Open Carry in a Traffic Stop

"Rights", "smooth", "courtesy", "at ease"...

All these are important concepts and require balancing. That balance won't be the same from person to person, encounter to encounter.

What we can't control is how another person may think/act. What we CAN control is how we think and act.

If the luck of the draw has one pulled over by Officer McBadattitude, Officer O'Reallyidontgiveacr*p, or some such, there's not likely to be anything one can do to "put the officer at ease" or "smooth the encounter".

That said, looking back on 4-plus decades of driving experience, it seems to me that all my police encounters were very professional, whether in my teens in my home town or any of the various other states I've lived in, been stationed in, or have driven through.

While we can't CONTROL how the officer may think/act, we CAN exert influence. Being polite and respectful goes a long way. (Unless, of course, you're dealing with Officer O'Reallyidontgiveacr*p.)

If you're in a must inform, then do so, politely and respectfully.

If you're NOT in a must inform, make your choice...and be polite/respectful either way.

If you just think it's a "good idea" to inform as a rule...be polite/respectful about it.

And if you're dealing with Officer McBadattitude...be polite/respectful ANYWAY. He/she may make what you might deem "unreasonable" requests/orders about disarming and such, but your ultimate goal is to get through the traffic stop and on your way again. Not sitting in the back of the cruiser under arrest or leaking life fluids out of holes that shouldn't be there. Save the complaints for another time, under better and more controlled circumstances.
 
I have not read the whole thread. In my state, not declaring is a crime. My general habit it to have the bill fold on the dashboard, the insurance and registration on passenger side visor. Permit and license are both handed to the peace officer in question. I use the permit whether or not I’m carrying concealed or not. (Not generally a fan of open carry) I tell them where the weapon is located. The general response has been “thank you for being a law abiding citizen. And if you don’t touch yours, I won’t touch mine”… of course, I’m guessing the rural deputies etc are thankful for the unofficial help when official help is an hour out…
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
All these are important concepts and require balancing. That balance won't be the same from person to person, encounter to encounter.

What we can't control is how another person may think/act. What we CAN control is how we think and act.
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^^^Truth.

How anyone act/handles themselves at a traffic stop, is up to them. For the most part, while folks may act/respond differently, those actions are not wrong. Just different. Folks need to do what makes them comfortable and get their High Horse about what others do. What folks do need to do tho, is to know what the law is in the state they are driving in. There have been a myriad of videos on the news recently showing how the cops themselves, poorly conduct a traffic stop. Some to the point the driver gets killed. Certain profiles will get different reactions from cops. Neighbor kid is a Sate Patrol officer and says they are trained "read" people they stop. There are some profiles or occupants in a car he will not approach unless he can get backup. A old greyhair like me in a pick-up will get "read" differently than a coupla kids in a souped up Toyota, with their hats on backwards and full facial tattoos. He admits, he does like to be informed, and it puts him at ease more than it raises an alarm. Reasoning is that someone who admits to having a gun, is less likely to shoot you. Most shooters at traffic stops do it under the guise of surprise.

So do what you want when stopped, but do abide by the law. See a lot of chest pounding here sometimes, with folks trying to infer a "tuff guy" image. If you are getting stopped, there is probably a good reason and the officer is just doing the job he has been trained to do, and what we are paying him to do. If you are getting stopped by Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane for no reason other than he doesn't like the way you look, you are gonna be in for a hassle regardless. Irritating someone already irritated is probably not the best of ideas, but as I said, do what you want.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
That said, looking back on 4-plus decades of driving experience, it seems to me that all my police encounters were very professional, whether in my teens in my home town or any of the various other states I've lived in, been stationed in, or have driven through.
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Agree with you, my police encounters have all been professional - except for one.

Germany, autobahn, polizei points at me and motions for me to pull over. I see a group of polizei off the side of the road so pull off slowly and stop. Nice gentleman asks me to come with him. We go to a Volkswagen bus with the rear seats pulled out and a small table with a couple of chairs, where I received an explanation why I was pulled over and given a citation for speeding. These guys were having a fun day - all they needed to make it an official party was a few beers and wursts. Most entertaining citation I have ever received.

