Yacht Owner arrested NYC on weapons charges

Just a quick reminder....firearms of any kind (including restricted weapons, eg: spring knives, pepper spray, tasers, brass knuckles, etc.), in the possession of anyone, will draw the attention to anyone entering Canada/Canadian waters, checked by the Coast Guard, RCMP, Conservation Officers and local police. Even transitting to Alaska on the west coast is subject to Canadian laws and any licence to carry in the U.S. is usually unacceptable. Check with Canadian authorities and/or leave your weapons at home, please. Cheers, Richard.

Every state has different laws. Some states honor other states license, some don't. Your boat, at anchor is your abode,in some states. Your boat underway is like driving your car, a vehicle, in some states. If you travel between states you better know the law.
Handgunlaw dot com ( or dot org maybe ) is a good reference guide to what states honor whose license.
Many police don't even know who honors what.
Also most states have Internet forums that can be helpful. Almost all advice is followed by " I Am Not A Lawyer " so double triple check everything.

Keep in mind that the Post is akin to the National Enquirer. They sensationalize just a bit. NYC does have some of the most strict gun laws in the nation. Had he stepped ashore carrying he could be assured of a lenthy vacation, but they're also not completely unreasonable. A couple of months back a gun dealer from out of state rolled through the GW bridge in a hopped up truck with guns on the seat. He was supposedly coming to NY to rescue a girl held by pimps (long sad story involved). He enjoyed NY's hospitality for the weekend, but is expected to only get a fine. I suspect much the same will happen in this case. However the advice to check gun laws well where you'll be transiting is very sound. The wrong judge or a smart alec attitude can definitely alter your plans for years to come.

We regularly carry a couple of shotguns into British Columbia for protection when hiking in the woods. We've never had an issue as long as we fill out the Non-Resident Firearm Declaration http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/cfp-pcaf/form-formulaire/pdfs/5589-eng.pdf

Yes..."standard" long guns and a reasonable amount of ammuntion, properly declared and safely housed are not generally under abolition. Semi or full automatics with large cartridge carriers/feeders will be seriously frowned upon, just like any form of hand gun. And let's not get into carrying unprescribed narcotics...our coasties and RCMP have some really cute, friendly dogs...with exceptional noses. Pot, despite our government's indecision(s) is still illegal (and a felony if crossing the border with a stash regardless of a medical prescription). Knowledge again, is key if you're in doubt. Canadians love all visitors...just play nice, eh. Richard.

Have traveled through that area many times, always loaded with weapons, never been stopped or boarded either...how ever, It was my understanding that your vessel is your domain, your home, and that firearms were allowed.? Now I read the owner/captain was given a ticket... For what? Were the weapons confiscated? Something about this story seems odd..... Just a note, I have been boarded several times by the USCG,( never in that region) and have had weapons on board and all they ever asked was, 1- are they loaded,2- what is the location of the weapons... Even in the Bahamas.. I will say their eyes are wide open when the see the 50cal. Bushmaster... By the way I hold a C C permit issued in Florida.

Which is NOT honored in Maryland, New Jersey, or New York.

A few distinctions. First, per the report, his weapons were unlicensed. Second, his carry permit was expired. Third, he was in NY Harbor which has more Coast Guard and Harbor Patrol presence than anywhere else you'll go. Fourth, putting it into perspective, he was ticketed reflecting his violation was considered minor rather than major.

I don't know what the ticket was issued for or what happened to the weapons although the report says they were seized.

Your vessel is not your home. It is not considered such.

Do keep in mind that your FL permit is of no value in NYC.

