Concealed Carry versus the Post Office

[flop-shank]

Originally posted by Model520Fan:

Originally posted by Smitty500Mag:
Here we go again!

How are they going to know you have a gun on you unless you need to use it? If you need to use it do you really care who knows you have it then? They can stick those little signs where the sun don't shine!!

Smitty

I believe that Smitty is posting for a LARGE number of people who have already figured this out.

Obviously, if there is some danger of your gun's showing or being dropped, then Smitty's post isn't the whole story. Otherwise, it is.

Thanks for posting!

Count me in!

 

[Bobwtn]

I have never heard of a federal place that it was legal, I would suggest don't. Even in fed court houses, "On Duty" cops coming to testify have to take their's off. Usually, only the U.S. Marshalls carry in the court rooms etc.

 

[bill_in_TX]

For those that say just leave the gun in your car I would ask if you've ever read the posted sign in detail? One of the phrases in the signs that I've seen at POs here includes a gun prohibition in vehicles on USPS property (i.e. parking lot).

While it's never likely to be a big deal, no more so than getting made while carrying concealed, I also view it a bit like the lottery (the odds are pretty low of ever winning, but somebody does so on a regular basis). Since I don't have the money to fight it, I just go to a PO (on rare occassions) where I can park on the street and lock my gun in the car.

 

[ladder13]

Originally posted by Kollin:

But I don't want to be a test case.

Me neither. And it's very easy to sit behind one's computer and say this and that.
Getting caught in the PO with a gun is not what you really want.
Now if you CCW in one and don't get made, all the good. But what if?? Are you prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars? Are you really? Be honest.

 

[ZO6Vettever]

I have carried in the Post Office a few times and never seen any sign at all. I was under the impression it was legal.

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by ladder13:
Now if you CCW in one and don't get made, all the good. But what if?? Are you prepared to spend tens of thousands of dollars? Are you really? Be honest.

If you carry a gun for self defense you MUST be ready to spend tens of thousands of dollars in your legal defense.

If your shoot is good, you most likely won't be dragged through the legal coals. But there is always the possibility that your shoot, while good in your mind, may be murky or just plain unjustified in the mind of the police and/or the prosecutor. Not being prepared for that eventuality is stupid in the extreme.

 

[ladder13]

I'm not talking about a shooting, I'm talking about standing in line at the PO, and for whatever reason being made.
I know I have to spend money for a shooting, but I thought a stamp costs 42 cents.
Please don't take this as a wise remark, but there is a difference. Spending money to defend yourself in a shooting incident is a whole lot different from spending money for committing a felony that could have easily been avoided.

 

[revolver]

Originally posted by Sgt Preston:
Sgt Preston here. I dropped by our local Post Office today to buy some stamps. While I was waiting my turn in line, I spotted a poster on the wall which displayed a Handgun circled in red. The circle had a red line diagonally thru it. The poster was just like the no smoking signs showing a cigarette in it. I got out of line & read the text. Did you know it's a Federal Felony to bring a gun into any Post Office. What do those of you who carry do when you go to the Post Office?

This is not new news.

Leave it in the car.

 

[revolver]

Originally posted by Joel C:
I carry in PO all the time, but then again, I am the Po Po.

So as a Police officer you have the right or the arrogance to break federal laws??

 

[Wyatt Earp]

Originally posted by revolver:

Originally posted by Joel C:
I carry in PO all the time, but then again, I am the Po Po.

So as a Police officer you have the right or the arrogance to break federal laws??

233 years ago we pissed on unjust and immoral Royal law. What else is new?

 

[Big Foot]

I have carried in the Post Office a few times and never seen any sign at all. I was under the impression it was legal

Most of the time you spend acquiring a CHL is on law and the legalities of CC. How did you miss that?

I place my piece under the seat when going in the P.O. No big-deal.

 

[BugBeard]

Originally posted by revolver:

Originally posted by Joel C:
I carry in PO all the time, but then again, I am the Po Po.

So as a Police officer you have the right or the arrogance to break federal laws??

Law or no law, I can't think of any sane reason to not want a LEO to carry in a PO. You have my support.

I will quit complaining when 'victim disarmament zones' truly become 'gun free zones' via some kind of magical forcefield or something.

 

[straightshooter1]

revolver-
On page 1 of this thread, the law concerning carrying in the PO was posted. If you read it, you will see that police are authorized to carry there.

Or, did you just want to attack a police officer?

Bob

 

[flop-shank]

If I'm forced not to carry in a place such as a Post Office, or courthouse, I'm very thankful if armed law enforcement officers are present.

 

[Joel C]

revolver, can you cite the "federal laws" you're speaking of that prohibit me, a LEO, from being armed in a Post Office? I can cite you a few laws that allow me to be armed in Post Offices. If you want to attack me due to my choice of profession, then you're an idiot of the highest degree! I get crap from the scumbags I deal with on the street everyday due to my line of work. They, however, have a reason to attack me. It's my job to put a damper on their criminal activities and make their lives a living hell. What is your reason for the attacks? You need to get a life brother. Later.

 

[Smitty500Mag]

Originally posted by Big Foot:
I place my piece under the seat when going in the P.O. No big-deal.

You guys that leave your guns in the car while at the post office need to read that sign a little closer. It says it's illegal to have it on the property and not just inside the building. So if you're parked in the P.O. parking lot you're breaking the law just as much me when I carry mine inside.

Smitty

 

[straightshooter1]

Smitty, I don't know what the signs you've seen say, but 18 USC 930 talks only about in the facility and talks about posting warning signs on the doors of the facility.

I don't think that provision covers the parking lot.

Bob

 

[38-44HD45]

Originally posted by straightshooter1:
Smitty, I don't know what the signs you've seen say, but 18 USC 930 talks only about in the facility and talks about posting warning signs on the doors of the facility.

I don't think that provision covers the parking lot.

Bob

Correct. "Federal facility" means building.

 

[bill_in_TX]

Smitty is correct about the sign -- at least the ones around Houston. It specifically cites the parking lot(s) as well as the building.

I posted the same earlier above, but apparently no one noticed.

I confirmed both parts with a Postal LEO that does CHL classes at the range I shoot at. According to him they will arrest you in either the facility or parking if you're made (and actually the odds are probably better of being made unholstering your weapon to store it than just leaving it alone).

Since our talk, I've made it a practice to only go to POs where I can park on the street close to the entry.

 

[DougE]

Unholstering your weapon at a destination where you cannot enter while armed is always a bad idea. It should have been stashed beforehand. Even in the event that it's legal to stash it in your car where you're parked ....... if someone sees you stashing it you may likely find it gone when you return to your vehicle.