What can I do? need advice!

[Adkjoe]

I'm heading down to Massachusetts for a couple hours for a craigslist meet up and going to a smokehouse then heading back up to VT. I'm going to be going through VT (where I live) and NH where I can legally carry in both states but I cannot in MA. If I lock my gun in a case and put the ammo in the glove box while I'm in MA will I be OK if I get stopped? I would just leave it at home for the trip but we have plans for the rest of the night once we get back into VT and I don't want to be without my firearm while camping for the weekend. I know it doesn't matter but I will only be in MA for a couple of hours and I don't want to have to leave my pistol at home and be naked for the weekend. What do you guys think?

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[pgrass101]

I think that you will be Okay if it is unloaded and in a place were it is inaccessible to you like locked in the trunk

§ 178.38 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
such person may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where such person 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.

[Adkjoe]

Well I have a wrangler so I don't have a trunk. I was thinking in a locked case in a backpack?

[crystalphoto]

A lock box with a cable tied to the seat track would probably be better, in case someone decided they wanted the backpack more than you...

[Jmac00]

going down to "The Dakota"

My Parents have a cabin in the Berkshires when I travel there from NY, I just lock my gun in a gun safe and put it in the wheel well of the Subaru and lock the ammo in the glove compartment.

And I behave myself, I obey every traffic law there is.

[Adkjoe]

Thanks guy's, I'm going to be in an out of there as fast as possible, mass is a pain in my @##

[Boreal21]

A lock box with a cable tied to the seat track would probably be better, in case someone decided they wanted the backpack more than you...

This but around the rear roll bar pillar

-fellow wrangler owner

[bladenbullet]

legally you can carry through massachusetts as described but you cannot stop and attend a meet and greet with the gun in the vehicle as described...the federal passage law is for transport only...as in passing through...its up to you....

[Adkjoe]

legally you can carry through massachusetts as described but you cannot stop and attend a meet and greet with the gun in the vehicle as described...the federal passage law is for transport only...as in passing through...its up to you....

What about stopping for gas or food?

[wjh2657]

According to the NRA-ILA site, NRA-ILA , Mass allows transportation of firarm by non-resident cased, unloaded, and not accessible. I tried the MASS state sites and the laws are very, very nebulous! None of them actually say you can do it in plain English. They do seem to say that you can stop for gas or rest though, so eating would probably be okay. Myself, I would put it in my COM safe in the trunk, unloaded and put ammo in locked glove compartment.

Be careful about big cities though, as Municipal Codes can pre-empt the state provisions.

The Federal Interstate Transportation of Firearms Law can be used as a defense against state regulations but it means just that, a defense. In short you would have to bring it up in a court case and probably in your appeal, Local courts aren't very impressed with Federal or COTUS provisions, they usually burn you under the state or local law and let the Appelate courts figure out the Federal implications. Loss of gun and big expenses here, maybe even local calaboose time.

Someday Massachusetts may join the union and become part of the USA, in the meantime, treat it as a foreign country.

[JonInNY]

If I were making stops in MA, I probably would not do it. While rest/bathroom/food stops appear to be permissible, stopping for any other reason is technically a no-no. Everyone else has it right; keep it locked and inaccessible, with ammo locked in a different location. And no stops!

Just as an aside (and I don't mean to hijack the thread), whenever I drive to Long Island, I need to stop BEFORE I get into NYC (the only way to L.I.), lock up my gun, drive through NYC, then unpack again when I reach Nassau county. Fun, isn't it?

[paramedic70002]

Arguably, Mass is your destination since you are going there and turning around to go back to VT so technically the Fed passage law does not apply to you. Bury the case under a bunch of stuff in the vehicle and do nothing to garner the attention of the constabulatory.

[LongRider]

My biggest concern would be to be your craiglist meet. There have been a rash of craiglist robberies and killings lately here in Washington but sure the risk is not just local. Meet in a public place if it is a large item, that you need to go to their home for get their ID name and address before you go there. Let someone know where you went take someone with you. I'd have my gun accessible while meeting them. A safe with a cable is a good way to store your gun in the car. We keep one under the front seat

[Sobered]

Just as an aside (and I don't mean to hijack the thread), whenever I drive to Long Island, I need to stop BEFORE I get into NYC (the only way to L.I.), lock up my gun, drive through NYC, then unpack again when I reach Nassau county. Fun, isn't it?

When I visit my mother in Pennsylvania, I have to stop on the side of the road in WV, unload and lock up my gun in the bed of my truck, drive 2 miles through Maryland, then stop on the side of the road and rearm myself in Pennsylvania.

[BugDude]

I'm glad I don't have to go up north for anything. All of the states I frequent are cool with CC and recipricate with Virginia.