The next big travel season is going to be here before you know it – the holidays are right around the corner. With that come a few considerations if you plan to carry a firearm.
You’ve thought everything through. The kids are in their car seats, you’ve got their videos packed for the long ride. Suitcases are in the back of the SUV full of everything everyone should need; all the right outfits, toothbrushes, charging cables… Mom’s prized apple crisp is positioned just right to safely make the trip… And, dad has his pistol discreetly concealed on his waist as the family’s protector.
But, did you think about packing a resource that will help you with the gun laws of each of the states you’ll be passing through?
How about once you get there? Did you bring the travel safe to bring inside and secure your firearm in? How about for the stops along your journey? Are you planning to just place it in the hotel nightstand drawer?
No two states share the exact same gun laws. Transporting through some states is downright not recommended. Having that safe to put your pistol in is crucial while driving through some of them.
Leaving your pistol in the car while spending the weekend at Aunt Betty’s is as unwise as bringing it in unsecured. In short, it really is rude to spend the night at others’ homes without properly securing your firearm. It’s even more foolish leaving it in the car.
It’s also risky to cross state lines without arming yourself with a very good state law resource. Just in the last year, over 100 laws changed in statutes, codes, and permit recognition relevant to gun laws in the 50 states. The last thing you want is to hope law enforcement will be lenient with your plea of ignorance, because that just doesn’t happen. Sometimes I’m shocked I don’t read more news stories about gun owners getting arrested when traveling.
So, while you still have the time, there are a couple things you can do now to be adequately prepared for when you travel.
First – Pick yourself up a copy of this priceless resource – Legal Boundaries By State: The Travel Guide For American Gun Owners. Avoid consequences of up to 10 years in jail for breaking even the dumbest of gun laws.
Second – If you don’t already have one, get yourself a Vaultek Barrikade Series 1 Travel Safe. Eliminate the risk of the wrong hands getting to your pistol when at Uncle John’s house, or being stopped in an anti-gun state, or even worse, unauthorized hands getting to your pistol in a hotel.
As gun owners and concealed carriers, there are simple measures we must take to ensure we are not breaking the law and to ensure our firearms are properly and respectfully stored.
Be safe,
Joe Shahoud
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Joe Shahoud is the owner and lead instructor at Safe Family Defense LLC,
a firearms training academy that serves the greater Columbia, SC area
specializing in pistol, concealed weapons permits, personal defense, and
general education in personal safety. Visit their classes page to see what is available and enroll.Joe is also the owner of LANCE Tactical,
an up and coming brand of products essential to the defense-minded
individual, and an online retailer that specializes in fast-access smart
gun safes and other essential gear.
Copyright 2019 – All Rights Reserved, Safe Family Defense, LLC