You are legally carrying your gun when the blue and red lights flicker in the rearview mirror. You pull over. How do you handle it?
There is some terrible advice out there on YouTube. One video advises that if the officer asks if you have any guns in the car, you should reply, “I do not answer questions.” Those of us who have done traffic stops can tell you that in real life, this will probably cause the cop to put one hand on the service pistol and the other on the radio mic to call for backup: you have just presented as an uncooperative, deceptive and potentially hostile subject who is probably armed. See what I mean about terrible advice?
Several states require you to disclose that you have a gun with you immediately upon contact with a law enforcement officer. You may have crossed a state line without noticing. Note: www.handgunlaw.us is the best compendium I’ve seen of state by state gun laws, and is the most up to date to my knowledge. My wife and I consult it literally whenever we cross state lines.Let me offer a much better YouTube tutorial that I came upon recently. Ignore the horrible AI illustrations and listen to what the narrator has to say/
I don’t travel much anymore, but my first observation is that there needs to be some national standard as to what lights are being displayed and how. Red & blue seems to be the current practice, but at least back when, that’s not always the case.
OK, even with the voice over, as a resident of Virginia, I’m going to have to check the website. I think, what it said was that there’s no duty to inform. Which seems to be go along with the conversational question about firearms that often starts conversations. Also gonna rule out NC as a possible new location given the changes in VA laws.
GREAT POST
In NC where we live, we are required to tell a law enforcement officer that we have a permit and are carrying a gun. We tell our students to NEVER start out with “I have a gun.” We tell our students to begin by agreeing with the officer’s request, usually to see a drivers license, and then say, “Before I reach for my drivers license, I need to tell you that I have a permit to carry a concealed handgun.” Let the officer hear permit before the word gun. Then ask how the officer wants to handle the situation. Usually, the officer will ask where the gun is. Tell him or her. Don’t reach for anything until told to do so. Let the officer direct the situation. Since we travel a lot, we keep information about each state we go through as to that state’s laws and regulations, so we don’t mess up anywhere. Thanks for the link. That will make things easier.
You can find some bizarre information online. Some of it downright dangerous. Always check before travelling.
Handgunlaw.com is my go to source as well. He does a good job of keeping up with the ever changing anti-2A laws. Haven’t been pulled over for a traffic violation for many years but I did accidently get caught in the end of a high speed chase when the cops came out of their cars with guns drawn. Followed Mas’ advice and it was all cool. Cops were very good about Rule 4 as it related to me.
Here in Michigan you are required to inform the officer if you’re armed. The magic words are “I have a concealed pistol license and I’m carrying a gun.” If you don’t say them you might’s well not have the license.
Also, if you’re not carrying, but have more brains than a retarded gerbil you’ll say “I have a CPL, but I’m not carrying.
I’m not just guessing. I’ve been a criminal defense lawyer here for 49 years
Good info ..Today. I also regularly consult the updated info on http://www.handgunlaw.us. I think it’s absurd how a right is restricted by so many hoops to jump through but knowing the updates helps me navigate around the thin ice.
Wow. Horrible. Another reason to avoid those states.
Texas law says to display both licenses when asked for ID. We recommend displaying your License to Carry whether carrying or not. First, the LTC will pop up when the officer runs your driver license, and it’s never good to startle a LEO. Second, for almost every street cop, the LTC is a “good guy” card.
I was stopped for a burned-out taillight couple years back. When I displayed the officer asked if I was carrying. When I said I was, he replied, “Good. Too many licensees don’t.”
I’m a retired firearms instructor.
I advised my students to avoid the words ‘gun’ and ‘weapon’ and refer to the pistol as such or even ‘sidearm’.
This is what I teach in Illinois. I do give Mr. Ayoob credit for his materials that address this — I’ve never trained with Mr. Ayoob, and I’m clear about that.
Pull over to the right immediately.
If it’s dark, turn on your dome light.
Lower your window completely on the side that the officer approaches. If officers approach on both sides, lower both front windows.
Keep hands at 10 and 2 on the steering wheel, seat belt buckled, reach for no paperwork.
If there is more than one officer, avoid the natural habit of moving your gaze back and forth between them. It could give the appearance of you looking around for escape paths. Look at and speak to the officer that speaks to you.
“Good morning, Officer. Just to avoid any potential misunderstanding, I’m an Illinois Concealed Carry Licensee and I am carrying a firearm right now.” Change the greeting as needed, “Good evening, Trooper” for example.
