New York State Police Troop have put up a sign on the way to I-190, towards the Peace Bridge, warning visitors, that guns are not allowed at the United States/Canada border without proper paperwork.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have needed to put this warning up after they kept seeing an increase of guns approaching their checkpoints.
People who are entering Canada are being stopped and found entering the country with firearms, what will happen at the moment is they will have the weapon confiscated and then they will be sent back to the United States, that is the official message from the New York states police. Firearms brought to the U.S./Canadian border is becoming a big problem.
In recent weeks U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents have seen an increase of seizures at the border. However, most of the guns that have been confiscated are actually not illegal guns. Most of the firearms that are being crossed belong to owners who have the proper paperwork, but don’t live in the states of New York. They are legal gun owners, but are unaware that their owned guns from other states might not be allowed in the state of New York or in Canada.
"If you're coming from another state, you may not be able to lawfully possess that weapon or pistol here in New York," O'Callaghan said.
If you do plan to cross guns, you can do it with proper paperwork. You can cross guns over the border and through New York state; but the biggest problem that U.S. Custom and Border Protection agents see is that people are unaware their trip includes international travel. And tis ends up with crossers not knowing they need specific forms to cross their firearms.
From there, if the gun is declared, it is up to the different law enforcement agencies to decide how to proceed. The increase of firearms is happening at every bridge, and the legal ramifications can vary.
Here are some bridges that are monitoring for gun crossings: Peace Bridge -Buffalo Police Department
Rainbow Bridge -Niagara Falls Police Department
Lewiston-Queenston Bridge -New York State Police Department