According to the article linked below:
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According to Jefferson County Sheriff’s office sources, Mr. Haddad was in the parking lot of a closed business at 7:30 p.m. when an officer asked him what he was doing. The police allege that the Fort Drum civilian employee said that he was meeting someone to sell the AR-15 style rifle magazines. A police source also said that the magazines were stamped with the words “Restricted. For military use only.
Second: why did he allow the cops to search his car?
It's not clear that he 'allowed' them to do so. But if he did it could have been because he didn't think he was doing anything illegal and "had nothing to hide". But that is speculation, his lawyer has told him to keep his mouth shut, for now.
Third: if the gun ban hasn’t taken effect yet, why is he under arrest?,
He's under arrest for violating the previous law, which banned 10+ round magazines.
BTW, does anyone know if US military issue M16/M4 magazines are so stamped? Even if they are, it doesn't mean that possessing them or even selling them is illegal in and of itself, unless of course they weren't really surplus, but were stolen.
From some chat in a forum:
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I have those markings on all my pistol mags and it only means they weren't civilian legal during the Clinton AWB. (9-1994 to 9-2004)
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Only in states that still have a ban... Otherwise, the markings have no bearing on anything.
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Yep, unless your state law restricts them it's all good.
Emily Miller of the Washington Times writes a good informative article. That does clear up some of the questions. I’m glad to see this getting some media attention which I think will help put pressure on the authorities to reduce the charges.
Reminds me of a couple of incidents of tourists that were caught with their carry guns in New York City. It caused a lot of publicity, and I remember hearing that their charges were reduced eventually. And of course, people with favored status get a free ride all the time on charges like this.