Side notes:
1. You do NOT give the polizei a hard time. They will clock you up side the head and toss you in jail until you cool off. No Questions Asked.
2. It is possible to get a speeding ticket on the German Autobahn. Cost me $70. This was back in 1974 or 75.
 
Miami_JBT said:
I personally spoke with the Governor last year and he pledged he'd back an open carry bill. Well, I got an open carry bill introduced this session and he was absolutely silent on it and said NOTHING.
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Not surprising. I've learned to lower my expectations over the years. Only problem, it's currently below ground level. :fire:
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
If you're in a must inform, then do so, politely and respectfully.
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I was in a traffic crash last year, when the police showed up I told the officer, as I was handing him my license and LTC, that I was indeed carrying at my 3 O'Clock. He just nodded and said 'everyone is carrying a gun these days' and let it go at that.

I do travel quite a bit out of state... I haven't had to see how other states, like NM and AZ, handle a stop with a concealed weapon. For that matter, I'm usually carrying long guns in the back pickup bed, too...
 
Charlie98 said:
I was in a traffic crash last year, when the police showed up I told the officer, as I was handing him my license and LTC, that I was indeed carrying at my 3 O'Clock. He just nodded and said 'everyone is carrying a gun these days' and let it go at that.

..
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If that was in the daytime, wouldn't that be carrying at your 1500?

Terry 230RN gazinta hiding.
 
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Open carry legal here. I have LTC and carry concealed. I don't say a word to the officer in any traffic situation. I just answer his/her questions and do what he tells me. The subject does not come up unless he/she should bring it up by running my license which is connected to the LTC. Years ago I got stopped by the DPS Trooper here and he knew I was carrying before he ask for my DL just by running the tag on my truck...
 
JDeere said:
Open carry legal here. I have LTC and carry concealed. I don't say a word to the officer in any traffic situation. I just answer his/her questions and do what he tells me. The subject does not come up unless he/she should bring it up by running my license which is connected to the LTC. Years ago I got stopped by the DPS Trooper here and he knew I was carrying before he ask for my DL just by running the tag on my truck...
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Meh...

He may have known the registered owner of the vehicle had a carry permit, but not that the registered owner was the driver, nor that the registered owner was actually carrying at that time.

And even then, he may not know this unless he specifically requests that information when he runs the plates.

Not every state does this, obviously, and not every state does this in the same way. For example, some states apparently tie this information to a person's driver's license, but not vehicle registration. And the information may not come up automatically, however it may be tied in a given state, but only upon request by the officer.

For example, this information may not be tied to vehicle registration information, but the officer CAN run a check on the registration information from the vehicle plate. From there, the officer can run additional checks on the person to whom the vehicle is registered. Information such as outstanding warrants, driving record, concealed carry, etc.

Some people might poo-poo the distinction, but it's an important one.

What's interesting is trying to find the particular statutes in any given state which governs how the concealed carry permit information is used by the state. I find it exceptionally difficult. I suspect in some states, at least, it may be one of those "there is no law prohibiting it, therefore law enforcement agencies just make it happen as a matter of policy". I could be wrong, but given plenty of examples of government agencies doing exactly this on various subjects, I wouldn't bet against it.
 
I see that some have brought up occasions where an officer requested their weapon to keep it under their control.

I've never had this happen. The closest it came to happening, I had been pulled over in the wee hours of the morning by a Virginia State Patrol officer (I drifted across the lane line a couple times, due to being tired).

When she approached, she told me why she pulled me over and asked if I had any weapons in the vehicle, as she swept the interior of my car with her flashlight.

I looked over at the 6 foot long cannon barrel in the passenger side, then back at her and said "Would you believe me if I said 'no'?"

"Is that a cannon?!?"

(Thus began the story of my scale replica project of a 24 pounder off the USS Constitution as a carbide cannon.)


