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How must handgun be transported?

imperialism2024

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I've been looking through the firearms laws of PA, and while I'm somewhat sure it's in there somewhere, I can't find where it says where in the car one must transport an unloaded firearm. The assumption I had was that it must be transported in the trunk, with the ammo in a separate compartment.

Or does the law allow for one to carry a firearm, unloaded, in the cab of the vehicle, as long as the ammo is stored separately?

The reason I ask is that if I'm about to start OCing in PA, I would not be able to keep the loaded firearm on me in the vehicle, as I have no LTCFs, since I'm not yet 21. So, if I need to load/unload whenever I transition in and out of my vehicle, it would draw much less negative attention if I could just load and unload while still in my vehicle, rather than having to go to the trunk to do so.
 

Skuggi

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actually you legally cant travel with the pistol. You can only travel with it, ulnoaded with ammo in a seperate container not accessible by a person. When traveling to or from a range, or gunsmith, or coming home with the pistol.
 

Statkowski

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Good question, the answer to which appears a little fuzzy:

§6106. Firearms not to be carried without a license.

(a) Offense defined.­

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), any person who carries a firearm in any vehicle or any person who carries a firearm concealed on or about his person, except in his place of abode or fixed place of business, without a valid and lawfully issued license under this chapter commits a felony of the third degree.

(b) Exceptions.-The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply to:

(4) Any persons engaged in target shooting with rifle, pistol, or revolver, if such persons are at or are going to or from their places of assembly or target practice and if, while going to or from their places of assembly or target practice, the cartridges or shells are carried in a separate container and the rifle, pistol or revolver is unloaded.

(8) Any person while carrying a firearm unloaded and in a secure wrapper from the place of purchase to his home or place of business, or to a place of repair or back to his home or place of business, or in moving from one place of abode or business to another or from his home to a vacation or recreational home or dwelling or back, or to recover stolen property under section...
 

WhiteFeather

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Oley, Pennsylvania, USA
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You might find the law more clearly defined by the Pennsylvania Game Commision. Since those *^%*&... Fine upstanding people are responsible for enacting such a law. The thought was that they did not want people hunting from their vehicles. Just a thought...
 

Statkowski

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Thinking more about it:

  • Under 21?
  • No LTCF?
  • Just transporting the handgun so you can OC somewhere else?
  • Not going to or from target practice?
  • Not taking the handgun to or from the local gun shop?
You very well may be SOL. I haven't found any reference in the UFA covering just transporting the handgun from Point A to Point B just for the sake of transporting it. You may well have to either:

  • Wait until you're 21 and get an LTCF, or
  • Walk all the way hither and yon, and don't transport the handgun in a car.
 

imperialism2024

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So, the way I'm reading it, PA effectively makes OC without a LTCF impossible unless you're graced to live within walking distance of every place you'd ever want to go.

Perhaps the status of PA should be changed to "Licensed Carry State"?

:banghead:
 

Steve in PA

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This is the definition of "loaded" and explains how a firearm must be transported if you do not have a LTC. There is no requirement that the firearm or ammo is not accessible by a person. You can have both laying on the back seat, or front seat if you wish.

Having a loaded firearm in a vehicle without having a LTC is a crime and you could be arrested for it.



"Loaded." A firearm is loaded if the firing chamber, the nondetachable magazine or, in the case of a revolver, any of the chambers of the cylinder contain ammunition capable of being fired. In the case of a firearm which utilizes a detachable magazine, the term shall mean a magazine suitable for use in said firearm which magazine contains such ammunition and has been inserted in the firearm or is in the same container or, where the container has multiple compartments, the same compartment thereof as the firearm.
 

imperialism2024

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Steve in PA wrote:
This is the definition of "loaded" and explains how a firearm must be transported if you do not have a LTC. There is no requirement that the firearm or ammo is not accessible by a person. You can have both laying on the back seat, or front seat if you wish.

Having a loaded firearm in a vehicle without having a LTC is a crime and you could be arrested for it.
Well, I guess my original question is answered. However, it doesn't seem like there is a legal premise for transporting a firearm by car, unless one is going to a range, gunsmith, etc.
 
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