Expert: Robert P. Firriolo - 9/29/2011

Question
i have FL CCW but i am effectively disarmed if my travels involve NYS.  i am not even discussing NYC!

trust me I-95 is not what it used to be, gas stops involve being solicited for handouts of $5 or more for gas, hotel parking lots  patrolled by local police, predators are eyeballing tourists, and FYI these are the better areas.  

so if i carry up through my reciprocal carry states can i go straight to an FFL in NYS so they may hold my pistol until my business is over in NYS than pick up weapon on my way out of town, kind of like a gun locker?  

What if i drop off at FFL in PA, or VA? for a return trip pick up. i do not know if a dealer can or would do this otherwise i am disarmed, just me and my Louisville slugger, not a match for gang-bangers cruising the roads.

any ideas appreciated.
thx

Answer
REVISED:

It would not be legal for a person not licensed to possess a firearm in New York State to transport a firearm into New York, even to store it with an FFL in New York. As soon as the state line is crossed, that person would be in violation of New York law unless some exception applied, like he was attending a sanctioned shooting match and had the match documentation, etc. There are very few such exceptions and they are very narrow.

Most states are not like New York, in that one may travel into the state with an unloaded handgun lawfully, or a loaded one if the person has an out-of-state license recognized in that state. For example, if somebody with a Florida CCW license travels into Pennsylvania with a handgun, possession is legal even if loaded and concealed, because there is reciprocity between the two states. (See http://www.attorneygeneral.gov/uploadedFiles/Crime/Signed%20Florida%20Agreement.) The problem with transferring the firearm temporarily to an FFL in Pennsylvania and then retrieving it upon the return journey through Pennsylvania is that an FFL may generally only dispose of a firearm to a resident of his state. So, the FFL would probably not accept the transfer.

Another possibility is to look into leaving the firearm in a secure storage facility in a state you can legally transport the gun into.