Remove Your Guns And Ammo From Your Luggage!

[E. Lee DeGolyer 3rd]

It looks like examining  our  carry-on and checked luggage before we leave home might prove to be a really good idea. A USA Today article about a Wisconsin woman’s arrest in the Cayman Islands concerning a .25 pistol and ammunition she’d neglected to remove from her suitcase serves as a warning for the rest of us to be careful before we zip up our bags prior to departing for the airport or the parking garage near the cruise terminal. The woman faces the possibility of either seven years in prison if she pleads guilty or ten years in prison if she is tried and found guilty.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/a-wisconsin-cruise-ship-passenger-faces-years-in-cayman-islands-prison-after-a-gun-was-found-in-her-luggage/ar-BBVufYT?ocid=spartandhp

 

My post is not about gun rights or concealed-carry within the US. It is a reminder for other cruisers that many of those ports of call we love and visit are in foreign countries with their own courts and their own laws, and like the cannabis fans who buy in Colorado who should remove their pot from their suitcases, gun owners would also do well to remove their guns and ammo from their luggage, too.

[bonsai3s]

17 minutes ago, E. Lee DeGolyer 3rd said:

It looks like examining  our  carry-on and checked luggage before we leave home might prove to be a really good idea. A USA Today article about a Wisconsin woman’s arrest in the Cayman Islands concerning a .25 pistol and ammunition she’d neglected to remove from her suitcase serves as a warning for the rest of us to be careful before we zip up our bags prior to departing for the airport or the parking garage near the cruise terminal. The woman faces the possibility of either seven years in prison if she pleads guilty or ten years in prison if she is tried and found guilty.

 

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/a-wisconsin-cruise-ship-passenger-faces-years-in-cayman-islands-prison-after-a-gun-was-found-in-her-luggage/ar-BBVufYT?ocid=spartandhp

 

 

 

 

My post is not about gun rights or concealed-carry within the US. It is a reminder for other cruisers that many of those ports of call we love and visit are in foreign countries with their own courts and their own laws, and like the cannabis fans who buy in Colorado who should remove their pot from their suitcases, gun owners would also do well to remove their guns and ammo from their luggage, too.

 

 

Couldn't open the link....but just wondering how she got past TSA?...or other security lines?

 

[Aquahound]

That's a very odd story.  The bag was lost between her flight from Wisconsin to its intended destination of Florida, so the airline forwarded it to the Cayman Islands.  It'll be interesting to see how the Cayman courts rule on this being a possession incident when it wasn't her who took the gun to the islands.  

[SFLcowboy78]

12 minutes ago, bonsai3s said:

 

Couldn't open the link....but just wondering how she got past TSA?...or other security lines?

 

It is legal to have an unloaded weapon and ammunition in your checked baggage. 

[paul929207]

33 minutes ago, SFLcowboy78 said:

It is legal to have an unloaded weapon and ammunition in your checked baggage. 

In the US. Once you leave there you are subject to another country's laws. 

[SFLcowboy78]

26 minutes ago, paul929207 said:

In the US. Once you leave there you are subject to another country's laws. 

Yes Paul you are correct, I was only referring to laws here in the US. I am sorry I guess I should have made that more clear in my comment. Thank you for the clarification. 

[Philob]

1 hour ago, SFLcowboy78 said:

It is legal to have an unloaded weapon and ammunition in your checked baggage. 

Must be declared to the check-in agent.  They may or may not ask you to open your bag to verify that your weapon is cleared and ammo property packed.  They may or may not put a neon colored "FIREARM" (aka: Steal This Bag) sticker on the outside of your case.😒

 

BYW: It is illegal to bring in any type of ammunition into California and (eff 7/1/19) for a non-resident to purchase ammo within the state

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by Philob

[KhaturtleQueen]

If you have your CHL, can you carry on a cruise?

[John Bull]

3 minutes ago, KhaturtleQueen said:

If you have your CHL, can you carry on a cruise?

 

Why would you need it on a cruise? 

 

JB 

 

[sanger727]

Ok. I don’t think many people here read the article. She legally transported a gun in her checked baggage to Florida. She states that her intention was to leave it there with a friend. Whether you believe that or not is up to you, but she couldn’t have taken it on the ship. The airlines lost her luggage and forwarded to on to the cayman island. She did not bring it into the caymans. You certainly can’t think she intentionally had airlines lose her luggage and forward it on to ‘smuggle’ it in.

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, KhaturtleQueen said:

If you have your CHL, can you carry on a cruise?

CHL? Is this a license to carry? 

Never mind - found the answer.

Edited April 1, 2019 by dogs4fun

[John Bull]

18 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

.................but she couldn’t have taken it on the ship.

 

Agreed, she wouldn't have been allowed to take it onto the ship in Florida - if ship's security detected it.

But then it wasn't bottle-shaped, so they probably wouldn't 

 

JB 

 

 

[zqvol]

9 hours ago, E. Lee DeGolyer 3rd said:

It looks like examining  our  carry-on and checked luggage before we leave home might prove to be a really good idea. A USA Today article about a Wisconsin woman’s arrest in the Cayman Islands concerning a .25 pistol and ammunition she’d neglected to remove from her suitcase serves as a warning for the rest of us to be careful before we zip up our bags prior to departing for the airport or the parking garage near the cruise terminal. The woman faces the possibility of either seven years in prison if she pleads guilty or ten years in prison if she is tried and found guilty.

