What if friend opens up my guncase in my car and a cop sees this?

[David007]

I live in VA and have a CCW.

I just left the range and have my unloaded gun in a guncase in the passenger seat. on my way home, i pick up my friend so we can hang out.

He wanted to see the gun. I told him wait till we get to my place. (He doesnt have a CCW.) I didnt want to risk him going to jail incase a cop sees him w/it. He said he's not going to get in trouble since it's my gun, and i'm there.

Was i being overly cautious? or would he have gone to jail if a cop saw him?
Heck, would I have gotten in trouble?

 

[oasis618]

No matter what the laws are, if a cop drives by and sees you or your passenger with a gun in hand, you are going to have an issue.

 

[rcmodel]

What if a cop sees him?
What if anyone sees him.

"Man with a gun in the high-speed lane" 911 calls on about sixty cell phones would be my guess.

Next time, slap your friend up side the head when he ignores your "gun & CCW license rules" after you tell him not to get it out of the case in public.

rc

 

[TexasRifleman]

I was under the impression one could open carry in Virginia, even in a car. In that case, it would be legal as long as the handgun stayed visible no?

http://www.opencarry.org/va.html

The wisdom of having people around who won't play by your rules is another subject.

 

[MisterMike]

The answer: You need to limit your friends to those who aren't prone to farting around with your guns when you ask them not to.

Seriously . . . without referring to VA's laws specifically, generally speaking, laws against carrying or brandishing make no reference to ownership.

 

[Jim K]

The question should not be "What if a cop sees him?" but "Why do I have stupid friends who want to get us both in trouble?"

The answer should be obvious.

Jim

 

[Mainsail]

I'm still stuck on the part about it being in the front seat. Is there no back seat? No trunk?

 

[tincanhunter]

From a safety standpoint, you did the right thing. From a "let's not draw any un-necessary attention to ourselves" standpoint, you did the right thing. In VA open carry is legal and at one point in time it was the only way you could carry inside a vehicle in the state of VA w/o a CCW. Recently it became legal to carry a loaded/un-loaded firearm inside a "locked" compartment (gun case, glove box....) in a vehicle w/o a CCW. This pretty much covers the concealed/un-concealed part regardless of who has the CCW, so you guys couldn't be charged with that. The other thing would be brandishing. But if the windows are up and you're only communicating with one-another, who are you brandishing the weapon on?

The rest of you guys, be easy on the OP. He made the correct decision.

 

[Zoogster]

If you ask a friend not to do something with your property and they do it anyways then either they are a bad friend, or you goof around so often that they don't take you seriously and realize you mean what you say.

I have seen both, and both are a serious problem doing adult recreational activities, or handling/operating dangerous equipment.

The solution to the first is new friends, and the solution to the second is not socializing like an adolescent or with those who still are.




I do things all the time that could be seriously dangerous or lethal to me or someone else, or violate various laws, if I have people that don't listen or respect my instruction and act contrary to them.

 

[Art Eatman]

Summed up fairly well, looks like.