map may help, but not certain how often it is updated.

http://apps.carryconcealed.net/legal/reciprocity.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you scroll down to the bottom of the page on the right hand side you can select the state you carry your residential license and then you may select your non residential state and see the area that it covers

here is the direct link for that in case you have trouble

http://apps.carryconcealed.net/packngo/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

God Bless you all!

sincerely
John K.

[JimMullinsWVCDL]

Utah BCI provides a complete index of Utah-certified instructors, indexed by state, here.

[Ray]

Does anyone know anything about Canada??? I'm going there next month to AB. Would really like to take my XD-9 with me while I'm in the States. Don't want to loose it at the border however. Any help?????????

Ray

[pleasantguywhopacks]

Does anyone know anything about Canada??? I'm going there next month to AB. Would really like to take my XD-9 with me while I'm in the States. Don't want to loose it at the border however. Any help?????????

Ray

Are you asking if you can take your hand gun to Canukland? Thats a big NO. Long guns specificaly for a hunting trip are possible. Don't even think about taking a long gun for SD up there.

[schmieg]

Does anyone know anything about Canada??? I'm going there next month to AB. Would really like to take my XD-9 with me while I'm in the States. Don't want to loose it at the border however. Any help?????????

Ray

It isn't easy; it must be planned well in advance and you probably won't be able to take your normal carry weapon up there. You can't carry it there. See
http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#prohibited

[mreising]

If you live in Southern Ohio the man to see is Scott Strauss {Please do not post personal contact information in the open forum, please use the Private Message system-sabalo} first class instructor, highly recommended! If you wish to contact me about this for Q/A you can reach me at {Please do not post personal contact information in the open forum, please use the Private Message system-sabalo}. No I am not in any way affilitiated with this instructor, he is just that good! He will do your finger prints and give you everything needed to qualify for Utah and Ohio license. Class fee is about $140.00

Scott better be good, he and his wife took their instructor class from me .

[Ray]

Does anyone know anything about Canada??? I'm going there next month to AB. Would really like to take my XD-9 with me while I'm in the States. Don't want to loose it at the border however. Any help?????????

Ray

It isn't easy; it must be planned well in advance and you probably won't be able to take your normal carry weapon up there. You can't carry it there. See
http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#prohibited

I know I can't carry in Canada, but if it is locked up in a safe can I get it in & then back out????? Will the border gaurds hold it until I return or will they just keep it??????

Thanks Guys
Ray

[BobK]

I know I can't carry in Canada, but if it is locked up in a safe can I get it in & then back out????? Will the border gaurds hold it until I return or will they just keep it??????

They will keep the gun. And they will keep you. In other words, you will get arrested.

Certain handguns are called "restricted firearms" in Canada. A restricted firearm may be brought into Canada, but an Authorization to Transport (ATT) permit must be obtained in advance from a Provincial or Territorial Chief Firearms Officer. The ATT will not be issued for hunting or self-protection purposes. These are allowed for certain purposes, such as target shooting at an approved club or range, or attending a handgun competition.

Other handgun, primarily those with a barrel 4" or less, or magazines with more than 10 rounds are considered PROHIBITED. They cannot be brought into Canada.

The US Embassy for Canada has a web page called Bringing Weapons into Canada. One paragraph may be of interest:

There are often facilities near border crossings where weapons may be stored, pending the traveler's return to the United States, but this should be done before attempting to enter Canada.

You may want to research that option for the crossing you intend to use.

The Canadian Governement also has a web page: Canadian Firearms Program > Visitors / Non-Residents.

[BobK]

I got another question, and excuse me if it's been answered before. If I put my handgun into a lockbox prior to entering a CPZ, does the handgun have to be unloaded? Technically it is not being 'transported' while the truck is in a parking lot.

Hmmmm, that is a good question! One thing for sure, if you are somewhere and your wife or girlfiend or anybody else unlicensed to carry is in the car. DO NOT leave the loaded gun in the car with them locked up or not unless you put it in the trunk. Best bet is unload the mag or cylinder, put the bullets in your pocket and lock the gun then in the car or appropriate container to satisfy the law. Then neither of you are breaking any law.

I'd prefer to give advice that is consistent with what the statute actually says.

First, let's review the relevant portion of the statute for unlicensed people, firearms, and vehicles, from RC 2923.16 Improperly handling firearms in a motor vehicle:

(B) No person shall knowingly transport or have a loaded firearm in a motor vehicle in such a manner that the firearm is accessible to the operator or any passenger without leaving the vehicle.

(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle, unless the person may lawfully possess that firearm under applicable law of this state or the United States, the firearm is unloaded, and the firearm is carried in one of the following ways:

(1) In a closed package, box, or case;

(2) In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle;

(3) In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose;

(4) If the firearm is at least twenty-four inches in overall length as measured from the muzzle to the part of the stock furthest from the muzzle and if the barrel is at least eighteen inches in length, either in plain sight with the action open or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or which cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.

The net effect of (B) and (C) are you cannot "have" a loaded gun anywhere in a motor vehicle. If you violate (B) (i.e., you have it in a passenger compartment), it is a felony. If you violate (C) (i.e., you have anywhere else including trunk), it is a misdemeanor.

So telling someone to "leave it in a trunk" only affects the penalty. It is still a crime.

