[Final Authority]

Great letter. I commend you for your dignified and measured response. With respect to open carry, what are the conditions required for open carry? For example, how does one legally practice open carry in a vehicle? Does the magazine need to be separate from the weapon? Can it be a rifle or a shotgun as well as a handgun? I read reviews and condensed opinions of the laws and I am unsure of the practical enforcement of the open carry concept. Can you fill me in or direct me to a resource where my questions can be answered?

My friends in MA and Montana can't believe we have open carry in NH and I informed them recently that the state general court will entertain a bill allowing every non-felon to carry a concealed weapon without a license but only in NH. I think this is great. The way I look at it, the criminals are already carrying, license or not. We might as well have a countermeasure.

[mvpel]

Great letter. I commend you for your dignified and measured response. With respect to open carry, what are the conditions required for open carry? For example, how does one legally practice open carry in a vehicle?

Thanks for the compliment, I appreciate it!

The controlling statute on vehicular carry is RSA 159:4, as follows:

159:4 Carrying Without License. – No person shall carry a loaded pistol or revolver in any vehicle or concealed upon his person, except in his dwelling, house or place of business, without a valid license therefor as hereinafter provided. A loaded pistol or revolver shall include any pistol or revolver with a magazine, cylinder, chamber or clip in which there are loaded cartridges. Whoever violates the provisions of this section shall, for the first such offense, be guilty of a misdemeanor. For the second and for each subsequent violation of the provisions of this section, such person shall be guilty of a class B felony, provided such second or subsequent violation has occurred within 7 years of the previous conviction.

In short, this means that a CCW is required in order to legally carry a loaded sidearm in a vehicle.

Sans license, this seems to be able to be taken two ways, depending on how you take the meaning of "with" - does a magazine with rounds in it in the glove box while the pistol is on your hip count as "a magazine with" the pistol?

Considering that "cylinder" and "chamber" are by definition attached to the firearm, and that an empty revolver with a speedloader sitting next to it would meet the requirements of this law, a colorable argument could be made that "with" means "inserted," that you don't have to pop all the rounds out of the mag every time you get in the car.

I don't have WestLaw access anymore, so I can't look up cases to this effect, but I'm sure there are a few here and there that would clarify this question, or if there's any firearms law experts around, they might be able to answer it.