Hello, I have a situation that may be of interest to you but
discovering the right answer is of great interest to me. Various state
and Fed government departments do not seem to know how to opine.
Please let me proceed to tell you.
I am a legal handgun owner and competitive shooter in San Diego. I was
planning to compete outside of the US and proactively contacted ATF to
confirm no additional documentation was required to re-enter the US
after the competition. ATF responded that all I would need to do is
prove ownership to the Customs Border Protection Officers (bill of
sale).
In July 2011, I flew to Buffalo, NY from California and then traveled
by car to Ontario, Canada for a shooting competition (I have all legal
permits for Canada also). Upon my return to the US border I declared
to the CBP Officer that I had my competition pistol in my luggage (in
locked, secured cases, etc) and was en route to the Buffalo airport
for a return flight to San Diego. I was immediately detained and told
I was breaking the state law by not having a New York handgun license.
I was told by CBP that I needed a license in "every" state I was going
to be traveling through with my firearm.
Agents thoroughly inspected the car and all of my luggage. As they
were doing this I was told I was going to be arrested by the NY State
Troopers, charged and have my handgun possessed and destroyed. As you
can imagine I was devastated by the entire affair and fearful for what
was ahead of me. Some of the border agents were polite and
professional while others commented that I had "no common sense", seem
to enjoy the threats and position of power they were entrusted with. I
was even told I should take up another sport.
Thankfully I had the ATF letter documenting my inquiry about
additional documentation and their response on the ownership point.
This averted the arrest but CBP told me I could not enter the US with
the gun and would have to return to Canada and leave it there, which I
proceeded to do. I should mention that the pistol was legally
purchased and registered in California. Since that time I have not
been able to return my competition handgun (a $1500 expense) to San
Diego for fear of detention, arrest and seizure.
Upon my return to San Diego I began to research this predicament. It
did not make sense to me that I would need a license for every state
to travel through, particularly in the case of NY where they only give
licenses to state residents thereby making it impossible for me to
compete in any NY state competitions. My research identified the
Firearm Owners' Protection Act (FOPA), Pub.L. 99-308, 100 Stat. 449,
enacted May 19, 1986, codified at 18 U.S.C. § 921. This seem to
contradict the CBP statement about having a license in every state a
gun owner would travel through. I was traveling from a jurisdiction
where I legally owned the handgun (California) to another jurisdiction
where I legally owned the handgun (Canada). I immediately contacted
ATF, NY State Troopers, Buffalo Police Firearm License Dept and the
State Attorney General's Office. To my surprise no one could give a
clear answer as to whether I was protected from prosecution by
referencing FOPA because I was traveling through NY from Canada. I was
in a legal "No Mans Land" and remain there today. I have traversed the
border a dozen times since July always triggering a swift and menacing
response; the car is surrounded by agents, a spike belt is thrown
under the car and I am escorted into secondary inspection (a delays of
hours) because of this initial incident. Some CBP Officers at the
border have not even heard of FOPA, so referencing it is of little
use. I have a file that is 1/4 inch thick of letters from ATF, NY
State Troopers, AG's Office, Buffalo Police, Congressman, etc, and
when I provide the package to the officers they simply stare at them.
My latest strategy was to have a gun store in Canada ship my pistol to a
store in California but after checking a dozen or so, I have not been able
to find one store that provides that service.
Any thoughts, references or direction pointing you may have will be
greatly appreciated.