Open Carry in a Traffic Stop

Keep you hands up/unmoving/in-plain-sight/away from the gun.
"Officer, I have a legal firearm located xxxxx. How would you like to proceed?"

Given increasingly frequent cop-killing events, you want to make the situation as open and cooperative as possible.
Don't make his(her) life any more dangerous than it is.

Mutual respect/courtesy goes a long way.... :thumbup:
 
AmmoJo said:
Now that SC has Open Carry, I'm wondering how a traffic stop in this state would go when the officer sees a gun on the dash. Anyone experienced anything crazy in Open Carry states?
Click to expand...

I keep the phone numbers to State police in my phone, of States I travel to and through. After I call and talk to them ahead of time.

You can use other sources for your information if that sounds like too much trouble.

 
Just speak plainly and clearly. People start sounding weird when they use rehearsed lines and many of us hate being called "officer" when we may be deputies, troopers, wardens etc. Don't need to address me like a member of the royal court. Just tell me what you need to politely and clearly.
 
AmmoJo said:
Now that SC has Open Carry, I'm wondering how a traffic stop in this state would go when the officer sees a gun on the dash. Anyone experienced anything crazy in Open Carry states?
Click to expand...
Here is the law, as written, straight from SLED's website:

It appears that "open carry" as applied by SC law, still requires a concealed carry permit, but provides more latitude in how it can be carried in a vehicle.

In any case, when the officer approaches your vehicle, have your license, registration and carry permit in hand; keep both hands in plain view (on the steering wheel works well), and declare to the officer you have a handgun in the vehicle. He will direct you as to the next step. In NC, your CC permit is tied to your driver license; when the officer does a license check on his computer, it tells him whether or not you have a CC permit. I suppose SC would be similar.
 
trackskippy said:
I dont offer anything. Let them do the talking, and let them bring it up if they feel the need. So far, they never have.
Click to expand...
My understanding is in SC, you are required to inform. Folks need to know the laws before they decide to carry, open or concealed. Even if not required, it is only being courteous to the officer to inform him about your intentions of a gun on your dash. Way too many suggestions given here without any thought to the consequences. Here in Wisconsin, because of open carry without needing a permit, you can have a handgun loaded in your vehicle, but it has to be not covered with anything.....this includes a holster of any kind. With a CWC permit, anything goes. We do not have a "duty to inform", but again, it's probably a good suggestion.
 
What you say and how you say it are both important. There's a big difference between:
a) "Good evening, officer. Just so you know, I'm carrying a concealed pistol on my right hip." and
b) "I HAVE A GUN!" :what:


Arkansas is both a permitless carry state, and a must inform state. I've had to notify on about 3 separate occasions, and they were totally uneventful.
 
"Before even greeting the officer, tell him or her you have a legal firearm and ask what the officer wants you to do.
Of course this begs the question, 'what is the gun doing on the dash?' "

Before I learned to drive, as opposed to merely operate a vehicle, I'd get stopped maybe once a year. I'd park the empty gun on the dash, cylinder open or slide locked back, no problem. It seemed they always wanted to check it for having been stolen, so I'd gingerly hand it to them under their instructions, they'd take it and my paperwork back to their car and do their radio thing. This was before Colorado had shall-issue permits. Your car was part of your curtilage back then in the Old Colorado, I don't know if it still is in the New Colorado.

Sometimes they'd just give me a warning, only rarely a ticket unless I was doing something totally outrageous (this was before I learned to drive, mind you).

Now that was the Old Colorado, 20+ years ago. I don't know what they would do nowadays in the New Colorado, but I'd still handle it the same way.

I didn't know they didn't like being called "officer." If so, why is the term "LEO" used? Why are they called "Commissioned Peace Officers?

I know I should call a Highway Patrolman "Trooper," because I knew two retired Troopers, but "officer" is resented?

Terry, 230RN
 
Last edited:
Why would I put a gun on the dash, that's the absolute last place I'd put one. Not only would I not want it in plain view, but the best place to keep my hands is on the wheel, which would be far too close to the firearm.

Firstly, I would follow the requirements of the state in question. Is there a duty to report the firearm? If so then do it, if not, I would still do it. No one likes a traffic stop, including the officer. Far too many officers are killed on "routine" traffic stops. There is no harm in letting them know. Not because I want him to think I'm a good guy, but because I'd rather be up front and say, I have a concealed firearm which is located here. How would you like me to proceed? Opening the glove box to reveal a firearm I did not tell him about will make for a tense few seconds.