Anyway, what I'd do would be based on what the officer wanted. If ASKED, I'd answer something like "If you're just asking, I'd much prefer it be left where it is, as a firearm that's not handled is a firearm that can't be accidentally discharged. But if you're ordering, I'd like to pass it into your possession in the holster for the same reason."

Obviously if it's clearly phrased as an order, I'd skip the first part.

At this point, like it or not, whether I feel it to be a violation of rights or whatever, this isn't the hill I'm willing to die for or go to court over.
 
CajunBass said:
Years ago, when having a permit and a gun on me were brand new, I would hand my CHP over along with my DL. I never actually got "pulled" just stopped at a license check point or something like that. After a couple of times having the officer glance at it, hand it back with "I don't need this" I just stopped doing it at all.

I'd probably do that if I ever got stopped out of Virginia since I don't know all their laws, but I've never been stopped anywhere else.
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Wait a second! Your state has check points for divers licenses? Sounds insane and constitutionally illegal.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Meh...

He may have known the registered owner of the vehicle had a carry permit, but not that the registered owner was the driver, nor that the registered owner was actually carrying at that time.
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Exactly. Idaho has gone permit-less carry now, but back in the '90s, my wife had a concealed carry permit, and I didn't. Yet both of our names have always been on our motor vehicle registrations.
Not that it made any difference anyway, because I simply don't believe that motor vehicle registrations in Idaho were ever tied to our concealed carry permits. At least I've never been asked in the few times I've been pulled over by the police - not even after I got myself a concealed carry permit.
BTW, the last time I was pulled over was probably 10 years ago. My wife and I were coming back from a deer hunting trip over by Soda Springs, and I was doing 70 in a 65 zone when I saw a state patrolman coming towards us in the other lane. In my rearview mirror, I saw his brake lights come on, then the flashing blue lights on top of his patrol car. So, I pulled over.
Long-story-short, the officer didn't even ask if my wife or I had any concealed weapons on us or in the truck. And that's in spite of the fact we both had Idaho concealed carry licenses then.
And all the officer asked about the two big game rifles we had leaning up against the seat was, "Been huntin'?"
I guess two old people dressed in hunter orange with a cocker spaniel asleep on the seat between them didn't seem like much of a threat. He didn't even give me a ticket - just a warning. :thumbup:
 
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.308 Norma said:
Exactly. Idaho has gone permit-less carry now, but back in the '90s, my wife had a concealed carry permit, and I didn't. Yet both of our names were on our motor vehicle registrations.
Not that it made any difference anyway, because I simply don't believe that motor vehicle registrations in Idaho were ever tied to our concealed carry permits. At least I've never been asked in the few times I've been pulled over by the police - not even after I got myself a concealed carry permit.
BTW, the last time I was pulled over was probably 10 years ago. My wife and I were coming back from a deer hunting trip over by Soda Springs, and I was doing 70 in a 65 zone when I saw a state patrolman coming towards us in the other lane. In my rearview mirror, I saw his brake lights come on, then the flashing blue lights on top of his patrol car. So, I pulled over.
Long-story-short, the officer didn't even ask if my wife or I had any concealed weapons on us or in the truck. And that's in spite of the fact we both had Idaho concealed carry licenses then.
And all the officer asked about the two big game rifles we had leaning up against the seat was, "Been huntin'?"
I guess two old people dressed in hunter orange with a cocker spaniel asleep on the seat between them didn't seem like much of a threat. He didn't even give me a ticket - just a warning. :thumbup:
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Pulled over just for 5 mph over the limit? Where I'm at they don't give a fig unless it's over 10 mph or school zone.
 
CajunBass said:
I don't know if they do it anymore. Now that I think about it, it's been years since I've been stopped at one, so maybe they don't. But they sure did "back in the day."
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They still have them in MS but not as often as they used to. As for vehicle carry, as long as you're 18 you can carry in a car or anywhere else concealed or not. Although concealed carry without a license is limited. Personally I wouldn't tell.
 
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?
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In NC they would just grab the pistol. Take with them. Return it unloaded and say have a nice day. Been pulled over more times then I have fingers and toes. Also a lot of speeding tickets. One leo got me at 30 over! Luckily he wrote it for 21 over or would have been bad.
 
