Handgun in checked bag?
 

I would like to take a handgun for personal protection for when I get to my destination. I have a handgun permit that allows me to carry a handgun, but not in public and of course not on a plane. What are the rules and regulations regarding checking a bag with a handgun in it? Is it allowed or not? This has nothing to do with Sept. 11th. I always carry it with me on road trips. Thanks for any help on this issue.

If you're the same xxx who posts here often, I always knew you had a screw loose.

Even though you may have a permit to carry a handgun, that does not mean you can carry that gun into places where handguns are banned. This is not new since Sept. 11 either. For instance Chicago has a ban on handguns period if you are not a police officer. even if you live in the burbs and have a permit for your gun, you are breaking the law if you bring your handgun intot he city. Does the place where you are going even allow handguns? Even if they do, I doubt you will get it past the tight post 9/11 security at the airport. You do know that checked bags are xrayed as well don't you? Come on, you have got to be a TROLL.

I would not trust an xxx with a gun

No, this isn't the same xxx poster. What's the problem with someone wanting to have a gun to protect his family just in case there is some lunatic stalking them or something. Does anyone know the rules and regulations or not?

No, I am not a troll. I'm sorry that I have touched a nerve in everyone that has replied and will reply, but a simple yes or no would have been sufficient.

Why in the world would you have a lunatic stalking your family? Isn't that being just a tad bit paranoid? If you're taking your family for extended strolls through the slums of East L.A. I could maybe see your point, but I think you're overreacting just a bit. Sell the gun and use the money for therapy.

Nothing quite makes the vacation like a good old fashioned shoot out.

Unless you're law enforcement or military, I doubt you'll be checking a handgun in at the airport. I'll bet you that if you even enter an airport w/ a gun, you'll be arrested. I doubt you would be any different from celebrities that try to travel w/ guns, who are routinely arrested for it. If you're so worried about being attacked when you venture out into the big bad world, I would suggest staying at home where it's safe and sound.

This seems to have been offered as a serious question and not a troll, so I'm going to answer it that way.<BR><BR>I also have a handgun permit, in my case a concealed-weapons permit which allows me to carry in most places in my home state. Emphasis is on MOST and HOME STATE. There are some states in the south that have multi-state licensing, but that is not the case around here. There is also at least one state that essentially has no laws at all regarding concealed carry, so I guess you'd be legal there. Otherwise, you'd better first find out what the laws are at your destination, because the chances are you won't be able to carry the gun regardless of whether you can get it there.<BR><BR>Primarily for those reasons, I have never checked a handgun, but I've made plenty of trips with long guns, which are required to be in locked hardshell cases but are otherwise checked pretty much like regular baggage. You have to declare to the agent that you're checking a weapon and then sign a statement that the gun is unloaded. I believe the regulations may require that you also show that the gun is unloaded, but I've never been asked to do that - can't quite imagine what would happen if I worked the action of a high-powered rifle in a crowded terminal these days. They then put a nice orange tag on it to alert any potential thieves. A simple phone call to the airline would answer your question on handguns.<BR><BR>I don't want to sound pedantic, but this is serious business and you really should be getting your information from some other place. Those of us who try to be responsible gun owners owe it to ourselves to know and follow the laws.

Please call the airline and ask this question and do not just assume it is okay to put that handgun in your checked luggage. You'll be doing your fellow travelers a favor by not holding up a flight when they xray your bag and have to take you off the plane.

This is exactly why we need gun control in this country. <BR><BR>Thank goodness law enforcement can trace this lunatic's IP address back to him and find out exactly which idiot is carrying a gun on a flight!

Tiptop, you've got a lot of faith in law enforcement!

I don't know how I've managed to travel all theses years unarmed! And amazingly, the most protection I've ever needed was from a cab driver who knowingly took the long way to up his fare. Oh, the dangers of world travel. How ever did we survive?

