From the article it sounds like he was going through security with his briefcase as a carryon. It's one thing to have a pistol in your luggage. It would be another thing entirely if it was in his carryon piece. He obviously forgot that he had it in there and must have made a "good impression" on the judge who reduced the bond to $2500 instead of what the procecutor wanted, $25,000! The judge must have recognized that this guy wasn't trying to get away with anything other than being inattentive. Still, I have to agree that you don't go willy-nilly to any airport anymore without double checking what you're carrying in your luggage. He made a mistake and is going to pay for it in more ways than one. The same thing happened here in CT not long ago. A guy who regularly carrys a small pistol in his briefcase forgot it was there when trying to make a flight. IT happens but it shouldn't.
What got me is that, according to the article, the cops asked him if he had a permit. What difference would that have made? If he were going through security, all the permits in the world woundn't have saved him. If, however, he had it in his luggage (again, the article doesn't really address this) then having a permit might have mitigaged things a little however traveling with a loaded pistol is verboten, of course. It would have to be locked and unloaded and in a locked hard case, ammo elsewhere. Then he would have had to declare it to the TSA xraying his luggage.
I've traveled with both handguns and rifles many times on planes. I've never been hassled. In Boston and in NY, however, they do check to see if you have a permit in order to check your luggage. In CT, they do not. I've never been asked if I have a current CT handgun permit when I've traveled. For all they know I'm a mob hit man. I'm not complaining, mind you, but it is a bit wierd. In MA and in NY, the TSA will ask about permits and if you don't have one, even declaring the pistol in your bag and following all the rules won't save you. You'll be arrested.
Not long ago, a lady from the midwest was visiting her family in VT. She decided to fly home from NY from an airport just over the border from VT. When she arrived she dutifully declared her pistol at the NY airport and was promptly arrested because she didn't have a NY license. This was also an oversight on her part.
Flying with firearms is not hard but it does require a lot of diligence on your part and not just for what your itinerary calls for. You also have to know what you're going to do if you are diverted to an "unfriendly" state. A year or two ago, a guy flying to the coast found his plane diverted to JFK due to weather and his flight was eventually terminated until the next morning. He was traveling with a handgun....all properly declared and above board. He had to collect his luggage which he did. The next morning, he went to check in for the continuing flight to his destination and was promptly arrested at the counter when he declared his luggage. Again, no NY license. He didn't think things through and NY wouldn't budge.
That poor NC guy in Boston is going to have to deal with the hassle and also lose his pistol, I'm sure. And, it's going to be tough for him to keep his permit in NC, too, I'd think. I'm sure it ruined his day.
Rome
![[rolleyes]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/042.gif "Roll Eyes [rolleyes]")
