Transporting firearms between states

[Coops Brother]

Yes, I am bored. Here I find myself reading the Federal Firearms Regulation book, and what do I stumble upon you might ask. Well there has been discussions on where your firearm and ammo belong while in the car, here is the statute found in title 18 of the US code chapter 44 section 926A.
I sounds alot like what some people have been told and are repeating.
It pertains only to interstate transporting of firearms, notwithstanding any state or local laws, since we being residents of WI. and transporting our firearms intrastate, this federal statute does not apply, in my opinion.
Any BCM lawyers care to interpret? :stare

18 USC Sec. 926A 01/05/2009

TITLE 18 - CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
PART I - CRIMES
CHAPTER 44 - FIREARMS


Sec. 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms

Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or
regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any
person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from
transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to
transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he
may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place
where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during
such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the
firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible
or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such
transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle
without a compartment separate from the driver's compartment the
firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container
other than the glove compartment or console.

[Crawlin]

Sounds to me that:

State laws override the federal if there is such a more strict law.
Can't transport a handgun through an area that is illegal to have one
Gun has to be unloaded.
Gun cannot have a clip with ammo in it within reach if the gun is within reach as well.
In the event of driving an SUV(i.e. no seperate trunk compartment), the gun must be in a case that can be closed/lockable that like it says is not the glovebox or console.

that's what i kinda get out of it. so if wisconsin has a stricter law then we'd have to follow that coming into that state. If Illinois has a stricter law then we are to follow that heading into that area.

like I said, just what I get out of it. but would be interested in hearing a more specific opinion.

[HITMAN]

I wonder how this pertains to those lucky individuals that live in states that have ccw?

[Coops Brother]

That is what I mean. In WI it is by law, legal to have an unloaded handgun in the case, with a full magazine in the case with the gun, sitting next to you on the front seat.
And I know in SD, it is legal to have a loaded uncased handgun in plain sight insde your vehicle while driving, and legal to be concealed if you have a CCW. I don't get it....

[Coops Brother]

AHHHAAAAA!!

Sec. 926a pertains ONLY to transporting over state lines. That info is direct from ATF field office in Milwaukee, 3:45 pm, 3/12/10.

So, example..... legal to have cased unloaded gun on front seat in WI. and for the sake of this discussion the same is legal in MN.
If you cross wi/mn state line without the gun stored like 926a says to, you are in violation of federal law governing interstate transportation.

So, gun cased on front seat in WI, drive to the border of MN, stop and stow gun in trunk per 926a, drive accross border into MN, stop, take gun out of trunk, put it back on front seat......you are legal now.

So. in summary, sec. 926a doesn't pertain to you driving around the state of WI with your firearms. Only if you cross a state line.

Brian

[Crawlin]

Thanks Brian!

That's good info about how in a matter of seconds you could be doing something wrong, as silly as that sounds to get out of truck

[HITMAN]

That is what I mean. In WI it is by law, legal to have an unloaded handgun in the case, with a full magazine in the case with the gun, sitting next to you on the front seat.
And I know in SD, it is legal to have a loaded uncased handgun in plain sight insde your vehicle while driving, and legal to be concealed if you have a CCW. I don't get it....

Unless the law has changed since the mid 80's (I worked as an armed guard with Pinkerton's back then and had two consecutive years of firearms training with Jim Fendry) because the magazine is needed to make the gun fully functional as designed, it is considered to be part of the gun. Therefore, loaded magazine = loaded gun. And it doesn't matter if the magazine is in the engine compartment and the gun is in the trunk, if the magazine is loaded and it's in the same vehicle as the gun, you have a loaded weapon. The really strange part of the law is the same is not true for revolvers in regards to loaded speed-loaders. The speed-loader isn't required to make the gun work as designed, ergo, it isn't part of the gun. So, you could have 50 loaded speed-loaders sitting right next to your unloaded (but cased) revolver and you aren't violating any loaded weapons laws in this state.

[Coops Brother]

The info you list is incorrect for instate transportation in WI, That might be old law, this is what it says these days.

In the WI statues an unloaded gun is one that has no round in the chamber/cylinder, or a loaded magazine attached to the gun. You can also read this in the DNR hunting manuals, it is under the "unloaded weapon defind", it quotes the statute verbatum.

167.31(1)(b)
(b) "Encased" means enclosed in a case that is expressly made for the purpose of containing a firearm and that is completely zipped, snapped, buckled, tied or otherwise fastened with no part of the firearm exposed.

167.31(1)(g)
(g) "Unloaded" means any of the following:


167.31(1)(g)1.
1. Having no shell or cartridge in the chamber of a firearm or in the magazine attached to a firearm .

[HITMAN]

Yeah I can easily believe that the law has been updated since I was a Pinkerton. I had that training some 25 odd years ago. Hell, Jim Fendry has been retired for some years now. But he still gets around. I see him at all the gun shows as I think he's still the head of the Wisconsin pro-gun movement.

[fivonut]

AHHHAAAAA!!

Sec. 926a pertains ONLY to transporting over state lines. That info is direct from ATF field office in Milwaukee, 3:45 pm, 3/12/10.

So, example..... legal to have cased unloaded gun on front seat in WI. and for the sake of this discussion the same is legal in MN.
If you cross wi/mn state line without the gun stored like 926a says to, you are in violation of federal law governing interstate transportation.

So, gun cased on front seat in WI, drive to the border of MN, stop and stow gun in trunk per 926a, drive accross border into MN, stop, take gun out of trunk, put it back on front seat......you are legal now.

So. in summary, sec. 926a doesn't pertain to you driving around the state of WI with your firearms. Only if you cross a state line.

Brian

I think that as a WI resident you need only comply with WI laws and as a MN resident the same applies. BUT, as a WI resident traveling into or through MN you need to comply with the federal law. In other words, it'd be legal for a MN resident to travel with a gun cased in the front seat, but a WI resident in MN could not do the same.

On a side note, according to case law, a gun, uncased and laying on the dash of your car, is not a concealed weapon in WI. Anywhere else in your car and it is considered concealed.

[Coops Brother]

Not according to the ATF agent, the federal law only applies to border crossing. She said once you are in the other state then you follow their laws, it doesn't matter where you are from.

[fivonut]

Not according to the ATF agent, the federal law only applies to border crossing. She said once you are in the other state then you follow their laws, it doesn't matter where you are from.

No kidden!!! How the F do they expect to enforce that law!! Are they going to have agents posted at all possible state lines doing illegal searches!! Seems like another one of those BS laws that needs to be taken off the books!!!

[Coops Brother]

I think it is more for the arms trafficking type offenses.