My opinions on open carry aside, I want to make the interaction as smooth and stress free for all parties as possible. It pays to know, intimately, the laws and requirements of your state when it comes to carrying a firearm. Ignorance is no defense.
 
Here in Iowa, before the permit requirement was done away with, I was stopped on the side of the road to look at a map. State trooper pulls up behind me to see what's what. Carry piece is visible on the passenger seat. I have my carry permit, all is in order. He detained me and I am sitting in the front seat of the patrol car. He starts to check me out via his computer, radio, cell phone, etc. This being a Sunday it takes 45 minutes. Then he sent me on my way.

Bottom line: If he is going to run a complete background check, what's the point of the permit? (To cut him a little slack, there had been a recent bank holdup in the area.)
 
When I'm traveling, open carry state or no, I always check handgunlaw.us to refresh my list of "duty to inform" states. I'm rarely pulled over, but when I am, I open the window and keep both hands on the steering wheel until addressed by the officer. Be polite and follow instructions. If required to inform, I do so immediately. If not, I don't mention a firearm unless my moving to retrieve paperwork is going to reveal it. I've never had a problem in either situation. A bit of courtesy goes a long way.

And no way I'd have a handgun on the dashboard, unless instructed by an officer to put it there ... and I think that's highly unlikely.
 
Im kind of amazed at the "hat in the hand" attitude so many seem to have these days when it comes to this. So what, you have a gun, whats the big deal? I don't know about where you live, but we're allowed to have one here, and we have no duty to inform, so why would you? It has nothing to do with the traffic stop.

If he's worried about it, he can ask, but that's really about it. "Unless" he suspects you of a crime, I don't see that he has any right or reason to disarm you or detain you over it. If its a permit issue, then show your permit.

Unless I missed something, we are allowed to live our lives and go about our business as we please, unmolested. Arent we? People act like the government is in charge. I suppose if we keep acting like it, then they will be. Seems to be working well for them so far too. ;)
 
MEHavey said:
Keep you hands up/unmoving/in-plain-sight/away from the gun.
"Officer, I have a legal firearm located xxxxx. How would you like to proceed?"

Given increasingly frequent cop-killing events, you want to make the situation as open and cooperative as possible.
Don't make his(her) life any more dangerous than it is.

Mutual respect/courtesy goes a long way.... :thumbup:
Click to expand...
Thats my general strategy. I try to make a possible tense situation as calm as possible.

shafter said:
Just speak plainly and clearly. People start sounding weird when they use rehearsed lines and many of us hate being called "officer" when we may be deputies, troopers, wardens etc. Don't need to address me like a member of the royal court. Just tell me what you need to politely and clearly.
Click to expand...

I never really thought about how to address them. I usually say something like good morning/good afternoon officer, Deputy, Trooper, ect. After the greeting I'll say something like "I think I'm suppose to tell you that I have concealed carry permit and I'm carrying". This has always turned out to be a non event. Courtesy usually goes a long way!
 
Can't speak to OC but I've dealt with the law in TX when concealed. Three times after bad traffic accidents - not my fault. When the officers got to me, I said that I have a CHL and have a gun concealed on my left hip, What do you want me to do? In two cases, the officers said - No problem, show me with your ODL also. In case, the officer asked to disarm me and I said - Fine with me. He did and unloaded the gun. Gave it back after all the paperwork was done. In a couple of traffic stops (uh, speed limit), I took out my wallet to put next to me. Told them I had a license and a gun, they looked at it and said OK. One asked I was going to shoot him - in a semi joking mode or it could have been his style. No problem. On the speed stops - one said, go on your way - He took pity. The other gave me the ticket.

I would not want to stagger out of a bad crash with an exposed gun. Yeah - my rights, blah, blah. Bang, bang - oops.
 
Pulled over.
Informed officer "I'm armed, right side, holstered".
Officer says "leave it in the holster". Didn't even look up from his paperwork. Arizona or Nevada, forget which.
Your car is queried in the state system before they even get out of the cruiser. Figure I came up clean so no worries.
 
bangswitch said:
In any case, when the officer approaches your vehicle, have your license, registration and carry permit in hand; keep both hands in plain view (on the steering wheel works well), and declare to the officer you have a handgun in the vehicle. He will direct you as to the next step. In NC, your CC permit is tied to your driver license; when the officer does a license check on his computer, it tells him whether or not you have a CC permit. I suppose SC would be similar.
Click to expand...

