What Visitors to New York Need to Know About Guns
Recently we stumbled upon a great article written by a local attorney. He cautions that visitors to New York need to understand a little more about New York State and New York City law before they presume to bring their firearm here. I am including below an excerpt from the article I mention. To see the full text follow the source link below.
Source: http://blogs.lawyers.com/2012/01/heading-to-nyc-keep-that-gun-at-home/
First, he says, gun owners almost invariably check with the airlines and ask if they can bring their firearm. Almost invariably, he says, the airline will say yes as long as they follow certain procedures, including the placing of the gun in a secure lockbox that the airline and TSA can open and the filling out of a form.
But he says they rarely tell passengers about the law—and the penalties—that may be awaiting them on the other end.
“So you fly into New York City, you de-plane, and you get your luggage. No problem. Nobody’s checking anything when you arrive in New York. So now you go about your business and head back to the airport, be it LaGuardia or Kennedy, and you do exactly the same thing. You go over to the airline counter with your nice, official, TSA-approved lockbox and you tell the agent, ‘I have a handgun that I want to declare,’” the same as you did coming into New York, and they say, ‘Wait right here.’ Two minutes later there are six Port Authority police descending on you. You are arrested, you are held, usually overnight, before you get to see a judge. When you go in front of the judge, the DA will ask for some outrageous bail—usually around $50,000—and the judges, who know better, will generally release people without any bail.”
People who are arrested for gun possession in this manner are charged with a class C violent felony, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years and, perhaps more importantly, a minimum sentence of 3 ½ years.
Source: http://blogs.lawyers.com/2012/01/heading-to-nyc-keep-that-gun-at-home/
