Senate Introduces Bill to Make Travel with Firearms Less of a Headache
OutdoorHub Reporters 03.17.17
A bill was introduced on March 14, 2017, that would make traveling with guns and ammunition – for legal gun owners, of course – across state lines less of a headache.
Bill S.618 is designed to “amend chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, to more comprehensively address the interstate transportation of firearms or ammunition.” In other words, the bill is meant to better suit and protect the rights of law-abiding gun owners who want to travel state to state with their firearms.
“This bill safeguards our Second Amendment rights by strengthening federal protections for responsible gun owners travelling across state lines,” said U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah in a statement. “By amending the Firearms Owners’ Protection Act of 1986, this commonsense proposal puts an end to the harassment of upstanding citizens who happen to stay overnight, fuel up, or stop for an emergency during their travels in another state.”
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty of the bill, which by the way had several prominent GOP co-sponsors, including Texas Senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn.
The bill would simply allow a traveler who is 100% lawfully able to possess a firearm, ammo or magazines to transport them willingly throughout the country, under certain restrictions, of course. The gun would have to be unloaded or, if in a vehicle, not directly accessible to any passengers.
There have been plenty of incidents where travelers found themselves in hot water after local or state police discovered they were transporting firearms. This bill would be music to those folks ears.
“On behalf of the NRA’s five-million members and law-abiding gun owners across the country, I want to thank Sen. Hatch and Congressman Griffith for sponsoring legislation to ensure that those who legally transport their firearms, ammunition and magazines are protected from harassment and prosecution,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the National Rifle Association’s Institute for Legislative Action.
