"Within arms reach"

[martinsc 0]

I drive a jeep wrangler and have a really small area in the back to put my rifle, I have to fold the rear seat forward and put the case on a diagonal. So i have a few questions.

 

The law says it cannot be within arms reach. Does that mean that I have my seat belt and looking forward not turning my body. Because I can easily turn my body and lean and grab the case.

 

Also does it have to be transported in a hard case? If so does it need to have a lock on it?

 

Thanks for any help.

[fishnut 2,358]

I have a chevy colorado 4 door and I always have my guns cased on the back seat i have never had a problem but i have never been pulled over while transporting guns though. They can be in any legal case they do not have to be hard cases

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

I'm not aware of anything in NJ law that says "within arms reach". Everything I've seen refers to having the firearm in a "closed and fastened case" if the vehicle does not have a separate trunk compartment:

 

g. All weapons being transported under paragraph (2) of subsection b.,

subsection e., or paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection f. of this section shall be carried

unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package,

or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the

course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under

the circumstances.

 

In short, if you don't have a trunk or other "compartment" separate from the passenger compartment (excluding the glovebox) then you put it in a "closed and fastened" case. There is no stipulation how far away the case has to be from a driver/passenger.

 

Edit: removed references to "locked", as "locked" is not in the statutes.

[this_is_nascar 162]

There is nothing listed about a mandority locked-case.

 

 

All weapons being transported under paragraph (2) of subsection b.,

subsection e., or paragraph (1) or (3) of subsection f. of this section shall be carried

unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package,

or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the

course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under

the circumstances.

[notmetoo 41]

I drive a Nissan Frontier crew cab. When transporting firearms in the cab I padlock the cases even though it is not required by law. I figure, should I be stopped, the fact that the cases are closed, fastened and locked should help the LEO keep calm and carry on. One small extra step to help things.

[martinsc 0]

This is the thread that gave me the idea that they could not be within arms reach.

 

http://njgunforums.com/forum/index.php?/topic/21558-shotgun-with-a-pistol-grip/page__p__286908__hl__+within%20+arms%20+reach__fromsearch__1#entry286908

[DirtyDigz 1,812]

This is the thread that gave me the idea that they could not be within arms reach.

 

http://njgunforums.c...__1#entry286908

 

The arresting officer(s) in that instance was wrong about more than just the "arms reach" bit, wasn't he?

[djg0770 481]

The information u get from the Internet is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

I highly recommend you visit the Nj state police website, specifically the subsection on firearms. Read the laws for yourself.

[martinsc 0]

Ok thanks for the help.

 

[Qel Hoth 33]

The information u get from the Internet is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

I highly recommend you visit the Nj. state police website, specifically the subsection on firearms. Read the laws for yourself.

 

I highly recommend you read 2c:39-6g, as the NJSP site merely copied Fopa.

[CMJeepster 2,778]

*Jeep wave*

[Malsua 1,422]

The information u get from the Internet is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

I highly recommend you visit the Nj state police website, specifically the subsection on firearms. Read the laws for yourself.

 

Except that the NJSP has it wrong. As Qel Hoth said above, they added the verbiage about locked in a vehicle without a trunk as per the federal guidelines. This language does not appear in the statutes.

[djg0770 481]

Except that the NJSP has it wrong. As Qel Hoth said above, they added the verbiage about locked in a vehicle without a trunk as per the federal guidelines. This language does not appear in the statutes.

 

The NJSP has the link to the actual law statutes, that's what I meant by my above post. But you knew that