I met a gentleman at one of the local gunnie stores back around Christmas. He was a recent transplant from California, and he was amazed at how open and free we are here in Idaho when it comes to firearms. There were guns in that store he had never seen except in magazines, and he was excited by the idea that not only were they available, they were available to him. He told me he’d never made much effort to pursue guns as a hobby because in California it was such a burden to comply with all the rules and there were too many restrictions, not to mention all the possibilities for getting in trouble. When I read this article this morning I thought of what he said. How do you folks in California put up with this bs?
Airport police routinely set up vehicle checkpoints at roads leading into the airport’s central ring roads, but Castles said it is rare to find so many weapons at once.
Vehicle checkpoints on the roads leading to the airport? Are you kidding me? No ACLU down there, eh? They’re too busy threatening gradeschools over the Christmas trees I guess. But really, should anyone in America have to be concerned with emptying out their truck before they go pick up someone at the airport?
LOS ANGELES — A motorist with 16 guns and at least 700 rounds of ammunition in his pickup truck was arrested Friday at a vehicle checkpoint as he entered Los Angeles International Airport, authorities said.
The weapons and ammunition were in a container in the back of the man’s truck, which was stopped by airport police officers at a major entrance to the passenger terminals area, said airport spokeswoman Nancy Castles.
Geez, that’s not even 50 rounds per firearm… I take more than that with me when I go out shooting (although I don’t take 16 guns at once. But hey, I’m older than that guy, so he’s still a young stud). And if he had an econobrick of .22 in back it’s even less! The article doesn’t say what he had.
The man was arrested for investigation of felony transporation of an assault rifle, he said.
Oh look, another evil assault rifle story. What a surprise. But then, this is California, so it might be a 10/22 with a Hot Lips mag for all we know. What’s felony transportation? Sounds like something bad. Sounds like they want to make an example of the poor guy.
The FBI, the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Los Angeles Police Department are investigating whether the weapons were properly registered.
And Bernie Madoff is walking around free this morning. Sheesh. Properly registered? Do they all have to be registered in California? Have I told you how much I like Idaho?
Update: They just showed a film clip of the guy on Fox, with a quick scan of the firearms. Looks like quite a few nice EBRs in the back of that truck (which had a hard bedcover on it btw). And a scoped handgun. His wife said he’s a target shooter. So, who you going to belive, the Feds or the wife?
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January 10th, 2009 at 8:15 am
Illinois is not quite as bad as California, but it is bad enough. If the State Police catch you with an uncased firearm in your car, it is a felony. “Uncased” could be a bad zipper that allows part of a firearm to be seen. If, however you are transporting the firearm for hunting, it is then a conservation offense, and is not a felony. It is a good idea to always have hunting license in case your gun case malfunctions.
The wife’s FOID card is expired right now, so I have to be certain not to leave any ammo in the car. If she is stopped, and the police see even one round of ammo, she would be arrested for not having a FOID card. You can carry only on your property, and you still must have a FOID card for that.
January 10th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
I’m assuming an FOID is a Firearms Owner ID card, right? Those laws don’t make sense, and a >felony< is ridiculous… I don’t know how you put up with that.
One of the differences between Barack Hussein Obama and I is that I have a real birth certificate that shows I was born in Evanston, IL. Another difference is that my parents and I escaped there before I was three and I’ll never go back. A third difference is that I think all the good guys should have lots of guns and no licenses.
We’ll pray on ya Sam
January 10th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Thanks! Yes, it stand for Firearm Owners Identification.
January 11th, 2009 at 10:16 am
What was the Probable Cause (PC) for the search?
Or has martial law been declared in LA unbeknownst to me?
Sad — just very, very sad.
February 1st, 2009 at 7:28 am
The gun laws in California are just one stepped removed from DC and Chicago. Why, although all my family is pretty much on the West Coast I won’t live there.
I used to live in a state that had similar laws. When I got my CCW it was DRILLED into us that you DO NOT have a gun on your person or anywhere in your vehicle anywhere near the airport. You could argue all day for that one, (and I will if you ask me
but the point was it was the law and if I wanted to keep my guns I had best obey it. My instructor said. . obey and then work with gun organizations to try and get it changed. Work hard for our Second Amendment rights. But for now. . OBEY IT.
I live in a state now where you can shoot all day on Sunday but you can’t buy a beer or a buy a car at a car dealship. Go figure.
I also knew the laws that for certain assault rifles that require special permits by the state, you are to carry them to and from the range period. No side trip to the airport. He had one of those. Some of the guns were also loaded. Again, simply not smart (given where he lived, not as in not smart in general) but not indicative of a an intentional felony.
I think the laws are whacked and that he’s only guilty of being naive, but that likely won’t lessen the crime