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Thread: FOPA and Hotel Stays
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May 24th, 2018, 08:45 PM #1
FOPA and Hotel Stays
Does FOPA cover a traveler if they stop mid trip for a hotel stay and firearm never leaves trunk/locked up status?
My apologies if this is the wrong section.Una Salus Victis Nullam Sperare Salutem
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May 24th, 2018, 09:49 PM #2
Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
How can you have any cookies if you don't drink your milk?
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May 25th, 2018, 05:30 AM #3
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May 25th, 2018, 05:53 AM #4Senior Member
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Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
FOPA doesn’t really protect you, so don’t count on it. I’ll be driving through Maryland to get to NC in a few weeks to go on vacation, I just white knuckle it for the few miles I’m in that shit stain of a state.
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May 25th, 2018, 08:20 AM #5
Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
Thanks guys, had a strong suspsician that it did not but wanted to be clear.
Una Salus Victis Nullam Sperare Salutem
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May 25th, 2018, 09:05 AM #6
Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
How about renting a car? Your tags won't reveal any gun info.
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May 25th, 2018, 09:46 AM #7
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May 25th, 2018, 10:04 AM #8
Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
Traveler's Guide to the Firearm Laws of the Fifty States
$15 download or hard copy, constantly updated.
I buy it every year, worth every penny.
https://www.gunlawguide.com/How can you have any cookies if you don't drink your milk?
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May 25th, 2018, 12:29 PM #9
Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
There is no direct mention of what are reasonable necessary stops in 18 USC 926A (FOPA) however they can be deduced. Consider a trip from PA to AZ for example (assuming that you qualify at origin/destination and compliant transport). It would be inconceivable that such a trip would be possible without stopping for such intrinsic necessities as fuel, food, 'nature calls', car repairs, overnight lodgings, medical emergencies, etc. For the past several years bills have been introduces to memorialize the type of stops that comport with the intent of FOPA transport but none of them have advanced to statute status - most just died in committee from lack of action.
Provided your overnight is justifiable from a traveling perspective and FOPA attached to the trip then you would be, IMO, covered - even overnight. One word of caution - keep you guns in the FOPA travel mode which will mean leaving them in the vehicle overnight. If you take them out at the motel you end the FOPA protection and become subject to local law. Additionally you would have to re-qualify for FOPA at the resumption of the trip with your current location as your origin. A similar occasion for re-qualification might arise if you deviate from a reasonable direct route for personal excursions (ex: visiting relatives, sightseeing, etc) since these movements would not be incident to the FOPA related trip.
I'm not aware of any case law that either refutes or supports my interpretation. There is some inference from the 3rd Circuit that the key is keeping FOPA protected firearms i the vehicle during overnight stops:
It is plain from the latter condition that the statute protects only transportation of a firearm in a vehicle, and requires that the firearm and ammunition be neither readily nor directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such vehicle. In particular, the word "such," in "such transporting vehicle," by definition refers back to earlier part(s) of the sentence, and the only parts it could possibly refer to are the parts referring to the transportation of a firearm or ammunition. The use of "such" therefore makes clear that the transportation the statute protects must occur in a "transporting vehicle."
Moreover, if there were any doubt about the statute's vehicular limitation, the final part of the sentence that follows — the "Provided" clause — again makes clear that only vehicular transportation is included in the statutory grant. It states: "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." 18 U.S.C. § 926A (emphasis supplied). This clause, on its face, presupposes transportation of the firearm in a vehicle.IANAL
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May 25th, 2018, 12:33 PM #10Super Member
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Re: FOPA and Hotel Stays
Iffin I were you and leaving from Washington I would travel down 79, 19, 77 into NC and then, if heading east, hit 74E to 40 (I'm guessing a beach destination). I go to Charlotte at least 4 times a year and will be going to Myrtle Beach shortly and will travel that way.
Safe TravelsThe Lord Bless You
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