Traveling with Felon

[steveincowtown]

Before the end of the year my SO and I will be taking a 10 day RV trip with some friends of ours. Due to the absurd drug laws in the US, and a moment of youthful foolery, one of the people traveling with us is a convicted Felon.

As I always do when I RV, I will have my daily carry on me, and a MSR and shotgun in the master bedroom of the RV. Any advice to avoid having an LEO misconstrue this as a Felon in possession of a firearm?

My initial thought is to load the long guns in the vehicle, and just not tell my friend that they are there. Something that he doesn't know exist certainly cannot be construed as being in his custody or control.

Thoughts?

[puma guy]

I think you will have to make the weapons inaccessible to him/her which may defeat the purpose of having them. The pistol could be kept in a quick access safe in you B/R which I believe would effectually keep it away. The long arms could be in a locked trunk, locker or compartment. Then hope you don't run across and overzealous or ill informed LEO. If you are carrying concealed I would think that would meet the requirement to make it inaccessible. Question - would this person have knowledge of the weapons in the RV?

[Teamless]

IANAL -
if the Felon will be in the RV with an unsecured weapon, it could be construed that they have access to it.

Keep the gun on your hip or in a bio-metric safe, or keep trigger lock(s) on them

Put a trigger lock on the shotgun(s) / long gun(s) where the felon does not have a key to it.

As Puma Guy said, if an over zealous LEO has an issue, never know the outcome.

[steveincowtown]

Question - would this person have knowledge of the weapons in the RV?

No. The guns would also be in the master bedroom area which is a separate area with a door. During the day they will be under the bed in storage. I typically travel with the AR behind the front seat out of sight, but not this trip.

You would be amazed at the attention an RV will garner in certain areas. I was in Houston one time and someone actually came up to the entry door and try to open it. My dog wasn't impressed by them, and given how expeditiously they ran off, they weren't impressed by my dog.

[LSUTiger]

IANAL

I think it's a Constructive Possession issue.

https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/constructive_possession

The legal possession of an object, even if it was not in a person’s direct physical control. Often used in criminal law prosecutions for possession crimes, such as possession of illegal drugs. Generally, for a court to find that a person had constructive possession of an object, the person must have had knowledge of the object, and as well as the ability to control it. For example, someone with keys to a safe deposit box may have constructive possession to the contents of that box, and the owner of a car may have constructive possession of the contents of its trunk.

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictiona ... Possession

Lock up guns and maintain control of the keys, do not inform person and maintain control of you on person carry weapon and I think worst case beating the rap but not the ride might apply.

[EEllis]

If you state that the guns are yours, the felon wasn't to touch them, and that you would not allow them to do so, then any cop should realize they have zero chance of any real case. Just don't leave them about. Secure them when not in use and you should be fine.

[OldCurlyWolf]

From you description, this person was not involved in a violent situation. If the amount was small enough and it has been at least ten years since they completed all probation/parole, etc., then expungement and a complete restoration of rights is likely to be possible. You might bring this to their attention.

[steveincowtown]

From you description, this person was not involved in a violent situation. If the amount was small enough and it has been at least ten years since they completed all probation/parole, etc., then expungement and a complete restoration of rights is likely to be possible. You might bring this to their attention.

Not quite ten years yet. I have not only told them to do this, but told them I would do anything I could to help.