This is pretty much what I have done in the past and had no problems. Hand over license, registration and CCL. Put both hands back on the wheel at 10 and 2. They will ask if I have a firearm in the vehicle, if yes I tell them where, "righthand pocket" "magnetic holder under dash on the right". At this point they tell me to make no moves toward the weapon. "Copy that sir".
 
I like hypothetical questions like this, because they make us thing about how to handle situations before they arise, so that we know how best to handle them when they do.

HOWEVER...they also allow us to better handle all the OTHER aspects as well.

For example, the proverbial "gun on the dash". That's as bad as, if not worse than, the proverbial "gun on the seat next to me".

The dash is the absolute worst place to put ANYTHING unsecured. Toss your phone up there and drive around a bit and see what I mean.

If you're going to tote a firearm around in a vehicle and it's not secured in a holster on your person, then take just a teeny, tiny amount of time out of your very busy schedule to figure out how to tote it around SECURELY.

First turn you take with a gun on your dash and it's gonna slide all the way to the opposite side and end up off the dash somewhere.

First time you have to hit the brakes hard with a gun just sitting on a seat and the gun will be on the floorboards somewhere.

This isn't rocket science, and it's certainly not meant to belittle people by posting this. It's a straight up, valid concern that ought to be reasonably addressed. Use the glove box, console compartment, or perhaps some form of securely mounted holster in a convenient loction.


NOW...that said...if you're legally open carrying in South Carolina, which is no longer a "must inform" state by the way, then if you feel the need to inform an officer simply do so EXACTLY as you would have BEFORE open carry was legal and SC was still a "must inform" state.

To wit, calmly make a statement (which does NOT start off with something like "I have a gun") which cites state law on the matter.

If you happen to have a concealed carry permit (not required for open carry, but let's pretend you're like myself and have a CWP):

Hand the officer your CWP with your DL/registration/insurance and say something on the order of: "Officer, I have a concealed carry permit and I have a firearm in the vehicle."


If you don't have a CWP, something like "Officer, in accordance with state law on open carry, I have a firearm in the vehicle."


Of course, you aren't required by SC to inform at all, which means you have the leeway to decide whether or not you want to based on your specific beliefs and circumstances. If the firearm isn't visible, then maybe you will choose not to say a thing. If it is visible, you may choose either way, or to wait until the officer addresses the situation.


IF THE OFFICER ASKS IF YOU HAVE A FIREARM IN THE VEHICLE, this can open up a can of worms depending on how you choose to respond (and, of course, the officer).

If you choose to answer, THEN DO NOT LIE. If there are no firearms in the vehicle, the answer is "no, sir/ma-am". If there ARE firearms in the vehicle, the answer is something on the order of "Per state and federal law, I have a firearm located in the (name the place)." If the officer ASKS you a question and you choose to lie, the fact that you lied to the officer about this could make things worse on other matters...especially if it's something that ends up with you in court. An objectively provable lie calls your character into question on everything.

If you choose NOT to answer, then this should be clearly stated as exercising your right to remain silent and then keep your trap shut...you cannot exercise a right to remain silent only on specific issues while flapping your lips all day long on other matters. "I'm sorry, officer, I don't answer questions and I choose to exercise my right to remain silent."


EVERYBODY WILL HAVE AN OPINION ON YOUR QUESTION. Ultimately, "you do you". If you are a person who honestly believes it's in the best interest to inform LEO on a simple traffic stop that you have a firearm in the vehicle (as in the open carry scenario), then have at it. If you are a person who thinks it's none of the officer's business and you don't see any reason to inform the LEO if the question never comes up, more power to you.

Be calm, be plainly spoken, and make sure that you start off the conversation in a manner that clearly informs the LEO that what you're about to tell him is "per the laws" and then that you have a firearm in the vehicle.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

W
  • Locked
Traffic stops with multiple guns - leo ?
2
Replies
29
Views
2K
Ozarks
O
G
  • Locked
CMP Trip and Talladega Traffic?
Replies
10
Views
1K
billyg1956
B
mesinge2
  • Locked
Open Carry?
Replies
3
Views
609
mesinge2
mesinge2
S
  • Locked
Should traffic stops be abandoned ?
2 3 4
Replies
81
Views
3K
Matt G
M
C
  • Locked
Questions for Open-Carry state residents
2 3 4 5
Replies
102
Views
4K
hermannr
H
Back
Top