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I recommend going to Hardy's post, hitting the link, and reading at least the first brief. The NRA is assisting two men in suing the NY Port Authority and individual officers who prevented these men from legally flying with their guns (and arresting one of them). The brief pretty well lays out that the NY Port Authority, and a certain federal lower court, explicitly disregard the FOPA and believe that NY state law on guns pre-empts any federal law. Indeed, if the brief is correct, in the opinion of the lower court if you have a gun, you are a suspect -- no other evidence is needed. Basically, if you bring a gun to the airport to check in your bags, you will be arrested unless you have a NY permit for the gun, in which case you will be denied boarding.Guide to interstate transport of firearms
Posted by David Hardy · 25 August 2009 11:53 AM
NRA has just released the latest edition of its comprehensive Guide to the Interstate Transportation of Firearms [link].
It includes a section on the suit brought against the NY Port Authority, which is in the habit of violating the protections given by the Firearm Owners Protection Act. Here are links to the opening brief[link] and here's the reply.[link]
Here's a couple quotes from one of the airport police involved, to whet your appetite. I added some explanatory notes in [square brackets].
Torraco [the traveler, who was subsequently arrested along with his wife] urged [Port Authority Police Sergeant] Goldberg to call the state prosecutor or other person who would know about § 926A [the FOPA statute]. Goldberg “told me federal law does not apply in the State of New York. He told me very condescendingly that he ain’t calling nobody and that I was in his jurisdiction.”
Remember, these are not regular beat cops in the city -- these are airport police, at large airports that have thousands and thousands of travelers..why should they be familiar with any pre-emptive federal law on travel...[Counsel for the Port Authority PD] Ms. Miller: I just want to say on the record, with respect to this
particular statute, 18 U.S.C. 926(A) [the FOPA Statute], the Port Authority has responded
in writing that we don’t specifically train to this statute.
Another quote from the lower court, citing the good sergeant's testimony...
A TSA supervisor turns out the be the only clued in official on the scene, but the locals ignored him...“Sgt. Goldberg testified that he makes about 50 firearms arrests a year at LaGuardia, and in about half of those, the suspects [my emphasis] assert some claim of legal entitlement . . . .”