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[VT-XS]

I have a legal question. I am asking your opinion as an LEO. I realize that you are not a judge or jury, attorney, legal scholastician, etc....and I realize that it is impossible to be absolutely certain about anything in the law....but I hoped you could shed some light:

As I understand it, a person such as myself can have a loaded pistol in his vehicle without a CCL under the new provisions of the penal code. (castle doctrine)  Does that include bags on motorcycles?

[McLovin]

I was told by the instructor that you may beat the charge but you may not beat the ride... 

[bIgPrO]

Just get your concealed handgun license

[VT-XS]

Just get your concealed handgun license

I took the test. I'm just wondering about the interim period.

[hipshot]

Well, I've heard rumors that some of the people with whom I have been known to associate own motorcycles. Because of that, and because I am naturally a forward-looking thinker (cough,cough) I've actually asked that question a number of times. I've never received a definitive answer (but, of course, prostitutes wouldn't know how to respond definitively, would they).

So, I will attempt to apply logic (which, as we all know, has no place in legal matters) to the issue. Ostensibly, the statute was written to permit citizens to arm themselves in their vehicles. The most likely catalyst for this is the alarming rise in carjackings in the urban areas, and the increasing frequency with which the robbers shoot, without provocation, their victims. Following that concept, the law SHOULD apply to motorcycles as well as cages. However, like so many new statutes, the issue did not really receive the consideration it deserved when it was drafted, resulting in inadequate verbiage. Consequently, the question, which is legitimate and pertinent, remains unanswered. So, while you have no specific statutory protection on a motorcycle, I would guess that after a test case or two the statute will be amended to specifically include motorcycles, which are by definition motor vehicles. Wanna volunteer?

[VT-XS]

Wanna volunteer?

No, I just wanna lead my quiet little gray life.   Thanks for the response bud. 

[ruger9mm]

Just get your concealed handgun license

My LEO opinion is do the above.  If you are pulled over for a traffic violation, and have no outstanding warrants, the issue of you having a gun will probably not come up. 
If it were secured in your saddlebags or other area chances are it will not be an issue either.

[Lucky]

Just get your concealed handgun license

My LEO opinion is do the above.  If you are pulled over for a traffic violation, and have no outstanding warrants, the issue of you having a gun will probably not come up. 
If it were secured in your saddlebags or other area chances are it will not be an issue either.

So, if you are pulled over for let's say speeding  , do you or should you tell the LEO that you have a concealed weapon?  Or do you just take the ticket and move on...this is based on a person with no warrants or outstanding tickets already.  Cause I know when I have gotten tickets in the past there is no searching of the vehicle done, so is there a need/law to tell?

[jdugie123]

you can tell them if you want most of the time it will depend what you are getting pulled over for i have only had my truck threatened to be searched once and that was because the little guy couldn't see into my truck i think but once they tell me they are going to search my truck and ask i tell them everything they want to know but if it is just a simple speeding ticket i just take the ticket if they wanted to know if i have a weapon then they should ask me. to me don't ask don't tell

[Morgan Buchanan]

it never hurts to say at any time the following line, while your hand are on the steering wheel at 10 and 2 and not moving.. but if it's starting to sound like you're going to be leaving the vehicle, it's REALLY time to say, "Officer, I need you to know I'm carrying a legally concealed handgun in my vehicle, and it's (advise of the location)."

If you have a CW permit and a concealed handgun, just hand them the permit with your license.  That's pretty well enough, he'll ask you what he wants to know after that, and instruct you in what he wants you to do.

I think Jim hits the nail right on the head with the way they worded this law.  This law seems to say you can have a gun in your car, but it doesn't exactly say you can have it concealed on your person.  So if you shoulder holster a gun and ride a bike, it's kinda iffy.  But I don't see how bags on your motorcycle would be different than the trunk of your car...it's not accessible while driving, ergo, doesn't fall under the new law...it's covered by old law.

[tom cat]

Why a 40 cal? I don't own one so I am asking. I most likely won't buy one due to not wanting to stock ammo for yet another cal,gun. My guns in that range are 38 - 357 - 380 so what does a 40 cal have that is a + over these. I also have 45s, no 9mm yet but will likely get one because my wife wants one. (She is LEO of sorts, that is another story), I am just wondering why a 40cal?

[hipshot]

Tom, the .40 S&W is a great cartridge. It's fairly flat-shooting, hits harder than a nine (much larger cross-section combined with much more weight), and in my experience most .40 platforms seem to deliver finer accuracy than the nines.

That said, if you have confidence in the iron you're totin' now, you're good to go. Shot placement is more important than caliber, weight, or velocity. Like the man says, a hit with a .22 is a hell of a lot more effective than a miss with a .44. I carry a .45ACP on duty, but if I had to change calibers I'd go straight to a .40 S&W. If you can hit where you need to with it, the caliber isn't very important. I gotta say though, that .380 must make a hell of a cockroach gun .

[Dusty]

When I took the class for the permit, the question was ask, what should you do when stopped (say for speeding) and the instructor said. "Do nothing except what you are ask to do and only give what you are ask to give." His reasoning was that you never know when an LEO has had a bad day and wants to deal someone some greif.
I wasn't real impressed with the guy as an instructor so I came up with my own system.

I keep my license, insurance and my permit side by side in my wallet so that when I go for my license, the permit is visible. That way, he knows for his safety and mine. And it gives him the oppurtunity to ask if I have a weapon with or on me. Other than that I don't mention it.

Just so happens that last Monday I got stopped for speeding on my bike. When the officer walked up and identified himself, I already had my wallet out and offered to shake hands, which he did. Then he said, I stopped you for speeding at which point I said, "I assumed that as soon as you pulled my head from my butt by turning on your lights. He sort of laughed and ask to see my license and proof of insurance. I opened my wallet, handed everything to him and left it open for him to see the permit. He said I will be right back. When he returned, he said...I stopped you for doing 68 in a 55 and then handed me a warning ticket. A first for me. I told him thanks, and that I was just trying to get too much done during lunch break and he responded with....and I'm sitting back there just trying to stay awake after lunch. We both laughed and parted ways. He sat there in his car until I got ready to pull back in traffic and when I put my blinker on, he pulled out and blocked the lane for me. Nothing was ever said about the permit or a gun.

I agree that in the saddlebag, tank bag are whatever should be the same as a glove box in a cage. A holster would be a different matter without the permit.

[hipshot]

If you have a CHL and have the weapon in your possession when stopped, you are required by law to notify the peace officer, and to surrender the weapon to him/her on request. Unless the officer has reason to suspect that you are a threat, he/she will seldom ask for the weapon. When the officer runs your DL the CHL will show up also. Bill's instructor gave him some advice that could get him charged with an offense.

[ruger9mm]

If you have the CHL you let the officer know that you are carrying and it would be wise to even state where the weapon is.  If you do not have a CHL and are carrying in the vehicle you are at the officer's mercy. 
Most prudent officers will evaluate the situation if you do not have a CHL.  If he has a valid reason to search notify him and if it's a standard stop where you are getting a citation and nothing else is questioned keep mum.