Skeet shooting I'd alive and well. There can be differing state and local gun regulations. The issues you're referring to were in transportation of a firearm and not carrying a concealed handgun without a carry permit "to get to the range". There are also premises permits and again, just because you can keep a loaded firearm in your listed address (home or business) you can't carry it loaded and/or concealed without a carry permit.
The mess can occur when you say live outside a local area like NYC in the suburbs but want to bring your firearm in and out of the city for say going to a range. That's a no no without a NYC PD issued permit. And of course there's the variation of handgun/long gun regulations to consider. Never a simple situation.
The people I feel sorta sorry for (I mean, if you're traveling somewhere and you want to bring your gun, maybe call ahead to be sure it's OK isn't that hard) are visitors with valid licenses from their state, whatever city or whatnot who believe there's reciprocity with NY, especially NYC and find themselves facing felony gun possession charges.
Two cases here were pretty wild. One was a person visiting. the 9/11 museum at the WTC who went up to a guard wanting to check their handgun at the entrance. Not a good thing despite the best of intentions. Another was a person who flew in for a job interview and tried to check into their return flight with their handgun in a proper locked box for baggage travel as required. Except she shouldn't have had it in the first place. Wherever she flew in from shouldn't have allowed her to check it through to NY, but who knows every single locations laws?
I'm both cases despite the mandatory felony conviction and 3 year sentence the DAs office worked out a deal with a fine and don't ever do that ever again in NY as there's no second chance. So they do make an effort to be fair despite the mandatory possession conviction and incarceration laws.
I used to have a carry permit for the city which was a nightmare process to get, but ended up downgrading after many years when the paperwork was getting onerous and I wasn't carrying it to begin with. Far less hassle if it's not for a concealed carry permit. Besides, it's a very different place than it used to be that feeling the need to carry just isn't there.
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