Tiptop, xxx never said he (could be a she, I suppose) was actually going to take the gun - he's only asking if and how he can do it legally (which means, by the way, that we do have "gun control in this country" else he wouldn't need to be concerned). Last time I heard, it wasn't against the law to ask questions, even if those questions happen to involve something you obviously don't approve of. Darn that pesky 1st Amendment anyway - maybe you can take a little time away from your efforts to repeal the 2nd to go after that one too.

Call the authorities to check into it.

Thank you very much John for your helpful reply and defense. This is just something that I had thought about doing and wondered what the rules were. I had seen people checking their rifles and wondered how it worked with handguns.<BR>To everyone else, stop over-reacting about a simple question. I won't be taking it with me.

Oh thank god, now the REST of us who don't aspire to re-enact a scene from a Steven Segal movie can feel safe. <BR><BR>Just out of curiosity, how many times have you actually needed that gun for protection? I've never actually met anyone or even heard of anyone who has, and am wondering where one lives or what one does in their daily life to warrant the need to carry a gun around.

Ain't that the truth. I've never read in the paper about someone actually defending themselves with a gun successfully. But how many times have I read about some kid finding a gun and killing themselves or another kid? Too many.<BR><BR>John and xxx, does it make you feel like more of a man carrying around that weapon? Are you compensating for something?

I'm just curious how xxx got a handgun permit without knowing the laws and practices to pass the test. A troll!

Here we have a guy who asks about gun regulations on a travel site and he say's we're overreacting. SHEESH!

Normally I might assume this person should have a right to carry a gun. I believe in the right to have registered guns. But anyone getting ready to go on a trip who isn't smart enough to figure out that he should call the airline he's fliying on and get the true scoop, really is too stupid to be carrying a gun around. Who in their right mind would think it is smarter to go on a public but anonymous website to get the answer instead of calling the airline that has the facts and the full control of the situation?

To xxxxx above:<BR><BR>Obtaining a permit to carry a handgun does in no way insure the intelligence of a person. Hence the whole flaw in our supposed "hand gun control." Most are idiots, or crazy. Otherwise why do they feel the need to "protect" themselves?

Amomtoo wrote, "I've never read in the paper about someone actually defending themselves with a gun successfully." <BR><BR>You must be too busy with your children to read the papers. There are thousands of stories of citizens who used their guns to protect their families from criminals and rapists. In fact, the Wall Street Journal recently published a story about a man who saved his son's life during an armed robbery at Blockbuster Video in Florida. <BR><BR>I'm a woman, and I carry a gun. I have a permit, have taken several safety classes sponsored by the local police, and regularly train on a shooting range. Several of my friends are rape victims, and I intend to protect myself and my family if necessary. If amomtoo wants to be a defenseless victim, that's her choice. In the time it takes 911 to respond to her phone call, a criminal could rape and rob her. It's happened before. Read Paxton Quigley's Armed and Female if you don't believe me. <BR><BR>As for xxx's question, xxx should check with the airline about carrying his gun. It is perfectly legal as long as the gun is unloaded, registered with the airline, and in checked --not carry-on-- baggage. Some airlines ask that gunowners purchase a separate locked box to fit inside their locked suitcase. Then, the airline can put the orange tag on the locked box rather than the suitcase. This reduces the chances of the suitcase being stolen by thieves who see the orange tag. If xxx has a trigger lock, bring that as well. XXX also should call his local police station and ask them if the state he is visiting accepts his carry permit. Do NOT bring your gun if the state does not permit it.

Somehow I think I'll get through life without feeling like a defenseless victim. I'm sorry you live your life in fear. I've met Paxton Quigley, actually worked with her in Los Angeles, and besides being a very ambitious woman capitalizing on her ability to feed upon other women's fears, she is also a bit paranoid.