 

 

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/a-wisconsin-cruise-ship-passenger-faces-years-in-cayman-islands-prison-after-a-gun-was-found-in-her-luggage/ar-BBVufYT?ocid=spartandhp

 

 

 

 

My post is not about gun rights or concealed-carry within the US. It is a reminder for other cruisers that many of those ports of call we love and visit are in foreign countries with their own courts and their own laws, and like the cannabis fans who buy in Colorado who should remove their pot from their suitcases, gun owners would also do well to remove their guns and ammo from their luggage, too.

 

 

You aren't getting on a ship with a gun, so this is not something that cruisers need to worry about.

[zqvol]

5 hours ago, KhaturtleQueen said:

If you have your CHL, can you carry on a cruise?

 

No, the cruise lines make the rules and they don't allow weapons of any kind on board.

[chengkp75]

12 hours ago, KhaturtleQueen said:

If you have your CHL, can you carry on a cruise?

Heck, a CCW only applies to the state that issued it, many states don't recognize other states' permits or only some of them, so why, when going on a foreign flag cruise ship (which is subject to the laws of the flag nation), would you think you would be permitted to carry a weapon.  Additionally, when taking a handgun outside the US, whether permanently or temporarily, you have to apply for an export license.

[spookwife]

I am trying to figure out why she would want to bring a gun to FL  to leave with a friend on the first place?!  

 

does the Cayman Islands have the equivalent of pleading 'no contest'?    seems a shame that due to a third party action she could face so much jail time.  

[chengkp75]

32 minutes ago, spookwife said:

I am trying to figure out why she would want to bring a gun to FL  to leave with a friend on the first place?!  

 

does the Cayman Islands have the equivalent of pleading 'no contest'?    seems a shame that due to a third party action she could face so much jail time.  

As the Caymans are a British Overseas Territory, they will have English common law, and "nolo contendere" is a concept in English law.  Whether this changes her sentence or not is a different question.

[spookwife]

1 hour ago, SFLcowboy78 said:

Have you ever seen the news stories about all the crazy people coming out of Florida. My question is why wouldn't you want to bring a gun to Florida! Btw I grew up in Florida.

I live here.  I have seen first hand.  The gators are the least of our problems 

[SRF]

On 4/1/2019 at 3:37 PM, Philob said:

Must be declared to the check-in agent.  They may or may not ask you to open your bag to verify that your weapon is cleared and ammo property packed.  They may or may not put a neon colored "FIREARM" (aka: Steal This Bag) sticker on the outside of your case.😒

 

 

They actually changed that in the mid-90s to the tag MUST be inside, to avoid targeted theft.

 

but I have heard recently, that some agents have insisted on putting the tag on the outside.  I would ask to speak to a supervisor if this was done.

 

I have a couple of funny stories about the tags.

[dkjretired]

22 hours ago, dogs4fun said:

CHL? Is this a license to carry? 

Never mind - found the answer.

 

23 hours ago, sanger727 said:

Ok. I don’t think many people here read the article. She legally transported a gun in her checked baggage to Florida. She states that her intention was to leave it there with a friend. Whether you believe that or not is up to you, but she couldn’t have taken it on the ship. The airlines lost her luggage and forwarded to on to the cayman island. She did not bring it into the caymans. You certainly can’t think she intentionally had airlines lose her luggage and forward it on to ‘smuggle’ it in.

Correct, this story is about a month old, she had a few pieces of luggage and from earlier reports the one with the gun was supposed to be left with her sister in Florida. The airline forwarded the luggage to GC. Don’t believe she ever had the gun on the ship. It’s an interesting case. 

[dkjretired]

11 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

Heck, a CCW only applies to the state that issued it, many states don't recognize other states' permits or only some of them, so why, when going on a foreign flag cruise ship (which is subject to the laws of the flag nation), would you think you would be permitted to carry a weapon.  Additionally, when taking a handgun outside the US, whether permanently or temporarily, you have to apply for an export license.

She had no intention to take it out of country.

[chengkp75]

Just now, dkjretired said:

She had no intention to take it out of country.

I was responding to the person who asked if you could carry on a cruise ship, not the person in the article.

[KhaturtleQueen]

I'm the one who asked if you can carry on a cruise ship.  I didn't ask because I want to carry on a cruise ship.  I don't even have my CHL which should be obvious with the lack of knowledge I have on the subject.  I just asked because when I read the thread, that is the first thing I thought - I wonder if people do carry on the cruise?  I am a first time cruiser coming up in June and know nothing about cruising so it was an innocent question of just wondering if others do carry.  Thanks to the person who gave me a straight answer.  I appreciate it!

[dkjretired]

5 minutes ago, KhaturtleQueen said:

I'm the one who asked if you can carry on a cruise ship.  I didn't ask because I want to carry on a cruise ship.  I don't even have my CHL which should be obvious with the lack of knowledge I have on the subject.  I just asked because when I read the thread, that is the first thing I thought - I wonder if people do carry on the cruise?  I am a first time cruiser coming up in June and know nothing about cruising so it was an innocent question of just wondering if others do carry.  Thanks to the person who gave me a straight answer.  I appreciate it!

 

All the cruise lines have prohibited lists for things that people can’t bring aboard and every line I’ve seen has guns on that list. This was a Celebrity ship and guns are in fact on their list.   Funny thing is that Celebrity used to have hand grenades on their list. They have been removed from the list. I guess it wasn’t a problem.

[dkjretired]

16 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

I was responding to the person who asked if you could carry on a cruise ship, not the person in the article.

 

I know and don’t know how you were quoted. Sorry