Meeks36 said:
In NC they would just grab the pistol. Take with them. Return it unloaded and say have a nice day. Been pulled over more times then I have fingers and toes. Also a lot of speeding tickets. One leo got me at 30 over! Luckily he wrote it for 21 over or would have been bad.
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NC is the worst. I worked out of an office up there for a couple of years. I grew up in Florida and have had verbal warnings for 20 over. In Greensboro, I got the second speeding ticket I ever had in my life. I had three tickets that first month. For the birthplace of Nascar, NC is a real drag.

No one ever asked for my gun, though.
 
wayneinFL said:
NC is the worst. I worked out of an office up there for a couple of years. I grew up in Florida and have had verbal warnings for 20 over. In Greensboro, I got the second speeding ticket I ever had in my life. I had three tickets that first month. For the birthplace of Nascar, NC is a real drag.

No one ever asked for my gun, though.
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I know that’s right. Since moving back to Ga haven’t had not one speeding ticket. It helps that no matter how fast I go someone always passes me. And Ga has constitutional carry. Reckon I need to get my ccw permit. For out of state trips.
 
hawg said:
They still have them in MS but not as often as they used to. As for vehicle carry, as long as you're 18 you can carry in a car or anywhere else concealed or not. Although concealed carry without a license is limited. Personally I wouldn't tell.
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In FL, if you're under 21, the firearm must be "securely encased" and not "readily accessible for immediate use."

790.01 Definitions.— As used in this chapter, except where the context otherwise requires:
(14) “Readily accessible for immediate use” means that a firearm or other weapon is carried on the person or within such close proximity and in such a manner that it can be retrieved and used as easily and quickly as if carried on the person.
(15) "Securely encased” means in a glove compartment, whether or not locked; snapped in a holster; in a gun case, whether or not locked; in a zippered gun case; or in a closed box or container which requires a lid or cover to be opened for access.

790.25 Lawful ownership, possession, and use of firearms and other weapons.—
(4) POSSESSION IN PRIVATE CONVEYANCE.—
(a) Notwithstanding s. 790.01, a person 18 years of age or older who is in lawful possession of a handgun or other weapon may possess such a handgun or weapon within the interior of a private conveyance if the handgun or weapon is securely encased or otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use. A person who possesses a handgun or other weapon as authorized under this paragraph may not carry the handgun or weapon on his or her person.

You can only carry a firearm on your person if you're 21 or older in your vehicle.

790.01 Carrying of concealed weapons or concealed firearms.—
(1) A person is authorized to carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm, as that term is defined in s. 790.06(1), if he or she:
(a) Is licensed under s. 790.06; or
(b) Is not licensed under s. 790.06, but otherwise satisfies the criteria for receiving and maintaining such a license under s. 790.06(2)(a)-(f) and (i)-(n), (3), and (10).

The state will not issue someone under the age of 21 a permit to carry unless they're honorably discharged from or currently serving in the armed forces.

790.062 Members and veterans of United States Armed Forces; exceptions from licensure provisions.—
(1) Notwithstanding s. 790.06(2)(b), the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services shall issue a license to carry a concealed weapon or firearm under s. 790.06 if the applicant is otherwise qualified and:
(a) Is a servicemember, as defined in s. 250.01; or
(b) Is a veteran of the United States Armed Forces who was discharged under honorable conditions.

Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services

Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
www.fdacs.gov www.fdacs.gov

To be eligible for a Florida concealed weapon or firearm license:

You must be 21 years of age or older unless you are a servicemember, as defined in Section 250.01, Florida Statutes, or you are a veteran of the United States Armed Forces who was discharged under honorable conditions; in these instances, you may carry a concealed weapon or concealed firearm if you are 18 years of age or older.

If you aren't in the military or honorably discharged before the age of 21. You can't carry a firearm in Florida. With or without a permit since Florida's permitless concealed-only carry law says you must meet all the requirements for the issuance of a permit to carry without a permit.
 
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