Pistol in the trunk

I do not have a CWP. I understand that I can transport my pistol in my trunk. Assume that I am on the highway and have car problems. If a group of thugs stop to "help" me, the gun isn't going to do me any good unless it is loaded and handy. I would like to holster it until I'm back on the road again but I bet this is a really bad idea and I'm assuming this is why I should get my CWP.

Is my only option to leave it in the trunk and try to get them to hold off on mugging me until I can make my way to the trunk so I can uncase and load my gun so I can then excercise my right to "bear arms"?

What state are you in? In some states it is legal to have a loaded handgun in your car without a license.

The answers to the basic question here depend entirely on your state. In some states it isn't legal to drive around with a handgun (even unloaded and in the trunk) at all unless you're specifically heading to the range or a gun shop or gunsmith.

In other states you can carry the gun loaded and on your person while you drive, even without a carry permit or license.

Many of us would feel that we'd be much more likely to need a gun in lots of other situations than in the fairly rare event of being stranded on the side of the road next to a broken-down vehicle. So holding your state's carry credential (and carrying the gun as a matter of course) just makes sense.

I do not expect anyone here to recommend breaking the law.

http://www.handgunlaw.us/ is one place to start.

Then try Googling your states laws.

Another possibility is that in some states it is legal to open carry, especially if you are not actually in your car. So, again depending on where you are, you could possibly be covered that way.

Still, though, how often are you really stranded on the road side? Once every 5 years if you're REALLY unlucky? Now, how many times do you enter convenience stores, use ATMs, sit at stoplights at urban intersections, walk alone after dark, walk through parking lots or parking garages after dark, or do any number of other activities which might be considered heightened risks for violent predation? Get the carry permit.

I live in South Carolina but often travel in NC, TN, and KY.

Thanks for all the input so far.

Well, you need to check with www.handgunlaw.us and www.opencarry.org to figure out what's legal in each state.

If you get your SC permit you'll be good to go in NC, TN, KY, VA (and lots of other places). You still need to know what the actual rules are for each state, but at least you could be armed in your car.

Of course you want to start at the websites recommended by Sam, especially the first one. Don't be overwhelmed with the vast amount of information available there.

The simple answer to your question is that in SC, it's legal to carry a loaded handgun in the glove compartment or center console as long as there is an "integral fastener" you must release in order to open the console/compartment. No permit required for this, and you can legally transport the loaded handgun from car to home. But never take somebody's answer on an Internet forum as the most reliable. A lawyer's advice is much better, followed by something like www.handgunlaw.us. A stranger's response on a forum, no matter how apparently reasonable and friendly (and though often correct), should always be double-checked.

In your suggested scenario of thugs on the side of the highway, you would still need to leave the gun in the car's center console or glove compartment when you get out to fix your car, but it's better than the trunk. Getting the CWP is a small hassle, but worth it in my view.

Check the state laws carefully. Then recheck them. This is especially true when you cross state lines. For example, the Commonwealth of Virginia has a liberal policy regarding permits for carrying a concealed weapon, and Virginia's permits have reciprocal rights in several other states. However, neither Maryland nor the District of Columbia reciprocate.

I do not expect anyone here to recommend breaking the law.

The law has already been broken. The right of the people to keep and bear arms has been infringed by some degree by a majority of states.

Double check handgunlaw.us to be sure, but I'm almost positive that KY (one of the states you listed) it is legal for the gun to be with you in your glove compartment if you don't have a CCW.

Honestly, getting a CCW in the free states is no big deal and you don't have to carry if you don't want to. I've had mine for a while and while there is always a loaded gun in my truck, I don't carry all the time in the nicer neighborhoods.

I believe if you are in South Carolina you can have a handgun in your glove box just like in Kentucky without any sort of license. You can do that in Georgia too. I don't know if you can have the handgun in the glove box loaded in Virginia or if it has to be on the dashboard.

Sorry, in Tennessee you will have to unload your handgun and put it in the trunk if you do not have a license.

In KY the laws were recently revised and you can carry a loaded handgun in any factory installed compartment. Previously it was just the glovebox IIRC. This was changed around a year ago so it may not be a bad idea to print the statute and leave it in your car in case you run across an LEO that isn't aware of the change. I did this until I got my CDW...a little peace of mind if nothing else.

