As anyone who has passed a basic civics class knows, the U.S. Constitution is the supreme law of the land. All legislation and official government actions are subject to its limits. Yet there exists a zone within the New York City metropolitan area where law-abiding gun owners are not just imperiled but specifically targeted for exercising their rights. It is an outrage that has continued for far too long but reemerged into the public’s awareness with the high-profile arrest in January of NFL player Rasheed Walker at LaGuardia Airport in Queens. The federal government must end this disgrace.
The legal landscape is clear. The Second Amendment protects an individual right to bear arms. Federal law also recognizes the right of persons lawfully possessing firearms to transport them, unloaded and secured in a locked case, within checked luggage aboard commercial airlines. Passengers must declare the firearm during check-in.
Furthermore, to reinforce the rights of Americans to transport firearms interstate, a provision of the Firearm Owners Protection Act of 1986 (FOPA) states that “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof,” a lawful gun owner:
“shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he 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 … .”
For the most part, these laws are uncontroversial, well-understood and operate as intended at airports all across America. That is not true, however, at the airports (which include LaGuardia) falling under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Here’s how this unconstitutional scheme works. Merely possessing a handgun regardless of whether it is loaded is presumptively illegal in New York and New Jersey. The “exceptions” involve a complicated matrix of circumstances, registration and licenses. With respect to possessing or carrying a gun in a public place, New York and New Jersey do not recognize licenses or permits issued by other states.
While limited opportunities theoretically exist for nonresidents of these states to obtain their credentials, the license still may not be recognized within New York City, which further requires a special “endorsement” for licenses issued elsewhere in the state. In any case, New York and New Jersey make getting a carry license so complicated and expensive, and recognize its validity in so few places, that such a license is of marginal utility to residents, much less to occasional travelers.
As Rasheed Walker—a Wisconsin resident and concealed-carry license holder—found out, a person who attempts to check a handgun at a Port Authority Airport will trigger a report to Port Authority police. Responding officers will then demand that the traveler produce a local license. If he or she cannot, the gun will be seized, and the person will be immediately arrested, usually—as in the Walker case—on felony charges. Often these charges carry a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment.
What makes this thuggish regime especially egregious is that it’s designed specifically to target ordinary people who are trying to follow the law in good faith. The only “intent” required is the intent to possess the handgun. And the only behavior required is simple possession of the handgun, even one that is unloaded and locked away in a checked bag.
Meanwhile, cases from the relevant federal courts have rendered the transport provisions of FOPA a nullity, claiming it doesn’t protect travelers while traversing the airport to check their guns or it doesn’t prevent a seizure or arrest under local law.
What of the Second Amendment? Indeed, if it doesn’t protect one’s possession of a lawfully owned handgun transported for lawful purposes—including by a vetted and licensed owner like Rasheed Walker—how can it be said to be operative at all in the New York City metropolitan area?
Congress could end this travesty by passing H.R. 38, the Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act, or legislation supported for over a decade by NRA to fix the courts’ erroneous readings of FOPA.
In the meantime, President Trump has taken initial steps to reintroduce the mailing of handguns via the U.S. Postal Service. This may eventually be a safer option for travelers with handguns navigating the constitutional black hole that exists around New York City.
