Here in State Ohio we are required to inform LEO when we are carrying concealed. Does this apply to when we carry concealed while on our own private property? Do I need to have my license on me while on my own private property? For example if I'm out mowing lawn and Police officer pulls in my driveway to converse on something that happened in neighborhood do I need to inform? Do I need to show my CCW license?
I know this is a State Ohio specific question so does anybody know answers?

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Regards
Paul

If you are stopped or approached for a law enforcement purpose you must inform and produce your CCL and DL.
If an LEO walks by you and says "hello", you don't have to inform.
You only need to have your CCL on you if you are carrying.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

If I'm understanding you correctly on my private property I am obligated to inform and produce license to a LEO?? That makes no sense to me. Do you have any reference from where that came from? I'm just looking for clarity here. I realize that in public we must do as law states but private property. I didn't think I needed a license to carry on my own property?? Confused here

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Regards
Paul

Ohio Concealed Carry Permit Information

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

Paul,
Please forgive me, but it sounds like you're being a little paranoid. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you may be reading too much into it. What is a scenario where a policeman will make official contact with you at your home?

The answer to this is a simple one, what does the law say? There is a specific code in Ohio law governing this. Take a moment to look it up and post it here for us. This will help you find the law and interpret it. It will also help all of us become smarter.

I suspect that there will be no caveat in the law about where the LEO contact is made. I'll bet it just says contact. If that's the case, it would include your home.

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Freedom isn't free.

On your own property, do you need to have a CCW in Ohio to have a concealed gun?
If you don't then I can't see this coming into play.
If you choose inform them I don't think it's a bad thing.

I wouldn't expect anyone in Michigan to tell me if I'm on their property, unless I'm there for an investigation into criminal activity on their part.

Like I said if you feel the need to inform, by all means do, it won't hurt anything.

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John

Please read the above link to Ohio CCL.
It's all there. If you carry anywhere have your CCL and DL on you.

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Music/Sports/Beer fan

[QUOTE=Rastoff;138364932]Paul,
Please forgive me, but it sounds like you're being a little paranoid. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but you may be reading too much into it. What is a scenario where a policeman will make official contact with you at your home?

Rastoff, the exact scenario went like this; I am out back on my own personal property and I am carrying a handgun on my person concealed. A Police officer pulls in my driveway. I approach officer and inquire if there is anything I can do to help him. He states his reason for being there and we converse for a moment and off he goes. Please know that he was not there for anything I am involved in, simply asking some questions regarding a neighborhood situation and he is on my property. This is a real incident and my question still remains, am I required to carry my license and inform in this instance, on my privately owned property? I did actually read the laws and rulings and can't find any differentiation regarding public or privately owned property. The real reason I ask this question is prior to Ohio CCW I was always under the impression and informed that we could carry a loaded handgun concealed as long as we were on our own property or in our own place of business or our own home. Maybe a local LEO in Ohio can offer his interpretation of the laws.
Thanks so far for the answers.

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Regards
Paul

You could open carry on your own property and then you don't have to think about informing or not. I think there is too much over thinking on this forum, but it does give us something to write pithy comments about.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT:

Exactly HOW does/would the LEO know that it is YOU, the property owner, on your property and not a stranger/villain trespassing on said property?

Is the LEO supposed to be clairvoyant?

I am not trying to be difficult here, but how is the LEO supposed to know the difference if you/we don't clearly identify ourselves?

In Ohio, I've been pulled over 4 times for dumb things I did. I inform the officer when he asks for DL, Registration, POI. Before I move! They ask where the gun is (usually in RF pocket), and that is the end of gun talk. I haven't be given a ticket yet on stuff they could have.

My buddies (mostly retired) walk in the park several times a week. When we see a new local Police officer or armed park patrol. We stop and introduce ourselves, those of us that carry inform as a friendly gesture . We often will have a discussion about anything from the weather to shooting loose dogs (a real problem in our area from attacks), they unofficially pass the word that good-guy civilians are armed in the park so other officers aren't surprised.

Last summer I was by myself and was charged by a pit bull, as I decided to draw I recognized the dog from a few days before, the owners were around the trail bend, when they came up, I said their dog scared the **** out of me, and needed to be on a leash. They were rude and went on. I was talking to the Ranger about this,he laughed and said the next day the same dog did the same thing to him, when the owners came up they got pissy with him,and he gave them a $75 ticket. He wanted to know why I didn't shoot it,and I told him I almost did. Ivan

Good point here but again I'm on my own personal property not at a mall. I'm struggling with this as I feel that it is quite intrusive while in my "castle".
Again looking for some input from a local LEO as to interpretation on this.

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Regards
Paul

If you're on your property then carry openly. Problem solved.

I hope that it is ok to post a link to another forum here. I am new here so please correct me if this is in bad form or against forum rules. Anyway, here's a good thread for you read Firearms Forum Online ? View topic - Question about conceal carrying in your home/on your land

[QUOTE=pjpjr;138365151]I have not read your State's laws and do not plan to.

However, it sounds like you answered your own question.

You tell is that the LAW requires you to notify an officer when in Public and you say "I did actually read the laws and rulings and can't find any differentiation regarding public or privately owned property."

Based on that I would notify the Officer. I would far more trust the statute you had actually read than the impression you were under before the law was passed.

If you had notified the Officer, there would be no doubt in your mind as to whether you broke the Law or not.

BTW, what harm would have come to you if you had notified the officer in your situation? Why is there objection to him/her knowing?

If you want the True and Correct answer to this question you need to adress the Attorney General's office of your State.

Opinions of strangers on the Internet is not going to be an impressive defense in the eyes of the Judge or Jury.

