Do you have some Interesting State Gun Laws

[SaMx]

In VA you have to provide proof of residency.

there are no restrictions on mag capacity, and no AWB, but you must be over 21 to purchase an "assault type" rifle. It is legal for a person under 21 to posses an "assault type" rifle though.

 

[AZAndy]

Arizona is, for the most part, gun-friendly. There are still some bizarre laws regarding other weapons, though. Nunchaku are expressly forbidden.

So, to review: Cocked and locked 1911 on your hip= OK.
Two sticks jointed together= Big Crime.

 

[rantingredneck]

NC:

A permit is required to purchase a handgun. Purchase permits are administered by our 100 individual county sheriffs.

A leftover from the Jim Crow era.

Strangest part is the same permit is required to purchase a crossbow.

 

[RickH]

Washington state: Legal to own a suppressor. Legal to attach it to a firearm. Illegal to fire a round through it.

You have to drive to Oregon or Idaho to use it.

 

[c1ogden]

I'll be retiring from the PD in the next few years and was checking out other states that I might move to. As part of doing that I have looked into some of the gun laws (don't want to end up in another police state).

I'm surprised at many of the asinine (and unConstitutional) laws that many states have.

In some states you can have a gun but it can't be concealed.
Or it MUST be concealed.

You can carry it in your car but it must be in plain sight.
Or it must be concealed.
In the glove box is okay, but can't be in the console or under the seat.

You can carry in a belt holster but not an ankle holster.

You can carry concealed but it must be exposed in a restaurant.

You can't carry in---
parks,
sporting events,
schools,
government buildings,
highway rest areas (I ride a motorcycle. What do I do, chain it to the bike while I'm in the bathroom?),
banks,
buses,
hospitals,
day care centers,
town meetings,
parades,
etc.

You have to tell cops about it.
What happens when you're with someone who doesn't (and shouldn't) know that you're armed?


As corrupt, malfeasant, and unConstitutional as my state is, we have very simple rules. Carry permits are issued almost exclusively on political grounds but if you do get one you can carry almost anywhere in the state.

The only exception is school property. That is the only restriction. Admittedly, there is no valid reason for such a restriction but at least we only have the one where some states have dozens.

We don't care how you carry it (open or concealed), where it is in your car, what kind of holster you have, etc. You either CAN have a gun or you CAN'T.

Many states have so many "off limits" locations that anyone who doesn't have a car (to keep his gun in while visiting off limits locations) can't even use his permit.

I remember reading a post written by a man with a new carry permit. In documenting a few hours running errands around town he had to take his gun off and leave it in the car a dozen times. This is asinine. What happens with those who walked into town or took public transportation? They have no choice but to either break the (admittedly unConstitutional) law or leave the gun home.

We need a lot less stupid rules written by incompetent and malfeasant politicians and a lot more freedom! As a cop I have NO restrictions on where I can go. Nobody else should have any either!


Sorry this was so long!

 

[Vaarok]

NY has the sullivan law. No handguns without a license, each handgun has to be registered and ballistically fingerprinted.

It's illegal to own a blackpowder pistol if you have ammo for it. But legal if you don't.

While we have a 1994-style AWB in state law, the law does not mention shotgun magazines. So I can have a stock Saiga-12 with no choke tube, and put ten-round stick mags in it so long as I stay within 922R.

Also, smoothbore shotgun pistols are legal, so you can get into some crazy Lupara stuff.

 

[NAK]

Texas:

Legal to carry in a restaurant that sells alcohol, as long as alcohol sales do not exceed 50% of the establishment's total sales. Establishments where alcohol is 51% or more of sales have to post a small sign, but that sign may be almost anywhere that is considered a "Public" area. Not seeing the sign is not a defense.

After probably two dozen work-week lunches at a popular burger joint, with a large outdoor seating area, I was shocked to find a "51%" sign posted in the hallway leading to the restroom...I had been a criminal and did not even know it.

I asked a few people and discovered that after the working stiffs left town, the place turned into a college hangout for beer drinking and kicker dancing.

 

[CNYCacher]

In NYS you can CCW in a school if you have written permission from the school administrator.

 

[Marcus84]

No open or concealed carry, machine guns, or suppressors. AWB in the county.

 

[TexasRifleman]

In NYS you can CCW in a school if you have written permission from the school administrator.

You can do that in Texas too.

 

[JesseL]

In Az, it is illegal to conceal carry a weapon LARGER than 6' long.

I am 100% certain that that is completely untrue. There would be a lot of guys in trouble for carrying full size 1911s if it were.

 

[Mot45acp]

In Texas, if you take your CHL class with an automatic, you can carry an auto or revolver.

If you take it with a wheelie, you can only carry a wheelie.

HUH?

