Transporting Firearms in New York City
In a broad sense, transporting firearms in New York City is just taking it from Point A to Point B, and unless the person has a target range set up in their own basement, there is always going to be some sort of travel involved. There are plenty of lawful reasons that a person can transport a firearm in New York City, anything ranging from hunting, to target shooting, to business safety. To learn more about how to lawfully travel with your firearm, contact a skilled gun attorney right away.
Defining the Unlawful Transportation of a Firearm
The easy and obvious answer to that question is when it goes outside what is permitted by law. There are a number of different types of permits in New York regarding what a person can legally do with a firearm, and any time a person is permitted to do one activity and transports a firearm outside of whatever that limited purpose is, then they are transporting firearms in New York unlawfully.
Difficulty of Obtaining a Gun Permit
Within the five boroughs, it is almost always unlawfully transporting firearms in New York is extremely restrictive with lawful transportation of a firearm. It is very difficult to get any sort of permit for non-law enforcement to carry a firearm in New York City. The short answer is, transportation of a firearm is unlawful when a person’s permit, or lack of a permit, is such that they are not allowed to transport a gun in that way.
Can People Lose Their Rights to Travel with a Gun?
If someone has a felony conviction, they are never allowed to transport a firearm. If they have a domestic violence conviction, they are never allowed to transport a firearm.
In New York, if they do not have a permit, they are not allowed to transport a firearm which means it does not matter if an individual is a felon living in Queens or Brooklyn, or just a person who never bothered to apply for a firearms permit who lives in the middle of the woods In central New York. If they are transporting firearms in New York without a permit to own, possess or carry it, it is illegal.
What are the Penalties for the Unlawfully Transporting a Firearm?
If a gun is being transported while loaded, that is an aggravating factor. If the gun was transported but ultimately is discovered inside of a person’s home or place of business, that is a mitigating factor. If the gun is found mid-transport, it is worse than if the gun is found at an end-point which is more permissive. It definitely matters what the person’s permit says.
Treatment for Someone Without a Permit
If a person has no permit at all, under the law it is no different than a permit that simply does not allow what the person did. However, if the case occurs upstate and the person has a permit to have the gun, a Prosecutor is likely to take that into account and be a bit more lenient versus somebody that has no permit at all and no business having any gun; that is going to be a bit more concerning to Law Enforcement.
The ultimate penalty, especially in New York City, for any firearms-related offense, is fairly tough. The five boroughs, despite crime overall being down, still have a lot of gun violence. Because of that, the District Attorney’s Offices take cases of transporting firearms in New York very seriously. Experienced and seasoned Prosecutors handle these matters, and without mitigating factors, they really push for severe penalties on individuals who are caught illegally possessing guns.