Good points. Regardless of what the law states in your jurisdiction, you won't always know why the LEO is questioning you at first contact. It could be the lady down the street was just raped in her home at gunpoint, and you are wearing the same color shirt. Then he sees the butt of a gun in your waistband. Do you think he cares at that point what you tell him(or her), or will they act with their own safety in mind, and ask questions later?

Its just the best for all involved to simply state at the beginning of interaction, "I possess a permit to carry issued/honored by this state, and I am currently armed, how would you like to proceed?". Makes no difference if you are on your property or not.

I have paid very close attention to Ohio CHL laws for years. One thing I have noticed is sometimes they don't make sense or are ambiguous and sometimes even contradictory. There have been many revisions that have solved a lot of these problems.

In a nutshell I can't find any provision to carry concealed on your property outside of your home without a CHL. There is an exclusion for in your home. So my guess is that it is illegal without a license.

Now the duty to inform law enforcement seems to hinge on this statement:
"If a licensee is stopped for a law enforcement purpose"
Again I can find no exclusion for private property. There is something called a Terry stop. It is derived from a SCOTUS case Terry vs. Ohio. Is this what it is referring to? I have no idea. I think the only way we'll find out is if it is tested. I know of no such case.

Welcome to the great state of Ohio's gun laws.

A Terry Stop is what governs when and how a police officer may detain a citizen. There are three types of police encounter- the casual (or consensual) conversation, the Terry Stop, and Arrest.

Any officer may stop and talk to you about any subject under the sun. The citizen is under no obligation to remain or to engage in the conversation. If, during the conversation, you say something or behave in such a way as to give him reasonable articulable suspicion that you were, are, or imminently will be involved in a crime, he may detain you, which is called a....

Terry Stop is when you are obliged to remain with the officer. You are detained or seized. To detain you the officer MUST have reasonable articulable suspicion (RAS) that a crime is afoot, and you're involved. A hunch doesn't cut it, your peculiarity doesn't cut it. If, during the Terry Stop, the officer has probable cause to believe you are involved in a crime, the encounter moves to....

Arrest. You ain't goin' nowhere bub.

When open carry got off the ground here in WA, several municipalities were threatened with legal action stemming from police officers detaining people for mere open carry. Several municipalities payed out of court settlements too. There is no law prohibiting open carry in WA, thus the officer didn't have RAS that a crime was afoot. The WA courts have agreed.

Sorry to drag it off-topic slightly, but whether you carry openly or concealed you need to KNOW what the law says regarding police encounters. I've read dozens of cases where people went to jail because the casual conversation, to which they willingly consented, became RAS then probable cause. During the evidentiary hearing the judge will decide what evidence will be allowed. If the subject had the option to walk away and NOT talk to the officer, then it’s in.

I guess my question to you is in Ohio do you think "If a licensee is stopped for a law enforcement purpose" (that is what the Ohio Revised Code says) is referring to a Terry stop. I really don't know.

Edit:If you search the ORC there is no definition of law enforcement purpose

My impression was if you are driving and stopped you must inform but now I have a doubt on that. I'll be watching this thread with interest.

My opinion is that it means what the plain language seems to indicate it means. So yes, a Terry Stop would fall under a 'law enforcement purpose' as would a traffic stop. Getting a little more murky I would imagine an officer discussing a crime for which you were only a witness might also be a 'stop for a law enforcement purpose'. Ohio has some weird laws.

I don't know about you all, but when I am dealing with law enforcement, I can't wait to give them my CHL (what we call CCW in Texas). As soon as I do, they then know I've been background checked, I've gone through the legal process, and to LE here, seeing that means I'm probably not one of the bad guys. As a suburban white dude, showing your CHL here in Texas gets you profiled - usually in a positive manner. I've never been treated with anything but courtesy and respect when I've informed that I'm CHL and carrying, which is how it should be. Why would you want to hide it?

There is no doubt about that. I think it might be also on private property. I just see know way to tell. Thanks for your opinion.

Not all LEOs are fans of CCW. I personally am not a fan of a permitting process. I definitely have a problem with needing a permit to exercise a constitutional right on my property. I follow the laws of my state but here in Ohio it's hard sometimes to figure out what they are in regards to guns. But as I stated before they are getting better.

Not all LEO's as as versed in the CCW laws, as CCW carriers. You may want to question if its worth the time explaining the law to the cop at gun point, while waiting for his Sargent/supervisor to arrive, or just simply disclosing the fact that you are legally armed. You will prevail legally, but is it worth the battle?

Think of all the Cop shows and YouTube vids out there, and the actions/reactions that result from an LEO seeing a firearm....

I would never try to explain the law to a cop at gun point.

In Ohio open carry is legal without a permit. It's OK for a LEO to see you're armed. I never said or even implied that I wouldn't disclose that I was carrying concealed.

What are you saying?

All I am saying is, any time you are armed, open carry or otherwise, and a LEO engages you in conversation, wherever you happen to be located, you would probably do yourself, and the Officer a service, to mention that fact at the outset of the discussion, regardless of the laws in your jurisdiction.

From the original post:
Somehow we went from mowing the lawn to answering questions at gunpoint. If the cops pull into my driveway and point guns at me, I would quickly loose interest in my landscaping.

pjpjr,

You have answered your own question. Unless you can find a specific exemption in the law concerning your home, you must inform the officer. In the scenario you described, you should have notified the officer because it was an official contact.

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Freedom isn't free.

down here in the "gunshine state" you only have to tell 'em if they ask. is it wise to err on the side of caution? yupers. do i or will i volunteer? nopers. if aske i will always tell and let them handle it the way they are comfy.