xxx

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.

x marks the spot

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

Policeman

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.

YYY

I would not trust an xxx with a gun

xxx

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?

xxx

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.

Voice of Reason

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.

Tom

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

anon

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.

John

This seems to have been offered as a serious question and not a troll, so I'm going to answer it that way.

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.

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.

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.

Susan

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.

tiptop

This is exactly why we need gun control in this country.

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!

Susan

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

Youre

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?

John

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.

S

Call the authorities to check into it.

xxx

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.
To everyone else, stop over-reacting about a simple question. I won't be taking it with me.

Kidsdie

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.

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.

amomtoo

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.

John and xxx, does it make you feel like more of a man carrying around that weapon? Are you compensating for something?

Ed

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