Carrying in your vehicle without a permit...

Copied for the Virginia State Police website:

"Any person who may lawfully possess a firearm and is carrying a handgun while in a personal, private motor vehicle or vessel and such handgun is secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel."

This was the Attorney Generals written opinion and is not code of Virginia. Your best bet is to keep it unloaded and/or locked, but that is not required. vsp.state.va.us
 
In Montana your car is an extension of your home and ho permit is needed and no requirement to notify. But, here you only need a permit if you carry concealed UPON YOUR PERSON, in a city, town or village. Otherwise no permit needed.
 
coltle6920 said:
Carrying in your vehicle without a permit...
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I'm confused by your thread because in your comment you say you do have a permit to carry but your title suggest you don't. Am I missing something here ?

My State went permit-less last year but now we must inform the officer unless we have a prior permit, of which I did and still do. Of course I no longer drive full time. (or even own a vehicle for that matter)

My train of thought is what they don't know ain't gonna hurt anyone. I don't volunteer nothing either.
A good many cops out there don't care for citizens being armed and some can get real arrogant about it all.

Now if they made me get out of the vehicle or asked me if they needed to know to anything I might say something. Generally hand the insurance car with licence and permit tucked underneath that.

Don't freak them out cause a good many are running on pure paranoid out here now.
Keep your hands on the steering wheel until they get up to your window. The rules have changed out here, when I was growing up you even got out of your vehicle first and went and sat in the back of theirs.

And this was in Chicago believe it or not.
(thankfully I got out a long time ago) :)
 
Arik said:
Different from state to state.

In PA it's a no no. You can legally open carry without a permit but once in your car the gun is considered concealed and you better not get caught with it loaded and without a permit

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It varies a lot by jurisdiction.

SD had a similarly narrow interpretation of open carry. If a handgun was carried loaded and inside a vehicle at all it was considered to be concealed, even if you had it on the dash.

Open carry was also very narrowly defined as if any portion of the handgun was concealed it was considered to be totally concealed.

Now...interpretations like that can also change depending on the whims of the attorney general, so it can change over time.

Part of the logic in SD is that concealed carry permits are inexpensive ($10) and only take a few days to obtain in most counties, so there isn't much of an excuse for not having one if you want to carry a loaded handgun in your vehicle. Apply for one on Monday morning and you'll probably be able to pick it up on Wednesday, or in a slower county by Friday afternoon.

---

Here in NC it's much more liberally interpreted and you can have a loaded handgun on the seat or somewhere else in plain sight and it is still considered open carry. Similarly, if your jacket covered part of you handgun but it was still obviously a handgun in a holster it's still open carry.
 
I know this.

Didn't live in an intelligent state like Montana and was picked up for having a concealed weapon that was obviously in plain sight and the officer cited me for having a concealed weapon without a permit, I would be meeting a jury. I find itt hard to believe that out of 12 people one of theem wouldn't have a serious problem with something in plain sight being called concealed.

The people in states with run away prosecution for things like this are to blame for not challenging laws that are obviously garbage. Man, its your car. Heck sleep in a few times and call it a domicile.

Nobody wants the hassle and most of thosee here are smart enough tto get a permit. But, the fact that most of the people just bend over for ignorant laws is really depressing. It will just keep getting worse untill THE PEOPLE say ENOUGH.

Montana has a citizens initive program. We use it and it works. It is also fairly easy to get heard by the state supreme court. Lot of our laws have got the heave ho because people here say bull pucky.

Example: Toe young guys are making a nature call along the highway. HP sees them and gives them a ticket for indecent exposure. They didn't just lay down and pay the fine, went through the court system. Supreme court tossed it and had humor in the opinion because when you got to go you got to go. Need to go in Montana go ahead. Its not unnatural or indecent to go to relieve yourself. Everyone does.
 
By all means, I invite you to step up and make yourself a test case for the law.

Until then, I'll carry in accordance with it. Such a hassle to keep my 1911 from bouncin' off my dashboard, anyway. Gotta be careful, that thing goes off for like, no reason.
 
..."(I) The handgun is in the possession of a person who is in a private automobile or in some other private means of conveyance and who carries the handgun for a legal use, including self-defense"...

