Texas-Book-Gun Law Armed And Educated - Flipbook - Page 375
B. Safe Passage requires legal start to legal finish
To get protection under federal law, a gun owner’s journey must
start and end in states where the traveler’s possession of the firearm
is legal; for example, a person traveling with their Glock 17 starting
in Texas and ending in Vermont. Even though a person must drive
through New York or Massachusetts to get to Vermont, as long as
the person qualifies under the Safe Passage provision, then they
may legally pass through. However, if the starting point was Texas
and the ending point was New York (a place where the handgun
would be illegal), there is no protection under the federal law. Safe
Passage requires legal start and legal finish.
Although traveling across state lines naturally invokes federal law, it
is important to remember that whenever a person finally completes
their journey and reaches their destination state, the laws of that state
control the possession, carrying, and use of the firearm. Federal law
does not make it legal or provide any protection for possession of
a firearm that is illegal under the laws of the destination state (i.e.,
the “end” state of your travels).
C. What qualifies as “traveling” under Safe Passage?
The final requirement for protection under the federal law is that
individuals MUST be “traveling” while in the firearm-hostile state.
The legal definition of “traveling” is both murky and narrow. The
Safe Passage provision protection has been held in courts to be
limited to situations that strictly relate to traveling and nothing
more. Traveling is a term that is not defined in the federal statute;
however, it has received treatment in the courts that is indicative
of what one can expect. Generally speaking, if a person stops
somewhere for too long, they cease to be traveling and, therefore,
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