Hi guys, I got arrested in Mass while going to NH and this is how the FOPA federal protection played out. I'm sure the same COULD happen in NY, so here it is and be careful.
The federal law only protects you if the origin state and the destination state are both states that you can clearly possess and transport in. Since you are shady on the CT side, I would say that any DA in NY who knows the deal will threaten you that FOPA doesn't stand up in NY, if your destination was CT. If you had business paperwork to PROVE you were headed to VT, you'd be better off, but CT it is, so be careful.
I WAS legal in MD cause i own a business here, and I WAS legal in NH because I was going target shooting up there, but they still popped me anyway. My lawyer told me that FOPA would save and rescue me at the appelate level, but I'd probably lose at the state level and do some local time in jail. To avoid that I took a CWOF probabtionary plea. The only reason I got stopped was a DOT truck issue. (damaged roof) but they used the stop as an excuse to "question" and "try to nail me" on everything under the sun once they saw I was from out of state.
The decision to carry or not carry is up to you. I am all for an armed and therefore polite society, all I'm saying is that it cost me about 5 grand so far to stand up for my rights, and i still don't have my gun back yet, and can't even buy another one. It's easy for people to say, "IT'S NOT OPTIONAL, THE COPS MUST COMPLY WITH FOPA" yada yada but the truth is, once that arrest is on your record, you can be right till you're blue in the face. It's still gonna cost THOUSANDS for a gun lawyer, and you'll still spend the night in jail, and you'll still have to go back for a pre-trial and some sort of legal recordation will occur.
Good luck.
-Quentin