...I've carried a handgun concealed in all my vehicles in Colorado following the above section of the statute for 30+ years...I don't get stopped much because I try to stay within the motor vehicle statutes also...but when I have it's been "don't ask...don't tell"...

...of course if you turn green and soil yourself...they're probably gonna try to figure out why...the key in any state is not to get stopped in the first place...don't speed...signal lane changes...make sure all your lights work and your plates are clean and visible...

...I've traveled in thirty five states over the last thirty years and never been stopped in another state...of course with Colorado plates...that's not a sure thing anymore...
 
Ky. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 527.020(8).

"(8) A loaded or unloaded firearm or other deadly weapon shall not be deemed concealed on or about the person if it is located in any enclosed container, compartment, or storage space installed as original equipment in a motor vehicle by its manufacturer, including but not limited to a glove compartment, center console, or seat pocket, regardless of whether said enclosed container, storage space, or compartment is locked, unlocked, or does not have a locking mechanism. No person or organization, public or private, shall prohibit a person from keeping a loaded or unloaded firearm or ammunition, or both, or other deadly weapon in a vehicle in accordance with the provisions of this subsection. Any attempt by a person or organization, public or private, to violate the provisions of this subsection may be the subject of an action for appropriate relief or for damages in a Circuit Court or District Court of competent jurisdiction. This subsection shall not apply to any person prohibited from possessing a firearm pursuant to KRS 527.040."
 
steelslaver said:
I know this.

Didn't live in an intelligent state like Montana and was picked up for having a concealed weapon that was obviously in plain sight and the officer cited me for having a concealed weapon without a permit, I would be meeting a jury. I find itt hard to believe that out of 12 people one of theem wouldn't have a serious problem with something in plain sight being called concealed.

The people in states with run away prosecution for things like this are to blame for not challenging laws that are obviously garbage. Man, its your car. Heck sleep in a few times and call it a domicile.

Nobody wants the hassle and most of thosee here are smart enough tto get a permit. But, the fact that most of the people just bend over for ignorant laws is really depressing. It will just keep getting worse untill THE PEOPLE say ENOUGH.

Montana has a citizens initive program. We use it and it works. It is also fairly easy to get heard by the state supreme court. Lot of our laws have got the heave ho because people here say bull pucky.

Example: Toe young guys are making a nature call along the highway. HP sees them and gives them a ticket for indecent exposure. They didn't just lay down and pay the fine, went through the court system. Supreme court tossed it and had humor in the opinion because when you got to go you got to go. Need to go in Montana go ahead. Its not unnatural or indecent to go to relieve yourself. Everyone does.
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I wonder if I could find a job in MT.....
 
Just a little over two years ago Tennessee changed the law to allow loaded guns in vehicles absent a handgun carry permit. There was the typical handwringing and predictions of doom by the usual suspects, including some law enforcement chiefs. Two years later... yawn. Turns out that law abiding folks generally do just fine with their freedoms, including Tennesseans. Who woulda thunk, right?

There is no duty to inform regardless if you have a handgun carry permit or not. That has't been an issue either.
 
ChattanoogaPhil said:
Two years later... yawn. Turns out that law abiding folks generally do just fine with their freedoms, including Tennesseans. Who woulda thunk, right?
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Oh yeah, I hear that. They tried to pull the same thing in my State with the fear mongering last year when we went permit-less. Even had the police chief from our largest city lying through his teeth until we call him on it in the local paper.
 
Wise_A said:
By all means, I invite you to step up and make yourself a test case for the law.

Until then, I'll carry in accordance with it. Such a hassle to keep my 1911 from bouncin' off my dashboard, anyway. Gotta be careful, that thing goes off for like, no reason.
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Don't have to step up. I live where reason still rules the day. Plus read what I wrote carefully. No where did I say to break any law. But, people who are busted for idiot laws should make them work for it in front of a jury.

Dudley, you probably could find a cop or sheriff position........till you froze out some winter. LOL
 
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It varies widely state to state.

The obvious answer is to get a concealed carry permit even if all you are going to do is carry it in your car.
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I like both of those statements.

Texas now allows (it's been a few years now) concealed carry (concealed is REQUIRED) in motor vehicles without an LTC (CHL is now LTC due to open carry law) but I think if you're going to do it regularly you ought to get the LTC and save yourself any issues plus you can then do it in dozens of other states so it's worth it if your drive-travel.

