18 U.S.C. § 926A — Interstate transportation of firearms

A person who is not barred by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm may carry it for any lawful purpose. They may move it between any two places where they may legally possess and carry that firearm. This right holds no matter what any state or local law or rule says. But it comes with conditions during the trip. The firearm must be unloaded. Neither the firearm nor any ammunition may be within easy reach of the passenger compartment. If the vehicle has no compartment separate from the driver's area, the firearm or ammunition must be locked in a container. That container cannot be the glove compartment or the console. This rule lets lawful owners transport firearms across state and local lines, so long as the firearm stays unloaded and inaccessible during the trip.

The source credit indicates that this section was added by Public Law 99-360, § 1(a), enacted July 8, 1986, and published at 100 Stat. 766. The credit reflects a single enactment with no subsequent amendment activity recorded, meaning the text as added in 1986 stands as originally enacted. Public Law 99-360 is commonly understood as the "Firearms Owners' Protection Act" era of legislation, part of a broader mid-1980s effort by Congress to address firearms regulation following years of debate over the Gun Control Act of 1968 and its enforcement. The provision codified at 18 U.S.C. § 926A is generally described in public accounts as addressing concerns that lawful gun owners traveling across state lines could face prosecution under a patchwork of inconsistent state and local firearms laws, even when their possession was lawful at both their point of origin and destination. The commonly cited purpose was to create a federal safe-harbor for interstate transport, provided that the firearm and ammunition met specific unloaded and inaccessible storage conditions during transit. Beyond this general understanding of the 1986 legislative environment, the record does not establish the specific legislative intent, debates, or particular incidents that prompted this exact provision's language or its transportation and storage requirements. Any more detailed account of congressional reasoning would go beyond what the available record supports.