Here in OH (where we'll honor quite a few out-of-state licenses, but not PA, because PA won't honor ours), a non-licensee must store the gun unloaded and in the trunk (or similar "hard for the driver to get to" location). Unloaded is a trap.... Under current law, any ammunition in any magazine or speedloader that fits any handgun in the vehicle makes the gun loaded. Doesn't matter if one's taped to the front bumper, and the other taped to the rear bumper. Or welded, for that matter.... (Although that'd be a fun court session :D.) Stripper clips and en-bloc ammunition doesn't count because a lot of that stuff is sold that way. Long guns are NOT exempt, licensee or not....

(We have some sillier regulations.... Meantime, SC apparently doesn't permit carry in Funeral Homes. We don't permit it in Houses of Worship without some management permission.)

Best thing to do, if at all possible, is to get a license. If you can't get a license for some reason (there are some nasty legal roadblocks in some states), you may be able to get one from a more lenient state. There are all kinds of roadblocks there, too, but who knows. Generally all of the states involved do serious background checks - they just don't quite agree on nit-picks that might keep you from a license in one state, but be irrelevant in another.

I've carried for something over 40 years - there's no such thing as a "bad area" or a good one.... Trouble will find you if it's going to find you, and if you can be prepared, you're better off.

(BTW, Ohio is an Open Carry state. You can walk around with a handgun legally, more or less, although you may be subject to little old ladies getting into panics.... However, you have to load/unload outside of your vehicle, as it's considered concealed if you're in a vehicle.)

Regards,

Just make sure Earl isn't in there too! :neener:

KY is a true unlicensed OC state, like everyone so far has stated, read the law. You can go over on OpenCarry.org and post questions in the individual states forums. There will be someone there to help, but do your homework first...read the law. WV is also an unlicensed OC state.

Handgunlaw.us and Opencarry.org are execellant resources, they both have links to the law.

TN, you need a license, sorry, I have no idea on NC or SC been over 40 years since I've been in those states.

Back in the late 80s I recall deciding it was not worth the trouble to go from TN to a gun range in VA.

TN considered gun in the passenger compartment "going armed" and required guns being transported to a range be cased and locked in the trunk.

VA considered gun in the trunk "concealed carry" and required open carry in the passenger compartment of the vehicle.

What was illegal in TN was legal in VA.

What was illegal in VA was legal in TN.

And vicely inversely.

When TN began shall-issue handgun carry permit with reciprocity with VA shall-issue concealed handgun permit (both states on same page on permitted carry), I bit the bullet and got a THCP. And try to keep up with the laws and state AG opinions.

Some comments I have read on trunk carry of firearms seems to be based on the federal FOPA for interstate travelers. VA considered trunk carry "concealed carry" and was an "open carry" state.

(Under protection for travelers under the FOPA '86, if your possession of a firearm is legal in your state of origin, and legal in your state of destination, you are supposed to be immune from arrest under intervening state laws while in transit if the gun is unloaded, locked, in the trunk. Of course, jurisdictions like NJ, NY and MA consider arrest and felony prosecution of innocent travelers with legal guns to be a state duty and work mightily to undermine FOPA protection.)

Quote:
I do not expect anyone here to recommend breaking the law.

The law has already been broken. The right of the people to keep and bear arms has been infringed by some degree by a majority of states.

Do you honestly think that would keep you from sitting in a prison cell for a few years because you broke one of those laws? Good luck with that. I agree many of the laws, especially the outright bans in places like New York and Chicago, are unconstitutional but that will be of little comfort when you are arrested and imprisoned for breaking them. I would prefer not to be the test case that has to sit in prison waiting for the courts to overturn the law.

I don't know if you can have the handgun in the glove box loaded in Virginia or if it has to be on the dashboard.

Virgina just changed the law.

As long as the gun is secured (as in a glove box or console) you do not need a permit in your car any more.

ETA:

http://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?000+cod+18.2-308
§ 18.2-308. Personal protection; carrying concealed weapons; when lawful to carry.
10. 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.

Carl, I think that little tidbit of absurdity just took some time off the end of my life. :)

as for me. i do what i have to do. i don,t live in one of the police states. even so you have the natural right to protect yourself by whatever means nessesary

In KY the laws were recently revised and you can carry a loaded handgun in any factory installed compartment. Previously it was just the glovebox IIRC. This was changed around a year ago so it may not be a bad idea to print the statute and leave it in your car in case you run across an LEO that isn't aware of the change. I did this until I got my CDW...a little peace of mind if nothing else.
The official version of KY's law per the KSP website:

"KRS (Kentucky Revised Statute) 527.020(8) states in part that:"
"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."

http://www.kentuckystatepolice.org/conceal.htm

Based on a two-week or so old state supreme court ruling, this includes keeping it/them in the car when on a college campus.