Quote:
Originally Posted by A/C Guy
In Az, it is illegal to conceal carry a weapon LARGER than 6' long.
I am 100% certain that that is completely untrue. There would be a lot of guys in trouble for carrying full size 1911s if it were.

He said 6' not 6" That would be a 66" difference

 

[sailortoo]

Not a biggy, but still a nuisance. In New Mexico, with a CCW you are allowed only one handgun to be carried at one time, no Bug allowed! Yet, your car is the same as your home, so you are not restricted in the gun count (or type) that you may have with you in your car. A hard statute to attack, because it is illogical to begin with.
sailortoo

 

[Hook686]

an Diego, California has a law that you cannot shoot rabbits from the back of a street car.

another ?

It is a misdemeanor to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.

http://sacramentorealestatevoice.com/2007/02/01/crazy-laws-in-california/

 

[Kind of Blued]

Quote:
Originally Posted by A/C Guy
In Az, it is illegal to conceal carry a weapon LARGER than 6' long.
I am 100% certain that that is completely untrue. There would be a lot of guys in trouble for carrying full size 1911s if it were.

He said 6' not 6" That would be a 66" difference

Spinal Tap anyone?

I visited my friends back home in Kansas last week and "figured it all out" prior.

As I knew that we'd be going out to have a drink or two, I looked into that. I intended on going to two places specifically: Old Chicago (bar) and my buddies coffee shop.

Basically, because the bar makes more than 50% of their income in food sales, it is a "restaurant", and I can carry my guns there WHILE drinking.

The coffee shop, however, which doesn't even serve alcohol, is off limits, as they make less than 50% of their income from food sales.

The statute is meant to address whether a place is a "club" or a "restaurant" but the only discussion in the statute is about food and nothing about drinks, nonetheless whether you're drinking chocolate milk or bourbon.

 

[MTMilitiaman]

Yeah, I love MT.

In addition to what the Gunny has pointed out, firearms are only considered concealed in MT if they are covered by clothing. Backpacks and purses aren't considered clothing, so you can carry a gun in a backpack or purse 24/7 without a permit. The definition for concealed doesn't change in a vehicle either, so you can put a firearm in the glove box or under the seat and it isn't considered concealed unless you flop a jacket over it.

We even have a law prohibiting county and local governments from restricting the open carry and transport of firearms.

Firearms are so integral to Montanan culture, that the state forbids smaller government bodies from restricting them. Gotta love that.

 

[Killermonkey21]

In Washington state, if you are prosecuted in a defensive shooting and found not-guilty, I think its the STATE that has to pay your court costs and fees.

Hell yeah!

 

[ctdonath]

NY:
- a rifle is not a firearm
- a shotgun is not a firearm
- >18" pistol-grip-only shotguns (if originally made that way) are completely unregulated.
- >18" "rifled shotguns" (if originally made that way) are completely unregulated.

 

[NukemJim]

No open or concealed carry, machine guns, or suppressors. AWB in the county.

Ahh you must live in Illinois

Don't forget since Chicago law forbids the possesion of Ammo or any ammuniton commponent in any calibre that you do not have a Chicago permit* for, you can be arrested for having a piece of .22 rimfire brass in your pocket.:banghead:

A lawyer friend of mine pointed that one out.

NukemJim
*they stopped issuing permits for pistols and many long guns to regular people back in the mid-80s.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Illinois gun laws are legendary in the scope of their foolishness. Oddly however, the most onerous prohibitions are;

1) NO CCW PERMITS
2) NO NFA (except, iirc, AOW's).

The conservation/hunting laws are somewhat bizarre as well--but few things are ACTUALLY prohibited here.

The 'bizarre' gun laws are the ones that get added every term to give some folks that 'warm fuzzy' feeling--they usually duplicate prohibitions that ALREADY exist in some other form and (as a result) only serve to take up more space in the Illinois Collected Statutes.

The ISRA has created and maintains a WONDERFUL spreadsheet of the insanity that is currently being proposed in Springfield:

http://isra.org/legislation/

 

[Old Grump]

Don't want to ruin the moment

In the quiet town of Connorsville, Wisconsin, it's illegal for a man to shoot off a gun when his female partner has an orgasm. You can't make this kind of stuff up.

 

[kludge]

Indiana:

A child (<18 y.o.) can travel with an unloaded handgun to and from a shooting range, hunter safety or firearm safety course, or hunt without a handgun license.

An Adult (>18 y.o.) can not.

 

[For Freedom]

In ND, you can't have a round chambered in a vehicle without a carry permit.

 

[alistaire]

In ND, you can't have a round chambered in a vehicle without a carry permit.

What type of car has a chamber, and what type of cartridge fits it?

 

[Werewolf]

Wow! And I thought Oklahoma's CCW law restricting the caliber of gun carried to a max of .45 was wierd.

We can't hold a candle to the wierd stuff you guys in other states have to put up with.