That said, if you opt to carry a handgun in your vehicle without an LTC the least you can do is not announce it if you get pulled over. The "I have a concealed handgun" type statement is ever so dumb. If the officer asks then you can say yes but they'll rarely ask. If they cannot see it and you're not belligerent it's a no-brainer - leave it that way!

OTOH, if you do have an LTC then by all means produce it if you get pulled over but, again, NO "I have a gun" announcement is necessary. If the LEO wants to know, or wants to see it, s/he will ask. If you're not asked then JUST SHUT UP ABOUT IT. The police don't care nearly as much as you might think and if they don't have to deal with your gun they're happy to ignore it.

I have plenty of experience in this respect because I drive too fast so please don't make an argument out of it, I know what I'm talking about. Besides, I'm an LTC instructor; it's my business to know these things.

If your state requires an "I have a gun" blurt out then, by all means, blurt it out. I doubt that that requirement exists anywhere but someone might surprise me. :eek:

Also, if you're in Texas with a Texas LTC, and you are stopped by a police officer, and you are not packing a handgun, don't be a smart-aleck and not show your LTC because you heard it's not required if you don't have a gun. That is also ever so dumb. If the police run your driver's license the LTC will come up with it (they're connected; that TDL number is on the LTC in case you didn't notice) and now you have an irked LEO to contend with because you didn't produce the card. Don't irk the constabulary - they have enough to contend with without you being a jerk. :( That works in every jurisdiction, too! :rolleyes:
 
As an LTC holder in Texas, every time I have been pulled over I have announced that I am a permit holder, but have never been asked to produce the permit. The officer has asked if I am carrying, I answer in the affirmative, and that's the end of it. They go back to their vehicle, write up their report and send me on my way.
 
steelslaver said:
Don't have to step up. I live where reason still rules the day. Plus read what I wrote carefully. No where did I say to break any law. But, people who are busted for idiot laws should make them work for it in front of a jury.
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If it's a law, it's the law. We don't just get to follow the ones we agree with. That's what makes us law-abiding citizens. If you know what the law requires of you, then do it. If you fail to, I've really no sympathy. I'll reserve that for the millions of people denied their constitutional rights without a jury.

Besides--fighting a conviction on the grounds that the law is bad can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and many, many hours in court. Being a test case isn't fun, and fails more often than not.
 
Pisgah said:
There's the answer.



Here in SC, we are required to show our carry permit any time an officer asks for ID, whether we are carrying or not; but, we are allowed to have a handgun in the glove box or a console with a door whether we have a permit or not. If you have a permit, the officer will ask if you are armed and if so where the gun is. If you don't have a permit, the odds are good the subject won't come up, but if it does it will usually be when he asks for registration and insurance info. Many folks carry that paperwork in the glove box along with the gun, and in that case the proper etiquette is to say, "I have those things in the glove box, officer, but I also have a handgun in there." He will then tell you to retrieve the paperwork, but to please leave the gun in place -- and he'll watch you like a hawk as you comply.
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I am not trying to start an argument here but I was told in CWP class two years ago that unless you are carrying pursuant to the permit, you need not show the permit. For instance, if you have a concealable weapon (handgun) in a locking compartment, i.e. one with a latch, in your automobile, you are not carrying under the permit, since that is legal anyway, and need not show the permit. However, in a vehicle, if the gun is under the seat, on the person, in a bag, or in an open storage compartment, you must produce the permit. Naturally, before reaching into any compartment where a gun is stored, it is a really good idea to produce the permit, disclose the gun location, and ask what the cop wants you to do, just to avoid getting shot for no reason.

As I said, I mean no disrespect here, but would like to know which course of action is correct. I do disagree that if there is no gun anywhere you have to tell a cop you are CWP.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Wise_A said:
If it's a law, it's the law. We don't just get to follow the ones we agree with. That's what makes us law-abiding citizens.
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Always the right advice.

That said, the change in Tennessee law was more about legislators following the people. There were so many folks with loaded guns in their vehicles that it made sense to change the law to reflect reality. Kinda like having a law on the books forbidding the drinking of soda or coffee while driving.
 
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