"Do NOT bring your gun if the state does not permit it."<BR><BR>Better is - Do NOT bring your gun if the city or state does not permit it.<BR><BR>I have no idea where you are going but you might want to do a google search on the various laws from city to city/county to county/state to state/<BR><BR>http://www.google.com/search?q=Federal+Handgun+permit&hl=en&start=20&sa= N<BR>

It's you're constitutional right to have and or bear arms....don't pay any attention to all these pansies !!<BR><BR>This is from the FAA website "Firearms and ammunition may not be carried by a passenger on an aircraft. However, unloaded<BR> firearms may be transported in checked baggage if declared to the agent at check in and packed<BR> in a suitable container. Handguns must be in a locked container. Boxed small arms ammunition for<BR> personal use may be transported in checked luggage. Amounts may vary depending on the<BR> airline.

Amomtoo, I don't live my life in fear. Reason: I am prepared to defend myself. <BR><BR>I'm not paranoid. I'm just realistic. I have worked as a rape counselor and have seen far too many battered women. Why don't you try comforting a 13 year old girl who was raped by an intruder in her own house and then tell me women shouldn't have the right to protect themselves? I have heard those women's cries, and I cannot forget their pain. <BR><BR>Everyone can't retreat to the comfort of suburbia like you Amomtoo. What do you have to say to the women I counsel who are afraid to walk home at night in their impoverished neighborhoods and who are terrorized by drug dealers and gangs? Because of "anti-gun laws" these women can't afford to get a legal gun in the state of Massachusetts. Yet the thugs in their neighborhood easily obtain illegal weapons and use them to victimize others. <BR><BR>I wish I could close my eyes to reality and blissfully ignore the suffering of innocent people as easily as you can Amomtoo. Enjoy your limousine liberal world. It's so much more pleasant than reality! <BR><BR>

Okay, xxxxxxxxxxxxxx, you're right. We all need to be armed at all times. That will make the world a safer place. Calm down, put the gun down. Now please take your medication.

Hmmmm, Miss Multi-x, I didn't say YOU were paranoid, I said Ms. Quigley was. Hmmmm. A taste for the dramatic as well, I see. Somehow I'm not comforted that a person like yourself is armed.

Traveling Man, it's so much easier to joke and make witty little comments about mental illness than to rebut arguments with actual facts or any form of logical reasoning. Good job!

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make a callous joke about your mental illness. Please accept my apology.

Clearly, you would rather make jokes and personal attacks than have a serious discussion about guns and gun control. <BR><BR>It is interesting that you have chosen to attack me rather than legitimately debate what I wrote about how women are victimized in our society, how many are empowered to defend themselves by carrying guns, and how gun control laws hurt the poor women I meet as a rape counselor. (Note: None of their attackers used a legal gun. Unfortunately for law-abiding citizens, criminals don't obey the existing gun control laws.) <BR><BR>It is obvious that you lack either the maturity or the desire to have a serious discussion on this subject, so I am signing off.

So this isn't really a discussion about guns in checked luggage but one about gun control? Wrong board then.

Here's a fact you paranoid nincompoop. I'd rather be raped then have my childs brains blown out when he goes over to your house to play and accidentally picks up what he thinks is a toy gun.<BR><BR>If you want facts here is one. MANY more children die from accidental handgun wounds than people are saved from an attack while wielding a gun. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.<BR><BR>What makes you think a 13 year old girl is going to have the presence of mind, composure and wherewithall to find the gun in her house and use it effectively against an intruder? Chances are the intruder would end up using it on her, and instead of being raped she would be dead too.<BR>

