Gun Dorks <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />

Thats a really crappy article IMHO

The guy who wrote the article is a dork.

First of all, at least in my state, the fact that you have a concealed permit is attached to your driver's license record, so when the officer goes back to his patrol car to run your license, it will come up that you have a permit. The reaction of the officer at that point will vary.

But cops who are stick in the muds, most often, newer officers who've listened to their training intently about how every man, woman and child on planet earth is a blood thirty murderer who is dying to a kill a cop the very second he or she is given a chance...will probably not react kindly to finding out by surprise that you have a gun in the car.

In fact, many cops have chewed many a poor permit holder's a-hole out for not telling him or her that he had a permit and especially if he/she had a concealed gun in the car.

This may vary by state, since law enforcement training does tend to vary widely around the country and is usually conducted on a state level, but in my state, you are far better off telling the officer up front, first..that you have a permit...second that you have a gun and where it is...all VERBALLY..while doing exactly as this idiot claims you should not...both hands on the steering wheel and in plain site.

In my experience, most gun owners and especially gun rights advocates actually don't want to tell the cops they have a gun, for whatever fear that they will be hassled, even if they posses it entirely legally. In that case, there is no law in this state that they have to be up front with the officer, but I highly recommend that they are. I personally would rather not tell the cop what I have, because I don't know if I'm going to get some hot shot cowboy or rookie who wants to give me a hard time for being armed and play the "let's search your vehicle" game. But knowing what I know from my past life in their position, I know that strategic cooperation is the best policy. "Strategic" meaning that you are ALWAYS careful what you say or admit to the police, but that there are some circumstances, where cooperation actually makes sense. While at the same time, there are situations when you definately do not want to cooperate or talk to the police, even if your instincts tell you that you have nothing to fear.

The last time I was pulled over, which was several years ago, once I told the officer just as I wrote here, the officer did not want me to even get my license and registriation out, nor did he want to see the gun. He simply ran my name and DOB and when I was cleared I was on my way. Original probable cause was just the lack of a front plate and driving a rice burner (yellow CRX). I guess when it was seen that I was clearly a law abiding full grown adult, he didn't need to waste him time any further. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Had I followed the advise of this numbnuts writer, I most likely would have gotten an earful from a pissed off cop and a ticket for no front license plate.

Last time I got pulled over in Oregon, I was doing close to 90 heading to the coast, in the rain. I say the state trooper come around the corner ahead of me, then my radar detector went from dead calm to screaming with red lights flashing.

As soon as I saw his brake lights behind me I pulled over and waited for him to come back.

When he walked up to my window (did I mention it was raining?), he could see my wallet and keys on the dash, window down, hands open and on the steering wheel.

His response, "Sir, you can feel free to relax."

I told him I was armed and had a carry license. He really acted as though he didn't care. Asked for my license, I handed him my DL and my CHL. He just kind of glanced at the CHL and handed it back.

I just knew I was getting a big, fat citation as a reward for goofing off and making a state trooper get out of his car in the rain.

When he got back to me, he asked why I was in such a hurry. I told him honestly that I wasn't in any sort of hurry, just came down off a long grade and didn't really realize how fast I was going.

He told me (extremely professionally) that the roads were a bit wet and the Oregon State Police requested that I slow it down some.

I'm convinced that my demeanor during that stop got me out of a huge citation and fine. If I still had a CHL and lived in Oregon, that would probably be exactly the way I handle traffic stops.

In Kalifornia, getting a CWP is unlikely, not that I have anything to use it for (no guns). Generally, I still present myself in the same manner during traffic stops, but it's more in the interest of demonstrating that I'm no threat to the officer.

This has been my experience also.

In SC you are required to tell the officer that you have a permit. I have not been pulled over since I got my CWP.

Disclaimer - I am not a lawyer, nor a legal expert.

It's legal to have a concealed, accessible, loaded/chambered handgun in your car in Colorado, whether you have concealed handgun permit or not (provided you can legally possess a firearm to begin with). Also, in Colorado, a person is not required to tell an officer they have a gun if they are pulled over, whether they have a CHP or not. And in my county, there is no record of CHPs that an officer can pull up to reference (it's not tied to any accessible database).

That being said, I've not been pulled over since I got my CHP, but pondering the possibility, I've figured that I'd inform them about it just out of courtesy, but not make a big deal out of it.

My girlfriend's nephew-in-law is a local cop who knows I carry...I suppose I'll ask him how he feels about being informed during traffic-stops.

State Police, at least here in Oregon, tend to be extremely professional. They often work alone and with cover very far away, so they know how to talk to people and not to unnecessarily escelate a situation. They are trained in a seperate academy apart from all other Oregon Police Officers and Deputy Sheriffs and in a different, more militaristic fashion. They tend to be para-military, but in an extremely elite and professional manner. Very good guys.

Yeah, and they can run 2 miles faster than me, and do more pushups, too <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Don't forget they are watching what you are doing when they pull you over.. I'd say fumbling to get your wallet and keys and all your stuff before they ask for it is going to be suspicious to anyone..

Granted that LEO acted professional, not all of them do.. just like anyone in any business.. you're liable to run into a pissed off waitress now and again that just makes your dinner miserable. And in both cases you contribute to their salary. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />