Back some years when I took my CCW class the instructor told us not to say anything about being CCW qualified if stopped by law enforcement, but recently I was stopped by state highway patrol for speeding and he had a different view. I handed him my license and proof of insurance that he had asked for. My CCW is not shown on my license but on a separate state ID card, and I knew when he ran my plates the CCW would be revealed to him anyway. The FIRST thing he said when he came back to my vehicle was "did I have any weapons on my person or in the vehicle?" I answered, he then said "anytime a member of law enforcement stops you let them know that you have a CCW permit" I thought this strange, what's your view?

What is the law in your state?

I don't HAVE to show my permit, but if I'm carrying I will show it.

It seems to get a lot of people out of tickets...

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Kirk / Spock 2020

The notification is governed by STATE LAWS, some require, some do not.

Common Courtesy should tell you to NOTIFY the officer and ask for his instructions on how to proceed.

In Ohio you must notify (if armed), AND DO NOT REACH FOR ANY FIREARM, from

the time the officer exits his cruiser until he reenters the cruiser after the

stop has concluded, or you just might be charged with a FELONY, and YOUR FIREARMS ARE GONE FOREVER.

If you travel to states with reciprocity to your home state license,

it's your job to KNOW EACH STATES REQUIREMENTS. They could be vastly different on procedures.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

Ive told em and nothing ever happened. In fact each time i told i got off with a warning, including the time i was going double the speed limit in the rain. However, when i didn't say anything cause i wasnt carrying i'd get tickets for going 5 miles over.

Sent from my DROIDX using Tapatalk 2

In AK you're supposed to tell them there is a firearm in the vehicle first and foremost, no matter what. It's supposed to be the first thing out of your mouth really. If you don't and they ask and you tell them yes it can be a felony depending on their mood. Either way I see it as a good idea, but that's just my opinion. As stated it's the state's law that decides.

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-Dik

We've had this discussion a number of times in the past and the threads often get locked. Keep this one civil, calmly state your thoughts and opinions and don't get into general LEO bashing.


Here's some additional reading material.

Why Do Some People See LEOs as the Bad Guy?
I got pulled over today while carrying.. Didn't tell the cop
Question for active LEO's
What do you do?
I will never tell another officer I'm carrying again.
Duty to inform?
Tips on what to do when stopped by police
What do you do during a routine interaction with LEO while carrying?
Police traffic stop while carrying

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"I also cook."

I see what everyone's saying and agree it probably is the respectable thing to do in notifying them, yet I'm not a bad guy or a felon, that's how I was able to obtain the CCW to begin with.

FL CWFL is not tied to your DL. FL has no "Must notify" law. If I were to be stopped, I would not notify unless asked to exit the vehicle, or asked specifically by the LEO..

When traveling thru other states, rather than try to memorize each state's requirements, I would notify upon official contact.

I drive a rock truck in Texas and we are pulled over by Texas DOT for vehicle inspections frequently. I hand my CHL over with drivers license and they look at it, hand it back to me, and have never asked any questions.

I always tell them. My wife calls it my "Don't get a ticket card."

To my way of thinking it's just common courtesy to inform, and it might just keep everyone from overreacting (e.g., safety).

In the past 10 days here we've had one state trooper murdered, one suffered a gunshot wound to the head (recovering slowly)and another was seriously hurt when someone ran into his cruiser, head-on, purposely. Cops have good reason to be nervous.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

Unless you're required to, then no way. It only complicates the stop. You never know what kind of officer you're talking too. They don't need to know.

When speaking with the police always answer truthfully but never volunteer anything. Be respectful and polite, they have a difficult job.

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Diligentia, Vis, Celeritas

Coming from a LE family I was always told the first thing you tell the LEO is you have a firearm in the vehicle regardless if you have a CCW or not.

In Missouri the CCW is an endorsement on your drivers license but we are not required to notify LEO about it. We have an ID called a "Non-Drivers ID". We can get one of those and put the endorsement on that so it's not on the drivers license.

Having said the above I have been advised by an LEO I respect that if you are stopped here the best idea, if you are carrying, is to quietly tell the officer that you are carrying a legally owned concealed firearm. Of course the best thing is not to do anything which would get you stopped in the first place. I have and will tell LEOs if I'm carrying so I guess my vote is yes. Cops don't like surprises!

It shouldn't be legally required in my opinion. Thankfully it isn't required here in WI.

That being said, I will present my CCW license simultaneously with my DL should I ever need to present my DL. (But I haven't been pulled over since WI got CC.)

Here I Michigan you are required to inform the officer when any contact is made. I have had 3 stops by officers from the city, the county and the state police, informed them all. got warnings. One officer wanted to know where the gun was. I told him in the holster on my right side, he just asked me to keep my hands on the steering wheel. If and when I get stopped. I turn the engine off take the keys out of the ignition, place them on the dash and get out my documents put my hands on the wheel, And I keep facing forward. Don't want any problems or accidents.

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Carpriver.

It's the law here. Failure to do so is an arrestable offense.

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Why, I aughta.....

This whole ideal of should I or shouldn't I...........

I've made a traffic stop er two and I appreciate folks being forthright in their dealings with me and
discloser that they have a concealed carry permit.

To me anyway, it's an non issue....Everyone now in days should be prepared when traveling or
even at home in times of late, to look out for themselves and their families.

Whenever I'm stopped, I have my Drivers Licenses and CC Lic. along with
vehicle information ready for presentation upon request.
And or any other State Issue I.D. that may be pertinent to this particular point of contact.

I'm always in lawful possession of my vehicle and all it's contents...No surprises here.



.
Someday Soon

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"IN GOD WE TRUST"

The state laws that require you to inform have nothing to do with officer safety, so I'm not sure where the idea that it's "courteous" to inform comes in. The intent of the law is to help prevent an innocent CPL holder from getting shot when he inadvertently exposes the gun that he forgot he was carrying, while going for his license or registration, and justifiably gets one through the head from the cop. The legal requirement to inform, where present, has absolutely nothing to do with "officer safety" since anyone planning on shooting a cop isn't going to tell him first (barring some kind of stupid suicide by cop scenario). The law is meant for CPL/carrier/citizen/driver safety.

As far as expecting some sort of break because you informed me you were legally armed? Not a chance. If you get a ticket, you get a ticket. Exercising your second amendment right has no bearing on my decision to write or not.

It's for our own good, sure.

Presumably to protect us from cops like you, who talk about "putting one through a citizen's head" at an otherwise routine traffic stop?

No thanks, I'm glad I live in a state where I'm not legally required to disclose. Your comments are actually making me rethink my position to disclose at all.

Yeah, because we all know that nobody out there needs laws to protect themselves from themselves. Can't attack the message so attack the messenger? About what I expected sooner rather than later. You think the cops should allow someone stopped on a traffic stop one free shot before they open fire? Why exactly do you think shall-inform laws are passed? To help initiate friendly roadside conversations about guns between officer friendly and the motoring public?

The shall inform laws were not passsed for "officer safety".

No, to protect the moron who carries his gun right by his wallet and who goes for his wallet with a gun inches away without saying anything on a traffic stop that MAY have occured as a result of the cop stopping the innocent carrier as a result of information broadcast over the radio regarding an armed robbery. That would be a justified shooting in my book. OR, to protect the idiot that keeps his gun in the glove box and then goes for his registration that is lying under the gun. You don't just have to worry about the cop at your window. There may very well be another cop at your passenger side that you don't see. As far as me personally, if I could have shot everyone I was legally justified in shooting, I'd have shot at least 10 people by now. I came up on the passener side of a car, at night, many years ago, where the passenger was holding a sawed-off M-1 carbine, waiting for my partner to approach on the driver side, looking toward his left. I didn't shoot HIM, so I think you might be able to draw some reasonabl inferences about my restraint when dealing with legal, but stupid CPL carriers.

Some people on these forums don't ahve the foresight to understand that it's not all about "them". If you can reasonably conduct the business of a traffic stop without exposing your gun in a way that the officer finds threatening, well good for you. The laws are generally passed with the lowest common denominator in mind. If that's not you, great. But if the shoe fits......

It never ceases to amaze me the far-out hypothetical situations that people talk about on gun forums but then expect the cops to be clairvoyant on a much more reasonably likely-to-happen traffic stop when it looks like someone is going for a gun. "Ah, he must just be going for his wallet. No need for alarm. Besides, we're required to let them shoot at us first before we fire....."

To summarize, yes, the shall-inform laws ARE passed with your own good in mind, your smarmy emoticon notwithstnading.

Incidents like this are exactly why it should not be legally required to disclose.

YouTube

Why is it "common courtesy" or "respectable" to let the LEO know I have a loaded weapon in the car? What earthly good will it do? Given that I'm a law abiding citizen what will the cop get from me telling them about it that the guy on the chair next to me at the restaurant doesn't deserve to hear? Don't get me wrong - I think the police are generally awesome and I believe we need far more people like that in our society. I just don't understand why they would have to know any more about my underwear than anyone else would.

Certainly, if I were being asked to get out of the car I would probably mention it. But if they're simply talking with me through my window, there's no immediate need to know.

BTW - in MN it's not a requirement that we tell them.

P.S. I'm not a tactical guy, but if I were a cop it seems like it would make sense to treat every person I stopped as though they're probably carrying.

P.P.S. - if I get pulled over, by the time the cop is at my window my wallet is on the console next to me and my hands are @ 10 & 2 on the steering wheel until they ask me to reach for something. No need to make anyone feel unsafe simply because I value my privacy.

It's not. I couldn't care less one way or the other if you're armed. What I do care about is what happens when it gets to the point when I reasonably perceive that someone is armed and dangerous.

In classes I always advise the students to do the following;

Roll drivers window down before stopping,

Dome light on if at night,

Hands at 10 & 2 on the steering wheel, and DO NOT MOVE/REACH FOR ANYTHING.

Inform the officer IMMEDIATELY of your carry status. License is tied to your auto/drivers in this state.

Ask the officer how he/she would like to proceed.

Personally, I would go so far as to let the officer Handcuff me if it would make him feel safer, until the stop was resolved.

People with UNLICENSED spouses or children, I advise them to tell them procedure to follow also.

The GOAL is SAFETY, everyone goes home SAFE TONIGHT.

This matter is not a game, nor is it a Constitutional Court of Law debate.

Accidents do and have happened, we try to help people avoid being involved in them.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

Since we're playing Youtube with anecdotal evidence, here's the story about an Ohio cop killed on a "routine traffic stop" by a CPL holder. Maybe the officer was complacent because he assumed the guy must be a "good guy" if he had a permit. Maybe he wasn't and it was just another case of stuff happens. The fact that you have a CPL means only one thing to me: You're allowed to carry in a state and in a manner that you otherwise would not be legally allowed to in the absense of a permit. It doesn't mean you're a good guy, it doesn't mean you're proficient with a gun, it doesn't mean you're not a criminal, it doesn't mean that you're smart enough to not expose your gun in a threatening manner, it doesn't mean you get any brownie points on a traffic stop.....It only means you can carry in a situation where someone without a permit can't. That's it. And the shall-issue laws where they exist were made with all of this in mind for the protection of the citizen-carrier, not the cops.

Ohio Man Shoots Cop in Traffic Stop, Gets Death Penality Pt 2 - YouTube

I appreciate the insight into the mind of a LEO. You should be aware that identifying yourself as such makes you become an ambassador of sorts. You should also know that your condescending attitude toward citizens, and belittling of me is having the exact opposite effect of having me change my mind and agree with you. In other words, I don't think you're being persuasive for your side of the argument.

As someone who has a hand in passing laws, I like to see how they get enforced in the real world, so I thank you for the insight. I stand by my earlier assertion that it should not be legally required, and I am glad that I live in a state where that is the case.

MaximumLawman,

In the Ohio case the officer unfortunately did not wait for the registration to come back.

The PERP had a CCW but it had been suspended.

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NRA Pistol/Rifle Inst. RSO

I respect both sides of the situation, and like to hear more peoples opinion on the subject. Especially from LEOs or former LEOs so like s&wchad said let's keep it civil so the thread doesn't get locked. Let's refrain from the "officers like you" or "idiot/moron" name calling. Please

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-Dik

I have been pulled over quite a few times here in Iowa while I was carrying. We are not required to notify in this state. Whenever I get pulled over, regardless of whether I am carrying, I always have my DL in my hand, with both hands on the wheel. I turn on the dome light at night, and shut the car off.
Mas Ayoob has some good pointers on this. He says you do not need to notify if legal not to. However, if asked to step out of the car, the game changes. He says to say the following: "certainly, officer, but before I do I want to advise you I am licensed to carry, and am doing so now. Please tell me how you would like me to proceed". This is polite, to the point and matter of fact. Do NOT use the word "Gun". If his partner is coming up behind him, or on the other side, and that's what he hears, you're gonna see HIS gun, up close.

Most LEOs are smart enough that they will respect you for this, and it should head off any problems.
Jim

Not only do I not think my original post was condescending, but I'm also not trying to convince you of anything. Inform or not, as I said, I don't care one way or the other. I assume everyone I stop, from priest to gangster, may be armed and not have my best interests in mind. (One of Detroit's most notorious cop killers escaped town dressed as a priest). I merely explained what shall-inform laws are and what they are not. If you're the type who has to take everything personally within the context of my original post because "My God, I have a permit! He might shoot ME!" well, sorry if that's what you got out of it.

How about Bart Johnson? I believe I saw the video for this one in a training class....

Pelham police officer's slaying baffles investigators | al.com