Thanks for the clarity, I was under the impression that you could carry weapons aboard your vessel anywhere in the U S, Ive spoken to the C G about this and their answer was yes, you can? Some ambiguity here, I guess the NE, especially NY are nuts about weapons and guns... Most states do not require registered weapons.
By the way,, I'm very well aware of what states and where I can carry... My license has resaprosity in 38 states, providing you follow that states laws... Thankfully I never travel to the NE anymore, hate the area, the North and all the left leaning, anti-gun people there....

my wife drove a van that followed the boat N. and S. The first year I loaded my guns (5) in the van for safe keeping as my house was unoccupied for 6 mo. Never thought about till one day at lunch I asked a Md.state trooper about it....He acted like he was going to arrest me for just asking. Went S. w/ the guns hidden on the boat and looked into the laws (1994 then). They varied from state to state while on land, tied to the dock, or underway. The NRA could not give me any answers.. Took a chance and hid 3 on the boat in the future. CG boarded twice in 10 yrs. but never asked about guns, but with an older crew aboard always ,they just checked the basics.
don't know anything about licensing or registering , do you have to do that to sail thru certain states now to be legal.??

There is no law outside of NYC requiring licensing the weapons. There is no license. If you purchase them through a dealer new, or transferred then they are in the system. If you happen to buy a handgun from Bob your dock neighbor, there is no requirement to report that to anyone.

Carry permit does not apply in this situation. It only applies if you are carrying a concealed weapon, on your body (like in your waist band or pocket or what have you). As long as you don't have a loaded weapon in your pocket, you don't need a carry permit.

I don't know the specific laws about this. But I've always heard yachts fall under the rules for a home when it comes to things like this and not a vehicle. To some people, the yacht is there permanent and only residence. Also, if they're in the middle of NY harbor, they could fall under either NJ or NY laws depending on distance from shore. An attorney could very well argue that the boat was in NJ waters.......depending on the boundary line of where they were stopped.

The reason they were issued a ticket is NYC realized there were a lot of loopholes. If you look at situations where people got stopped in cars passing through NYC the results are a lot more severe.

In those waters..... either you don't or ......"No Sir, I don't". Make 'em find them. On a 100'er you oughta find a spot for them.... I mean, a safety inspection? If you're so inclined of course.

I once was second Captain on a 109' we were bringing from Ft. Laud to St. Maartin. My friend was the full time Captain and I would go along as second Captain as we'd do 36 hour legs. Anyways, the owner had 2 shotguns, we even used them for trap shooting while underway the day before we pulled into Puerta Plata. He chose not to declare them in the Bahamas because he didn't want to deal with surrendering them and then getting them back in the DR and BVI's when we were just spending a night in each place. The Customs guys wanted to see the whole boat in Puerta Plata.....so he's showing every stateroom to them. We get to the on deck master and there's a storage hold in the head area in the marble that you can see......the guys are all impressed when one goes what's in there......I want to see it.....so he opens it and the shotguns are sitting on top of the chest freezers in their zippered rifle cases, he opens the freezers they look in, he hands them some frozen steaks and they were on their way...... I was about to freak out and I KNOW they knew what were in the soft rifle cases.

Agreed, of our arsenal, I always leave one, like the Winchester 12ga. fairly accessible yet stowed, when asked about weapons , it's, " yes, a 12 ga." the rest are hidden and nearly impossible to find, and as you state, on a safety inspection,their not going to tear the boat apart...

The mention of arms in Puerto Plata reminds me of a friend I had when I was young, a trust-funder, aimless, but a good sailor and very handy. He rebuilt a big (58'?) ex-racing yacht he found semi-abandoned in Maine and sailed it down to the Caribbean with a rag-tag crew. I think it was in the 1980's -- I had lost touch with him by then. One of his crew got angry at him and ratted out his cache of undeclared weapons in some Caribbean port. My friend (Louis) was very amusing, generally nice but he drank like crazy and could become very irritating when hammered.

Louis was clapped in jail and his boat was claimed by local authorities. It took about a year to for Louis to get out of jail and he never got back the boat. The whole thing was written up in Cruising World a year or two later.

The moral of ^^^ that story.... Pick your crew carefully.

GUNS IN CANADA
In our news paper today
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/...merican-tourists-leave-your-guns-at-home.html