ATF’s FOPA Travel Fix Is Live in Rulemaking — NRA Just Filed to Make It Stick

Since 1986, federal law has said a gun owner may transport firearms “from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm,” if he follows 18 U.S.C. § 926A. On paper, that is a travel shield. In practice — especially through Port Authority facilities in New York and New Jersey — travelers still get jammed up for doing exactly what Congress authorized.

On May 6, ATF posted a notice of proposed rulemaking titled “Clarifying Interstate Transportation of Firearms Under the Gun Control Act.” The rewrite of 27 C.F.R. § 478.38 is part of the workstream kicked off by President Trump’s February 7, 2025 Executive Order 14206 on protecting Second Amendment rights.

The proposed text does something travelers have needed for decades: it treats activity incidental to travel as still covered. That includes overnight lodging, switching transportation modes, stops for food, fuel, vehicle maintenance, emergencies or medical treatment, picking up or discharging passengers, moving a firearm between a fixed address and a vehicle at the start or end of a trip, and presenting a firearm or ammunition for inspection when a common carrier, TSA, or CBP requires it. Ammunition, magazines, and other firearm components and accessories are also covered under the proposal.

NRA’s July 21 comment supports the thrust of that rewrite and notes that the northeastern corridor — especially New York City airport connecting flights — was a core concern when Rep. Harold L. Volkmer introduced the first version of FOPA in 1979. NRA also argues the statute’s text does not require a state-line crossing for protection to attach, and urges ATF to cover intrastate as well as interstate travel. Separately, NRA asks the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division Second Amendment Section to examine whether the Port Authority is recognizing the federal right in 18 U.S.C. § 926A under the pattern-or-practice authority in 34 U.S.C. § 12601.

As of NRA’s press time, the comment was still processing on regulations.gov. Gun owners with Port Authority horror stories are the exact people ATF needs to hear from before the comment window closes.

This is not a new statute. It is ATF finally aligning the regulation with the statute Congress already wrote — and NRA just told them not to leave travelers half-protected.