Mas’ advice is, as always, sage. And the comments above are excellent. But, I note with interest and vague amusement (I cannot give reference, sorry) that at least one judge ruled that failure to divulge could not be construed as a separate crime BY SOMEONE WHO IS CARRYING ILLEGALLY, as compelling that person to divulge such information would be self-incrimination and therefore would be a violation of their 5th Amendment rights. The same might possibly apply to someone who was unsure if they were carrying legally. For example, you just stepped out of a restaurant and you are wondering if you walked through the bar area to use the washroom and the officer observed you doing so.
Of course, if you are carrying legally, then compelling you to admit such is NOT self-incrimination, which is probably why such laws have survived judicial scrutiny. Therefore, these laws apply only to legal CWL/CCW permit holders and those carrying legally under any other state provisions. If you are carrying illegally, then a “requirement to inform” violation may carry no enforceable penalty! How ironic.
As Mas often says, it may not be what we want or what is right–it only matters that this is the reality we live in.
I still think it would be nice if there weren’t so many traps for folks who are doing their best to follow the law.
I am not a lawyer or a police officer; but, in my opinion, “duty to inform” laws add little to officer safety and may actually make police/citizen interactions slightly less safe by adding unneeded tension to a situation. And, the prosecution of unintended violations by innocently ignorant citizens serves to divert valuable police & court resources to needlessly harm the lives of good people whom we would otherwise classify as “upstanding” and “law-abiding”.
Write your representatives!
Similarly, IIUC, federal courts have ruled that a convicted felon cannot be prosecuted for owning an unregistered firearm. It would be self-incrimination, since it is illegal for a convicted felon to own a firearm.
Presumably, the felon could be prosecuted and convicted of possessing the weapon illegally, but not for failure to register it.
Certainly in duty to inform states, you do so. Lots of good advice on this forum on how to do that so no problem or comments on that.
In states without a duty to inform, unless I’m asked, I’m not going to open that can of worms unless I’m asked to get out of the car. A that point I’d inform the officer. I certainly don’t want them discovering a firearm on their own.
On the other hand, If it doesn’t come up, I’m not going to bring it up. One of my fellow instructors was pulled over and decided to voluntarily inform the officer. That got him pulled out of his car, swept with his own firearm and then he had to talk the officer through safely unloading the pistol, since the cop didn’t know how to safely unload that particular type of handgun. Muzzle control was almost non-existent. In this case that provoked a needlessly dangerous situation.
You don’t know what sort of experience your particular officer may have. It might be an old timer that says “Fine, don’t show me yours and I won’t show you mine.” (Actually been told that by an officer once upon a time) or they may be on their first stop with a licensed carrier and be kind of freaked out, not to mention they may not know much about any firearm but their own.
I’m not going there unless the law requires it. Food for thought anyway.
Re cops who don’t know much about any gun but their own, IMHO, all LEOs should be trained to at the very least know the basic manual of arms for commonly used firearms. Including single action and double action, and revolvers and automatics.
Even if the department issues a particular model (for example, a Glock model 19) and that is the only firearm that its officers are allowed to carry, it is possible that sooner or later, the cop will arrest someone who is carrying a .44 revolver (stolen from a sporting goods store) or a 9mm DA/SA M9 pistol (stolen from a National Guard armory). The officer will need to know how to clear and secure the weapon without shooting himself or a bystander.
IMHO, Bruen was the biggest mistake gun rights people perpetrated on our country. Before Bruen, most states, even the strict ones, sort of left gun owners alone. Once Bruen kicked in, the harassment, convoluted laws, threats and additional legislation kicked in, and that reaction has made carrying a gun very dangerous. Here in Mass, the laws are actually impossible to obey, with catch 22 situations abounding everywhere. Based on videos like this, I’ve pretty much given up carrying a gun off my property because one mistake will make you a felon, which in my state, will allow the cops to confiscate my guns.
America is no longer free. We have an all-encompassing government that controls everything as much as any totalitarian regime out there. And we let it happen.
That’s not a Bruen problem, that’s a Masshole problem.
You complain you are no longer “free”, yet you voluntarily live in Massachusetts? That is 100% on you, brother! Mass was terrible LOOOOONG before Bruen.
Tom762
Hate to bust your bubble Boris, but the convoluted laws and burdensome legislation existed before Bruen. Except of course, for those of favored status/ethnicity.
Its a great revenue stream. State of LA doesn’t care if they are fining a guy from MI, but they like the money these fines produce. If you care enough about your CCW your gonna care enough about these ongoing traps. It’s just another layer on top of everything else you have to be aware of in the CCW world. At least put a AI on your phone to ask before going across that state line. Its better then playing the sap or a sucker. Also, 8000 Americans die every year from Drivers that have had their motor vehicle license revoked. These “accidents” are mostly happening in the major cities. Check the NTSB numbers and chew on that for awhile.