Gun-owning parents with legal guns teach their children about gun safety and keep the guns locked. In many states, that is the law. The per capita rate of accidental deaths with firearms is also at an all-time low, having decreased 91% since the all-time high in 1904. Firearm accidents account for less than 0.9% of accidental deaths and less than 0.04% of all deaths in the U.S. Among children, firearm accidents account for 2% of accidental deaths and 0.4% of all deaths. Most accidental deaths involve motor vehicles or are due to drowning, falls, fires, poisoning, medical mistakes, choking on ingested objects and environmental factors. Furthermore, the majority of the firearms accidental deaths were with illegal guns. <BR><BR>As for the claim that the gun is more likely to be turned against the victim than the criminal, statistics prove otherwise. Survey research during the early 1990s by criminologist Gary Kleck found as many as 2.5 million protective uses of firearms each year in the U.S. "[T]he best available evidence indicates that guns were used about three to five times as often for defensive purposes as for criminal purposes," Kleck writes. Analyzing National Crime Victimization Survey data, he found "robbery and assault victims who used a gun to resist were less likely to be attacked or to suffer an injury than those who used any other methods of self-protection or those who did not resist at all." (Targeting Guns, Aldine de Gruyter, 1997)<BR><BR>Most protective firearm uses do not involve discharge of a firearm. In only 1% of protective uses are criminals wounded and in only 0.1% are criminals killed.<BR><BR>A Dept. of Justice survey found that 40% of felons chose not to commit at least some crimes for fear their victims were armed, and 34% admitted having been scared off or shot at by armed victims. (James D. Wright and Peter H. Rossi, Armed and Considered Dangerous, Aldine de Gruyter, 1986)<BR><BR>Thirty-three states now have Right-to-Carry (RTC) laws providing for law-abiding citizens to carry firearms for protection against criminals. Twenty-three states have adopted RTC laws in the last 15 years. Half of Americans, including 60% of handgun owners, live in RTC states.<BR><BR>Professor John R. Lott, Jr., and David B. Mustard, in the most comprehensive study to date of RTC laws' effectiveness concluded, "When state concealed-handgun laws went into effect in a county, murders fell about 8 percent, rapes fell by 5 percent, and aggravated assaults fell by 7 percent. . . . Will allowing law-abiding citizens to carry concealed handguns save lives? The answer is yes, it will." (Lott, More Guns, Less Crime, Univ. of Chicago Press, 1998)<BR><BR>RTC states have lower violent crime rates on average: 22% lower total violent crime, 28% lower murder, 38% lower robbery, and 17% lower aggravated assault. The five states with the lowest violent crime rates are RTC states. (FBI) People who carry legally are by far more law-abiding than the rest of the public. In Florida, for example, only a fraction of 1% of carry licenses have been revoked because of gun-related crimes committed by license holders. (Florida Dept. of State)<BR>

This is a true story. In our town several years ago two women who were friends were apparently being trailed by the same crazy guy. They were both raped by this man three days apart. The first woman was raped in the morning when she was alone in the house, making the bed. The second woman was being raped in exactly the same manner -- while making her bed several days later, obviously this guy had been observing them both for some time. The second woman managed to get to her nightstand and pull out a gun -- the rapist saw it and killed her.<BR>We used to keep a gun in our nightstand. My wife insisted we get rid of it.<BR>The good news is that the man was caught and convicted.

you forgot the option of killing the intruder and you not getting raped & your child not getting hurt....Thanks to your gun !!

Oh, so being a card carrying member of the NRA makes one a "better mom"? You may know about gun safety, but visitors to your home may not, and lets not forget the accidents involving "educated children of gun owners" who wanted to demostrate their expertise with fire arms to show off to their friends.<BR><BR>Throw out all the percentages you want but any percent is too high, since if the gun wasn't in the home, a child would still be alive. And unless your working the night shift in a convenience store or live in some drug and crime infested area, you don't need one. If you are in fact living in an area where gun violence is an everyday occurrence, then by all means, pack that heat, but my guess is you're not.<BR><BR>Some people just like to carry guns.

That's horrid. I hear of cases like this frequently. I also hear of cases where a gun saved the person. But buying a gun is useless unless you train with it and are prepared to shoot without hesitation. It only takes someone like me 1.5 seconds to fire a shot. That would have been enough time for that woman to fire a life-saving shot if she'd trained for that moment. What a waste of a life. I bought my wife a gun, and I go shoot with her once a week. That way she won't hesitate if she ever needs to use it.