My CCW permit finally arrived! Now I have two questions for you.

I tell them *IF* I have a gun out of respect... we all know things can get wierd really quickly and the officer should know that you are armed.

I am only required to inform the LEO here in Florida only if he should ask if I have a firearm/weapon. I have informed the LEO several times on routine traffic stops with a different reaction from the LEO each time. On one occasion I presented my CCW permit with my drivers license; the LEO's returned my CCW and stated "I don't need this". On another occasion I was pulled over at a DUI/Drug roadblock and I presented my CCW permit with my DL; The officer drew his weapon, called for assistance, order me to surrender my weapon, butt first, order me out of the car and patted me down, asked if he could look in the trunk and I said no which seemed to make him get even more upset. The back up office ran my DL and CCW permit in his good time, about 30 minutes, with no negative results. I was then told of my responsibilities to the LEO when stopped in the future but which were all contradictory to Florida Statute. I sent a nice letter to the officer’s police chief, the town manager, the town mayor and commissioners, the governor and Charles H. Bronson, DOA Commissioner. I included in my letter the responsibilities of a CCW permit holder IAW Florida 790.06 I received only one reply and that was from the DOA that reaffirmed my responsibilities. I no longer provide my CCW permit with my DL nor do I inform the LEO that I am carrying unless he makes it a point to ask if I have any weapons.
Reference Florida Statute 790.06 License to carry concealed weapon or firearm.--
The licensee must carry the license, together with valid identification, at all times in which the licensee is in actual possession of a concealed weapon or firearm and must display both the license and proper identification upon demand by a law enforcement officer.

Iowa has no duty to inform. I practice the "don't ask don't tell" method. If I am pulled over for a traffic violation such as speeding or a taillight out and the officer doesn't ask me if I have a gun then I do not disclose it. If he is going to just write me up then why unnecessarily alarm them.

If they ask me to step out of the vehicle to step back to their car to write the ticket like they often do then I tell them that there is something I need to inform them about first and hand them my permit.

Iowa is a "may issue" state to were some counties do not issue permits and many LEO's are not used to encountering armed citizens nor nesacarilly like the idea.

It's very simple in Texas.

If you're carrying and a magistrate or officer asks you for ID (dmands is the language used in the statute) then you must present both your state issued ID AND your CHL. If you're not carrying you must only present your state issued ID. Your status as a CHL holder is tied to your DL (or state ID) and the officer will likely ask you why you didn't tell him or her about your CHL status when he or she asked for ID ... answer in any way you choose.

Unless you don't have a CHL and you're in your vehicle, in which case, you're not obligated to inform him or her that you're armed at all.

This session we couldn't get the "duty to inform" rescinded BUT we did get the penalty for not informing rescinded. So, if you have a CHL, are carrying AND don't inform the officer it is still against the law .... there just isn't a punishment for it anymore. Starting September 1st, of course, as all Texas laws do.

Texas Penal Code as Amended said:

SECTION 12A.01. Sections 411.187(a) and (c), Government
Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) A license may be suspended under this section if the
license holder:
(1) is charged with the commission of a Class A or
Class B misdemeanor or an offense under Section 42.01, Penal Code,
or of a felony under an information or indictment;
(2) [fails to display a license as required by Section
411.205;

Click to expand...

Emphasis on the part struck through in the code.

According to state law, you have no duty to inform in Virginia. It's up to each individual whether you would do so.

I've been stopped three times.....

since getting my CHL. Every stop has been handled professionally and courteously by the officers, two city policemen (from different suburbs) and a DPS officer (our highway patrol here in Texas). I've never been disarmed. After informing the officers that I was armed, they went about their business as if I hadn't been. I treat them the same way they treat me, and so far I haven't been disappointed.

Basically non-events.

I am pretty sure the TX CHL database is tied to the drivers license database, NOT the license plate info.

So, the requirement to inform is so that they will know at initial contact, not after they run the DL.

That's how I understand it anyway.

Click to expand...

It depends on the Sheriff's Office or the Police Station as to whether or not they will know at initial contact. Here's how they run a tag.

Tag #: X12 3YZ

Registered Owners: John Doe; Jane Doe

Vehicle Info:
Black
Chevrolet
Silverado
2002


Owner 1: John Doe
NCIC: Clear
DL Status: Valid

Owner 2: Jane Doe
NCIC: Clear
DL Status: Valid

Click to expand...

From there they click on the registered owner of the car and your information pops up, including every picture that you have taken for past DL's/Permits. Also, your entire record, including criminal history, any and all NTA's, traffic tickets, Written Warnings, and even sometimes verbal warnings. It depends on if the officer takes the time to look into the back ground before stopping you, but he has to see who is driving the car before he wastes his time and looks up your information.

AWorthyOpponent said:

Also, your entire record, including criminal history, any and all NTA's, traffic tickets, Written Warnings, and even sometimes verbal warnings.

Click to expand...

Two questions:
What's a NTA?

I heard that if an off duty officer sees you driving fast or recklessly they can call in your plates and put a "notice" on your traffic record for other officers to see if they pull you over later, even if they never make "contact" with the driver. Is that true? Can you rack up a "heat score" unbeknownst to yourself?

I only ask you because you seem intimately familiar with the process.

It is just easier and the officers are way more friendly if you offer it upfront

It is just easier and the officers are way more friendly if you offer it upfront

Click to expand...

Apparently not

On another occasion I was pulled over at a DUI/Drug roadblock and I presented my CCW permit with my DL; The officer drew his weapon, called for assistance, order me to surrender my weapon, butt first, order me out of the car and patted me down, asked if he could look in the trunk and I said no which seemed to make him get even more upset. The back up office ran my DL and CCW permit in his good time, about 30 minutes, with no negative results. I was then told of my responsibilities to the LEO when stopped in the future but which were all contradictory to Florida Statute.

Click to expand...

In Colorado you are required to inform IF ASKED. The actual statute says surrender your permit upon demand but I take that to mean if they ask if I'm carrying I tell them.

Beyond that I never answer questions the police aren't asking

If TX has connected DMV and CHL records, why any need to inform?

Click to expand...

Because they can...