Bear in mind that even a legally transported firearm will get you jail time if you are diverted to New York or New Jersey. Google the stories about guys whose flights were diverted there and then tried to pick up their bags for transfer to the next flight or for the overnight. If you get diverted to those locations, I recommend you do not claim your bag. Let the airline forward it to your home address.
Has this actually occurred? And if it has, who is employing the idiots that make the arrests?