As far as Rhino's question, "Technically it is not being 'transported' while the truck is in a parking lot", that won't wash either. For example, if you are sitting in your car in your own driveway with the keys, while you are drunk as a skunk, you can still be charged with OVI because the vehicle is ready and capable of being operated on the public highways.

Similarly, if the po-po rolls up on a car full of gangbangers sitting in the parking lot in front of the local stop-and-rob, and all those guys are sitting there with loaded handguns, trying to tell the jury they are parked is an exercise in futility.

If the loaded handgun is locked away in a glovebox, lock box, or trunk, and the remaining passengers have no means of accessing the firearm, your best defense would be to address the phrase "knowingly ... have a loaded firearm", arguing that the passengers do not have constructive possession of the handgun. Please note, however, that this would be a jury question to be decided at trial (and thus expensive and at risk of losing). In other words, the law does not clearly state that leaving a loaded firearm locked up is acceptable, it boils down to you needing to base your defense on the meaning of the word "have". Heaven help you if put it in the trunk and your wife is sitting there with another set of car keys in her purse.

So the safest approach is to make sure the handgun is unloaded and carried in a manner consistent with (C)(1)-(3). Note that all (C)(1) requires is a "closed package, box, or case" -- there is no requirement that the unloaded handgun be locked. Note also, that (C)(4) does not apply, as a handgun isn't 24 inches in length.

Also note that the term "unloaded", as prior posts state, includes no loaded magazines for the handgun.

[schmieg]

Does anyone know anything about Canada??? I'm going there next month to AB. Would really like to take my XD-9 with me while I'm in the States. Don't want to loose it at the border however. Any help?????????

Ray

It isn't easy; it must be planned well in advance and you probably won't be able to take your normal carry weapon up there. You can't carry it there. See
http://www.panda.com/canadaguns/#prohibited

I know I can't carry in Canada, but if it is locked up in a safe can I get it in & then back out????? Will the border gaurds hold it until I return or will they just keep it??????

Thanks Guys
Ray

If they take it, they will keep it and destroy it unless they retain it as evidence for a while in your trial. Read the information at the URL I posted. I believe the XD-9 falls into the prohibited category.

[Rhino]

So the safest approach is to make sure the handgun is unloaded and carried in a manner consistent with (C)(1)-(3).

My apologies for the delay in replying but thanks for your detailed explanation. However, my original question was based on the premise that the vehicle would be unoccupied. I'm not sure if (C)(1)-(3) would apply in that instance, since no one would technically have the firearm, constructively or otherwise. What are your thoughts along those lines?

[Cosmos]

Very nice. This should get "sticky-ed".

I didn't know Amtrack and Greyhound prohibited even in checked bags. That's lame.

Agreed on all points...

Update on Amtrack firearm policy in checked baggage:

Firearms in Checked Baggage
The Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2010, enacted into law on December 16, 2009, requires Amtrak to implement the procedures necessary to provide storage and carriage of firearms in checked baggage cars and at Amtrak stations that accept checked baggage, within one year of the bill’s enactment. This requirement applies solely to checked baggage, not carry-on baggage.

Amtrak’s current policy prohibits all firearms, ammunition and other weapons aboard its trains. This includes any being carried on the person, in carry-on baggage or in checked baggage. Please be advised that this policy remains in effect until Amtrak begins firearm carriage service by December 2010.

Note this would not apply if the train crosses into Canada.

[ITFlyer]

Here's a question I haven't seen answered anywhere.

Traveling across state lines requires having the handgun locked away from the driver area, unloaded.

However, I can travel within Ohio with my handgun on my person. I can also do the same in, say, Indiana, as Indiana recognizes the OH CCW.

So if I travel from Ohio to Indiana, do I have to stop before I cross the state line into Indiana, unholster, unload and store the gun, drive across the state line, then retrieve, reload and reholster my gun? From the laws I've read, this seems to be the case, as ridiculous as it may sound. Is this true?

[AlanM]

No

[cashman966]

Here's a question I haven't seen answered anywhere.

Traveling across state lines requires having the handgun locked away from the driver area, unloaded.

However, I can travel within Ohio with my handgun on my person. I can also do the same in, say, Indiana, as Indiana recognizes the OH CCW.

So if I travel from Ohio to Indiana, do I have to stop before I cross the state line into Indiana, unholster, unload and store the gun, drive across the state line, then retrieve, reload and reholster my gun? From the laws I've read, this seems to be the case, as ridiculous as it may sound. Is this true?

No need to disarm at the border. Since you asked about travel between Ohio and Indiana, FOPA transport is a moot point as you are not traveling through a state. You would follow Ohio law while in Ohio and Indiana law while in Indiana.


Interstate travel through a state, read no extended stops, to reach another state is covered under FOPA. FOPA offers the maximum allowable legal restrictions on transport. If the law in the the state you are traveling through allows for less restrictive transport you can transport under the state law, or FOPA guidelines if you choose. If the state law is more restrictive you can still transport through the state under the less restrictive FOPA guidelines, or I suppose you could choose to follow the more restrictive state law, but I'm not sure why.

Once you are in your destination state you must abide by that state's law. Note that for FOPA to apply it must be legal for you to possess the firearm in both your origin state and your destination state.

If I were traveling to say St. Paul, Minnesota I would transport the following way

Ohio- state law
Indiana - state law
Illinois - FOPA
Wisconsin - FOPA
Minnesota -State Law

Here is a link to the FOPA interstate transport laws


ETA: What Alan said