Posted on 01/24/2008 6:02:27 PM PST by pwatson
I want that law here in georgia.
The problem started with ambiguity in older law.
“Texans have always believed that they could travel with a gun, even though traveling wasn’t necessarily defined,” Mr. Isett said.
Since 1996, when the state’s new concealed carry law first allowed those with licenses to carry concealed guns, lawmakers have supported the principal that people didn’t need permits when traveling.
Problem was, nobody quite knew how to define traveling. Did you need to pack a suitcase? Cross the county line? Stay overnight?
In 2005, the Legislature passed a bill to clarify things. It stopped short of defining traveling, saying instead that if drivers met certain conditions, they would be “presumed” to be traveling.
Essentially, you were “presumed” to be traveling if you were not in a gang, not on parole or otherwise prohibited from carrying a gun, not committing any crimes, and did not leave the gun in plain view.
To many prosecutors, the law was as clear as mud. What if a driver met all the conditions to qualify for the “presumption,” but was only headed around the corner for a carton of milk? Was he traveling?
Some prosecutors, such as Bell County Attorney Richard Miller, told their police agencies to keep making arrests much as they had before. In a memo, Mr. Miller advised officers to leave it to his office “to sort out the legal niceties.”
Such policies incensed lawmakers, who said they had created the law to stop such arrests. They also drew the ire of the American Civil Liberties Union, which, in an unusual political partnership, backed the National Rifle Association on the issue.
That is a most sensible law. I see no reason to carry a weapon and have to conceal it. Makes no sense.
I wish this law had been in place when I worked in down town Dallas. I hated being parked at a stopli$% ght, waiting for green so I could get on the high way, and a *&^*! would try to open my passenger side door.
I always kept them locked the moment I was in. But my employer didn’t allow guns on the premises, so I couldn’t carry my Glock with me to work. Although that was probably when I needed it most.
Now it’s law ... and I don’t work in Dallas anymore.
Open carry with no permit and concealed with permit.
So both.
Same in NC, open carried with no permit, there are few exceptions like parades and sporting events and Govt buildings.
It is a good law, glad Texas has joined the club.
That arrest, which resulted in a case that is pending, is the sort that officers no longer can make.
"If someone out there is carrying a gun, but they don't have a criminal record, and they haven't committed a crime, and they're not a member of a gang, that tool might be out of our box," Chief Waldrop said.
What tool is that, Chief? Busting people who haven't committed a crime?
Got it. Thanks.
Permit required in MN. Open or concealed. Your choice.
It’s already law if I’m not mistaken(loaded, in glove box). Go ahead and get your permit anyway so you can pick up good deals at gun shows and avoid over-zealous LEO’s looking for points.
I’m sorry, but I need to ask: If you can’t carry a pistol in your car, how the hell are you supposed to take it anywhere?
IMO retrieving your piece from the glovebox takes too long. I keep mine tucked between the drivers seat and the center console. Nice and convenient!
Not true. My husband was charged with unlawfully carrying a weapon right after the concealed carry permit law went into effect.
He was pulled over for speeding and a mistake in the computer showed he had a suspended license (he did not), and they hauled him to the Williamson County jail on a Saturday afternoon. When they towed his truck, he had a gun in the glovebox and they added the weapons charge.
The next day when he saw the judge, they immediately discovered the clerical error regarding the suspended license and dismissed it, but the judge told my husband to get a lawyer to deal with the gun charge. They didn't care that he was in Williamson County and we lived in McLennan County.
It cost us over $4000 and took 18 months, and he had to plead guilty to disorderly conduct, but he eventually got his gun back and the right to get a CHL.
I hope they have somebody riding shot gun.
Who would be worried?
Other than the criminals?
LOL. I usually have mine between the folds of an OD folded military wool blanket. At other times in a shoulder holster, on my person, under jacket.
I pick between an H&K VP70 ZX, and a Colt Python.
In 20 years, never had to pull 'em yet.
And the only person who knows is wifey, which is the way I like it.
I keep it between the seat and console for quik access. When I have been pulled over I just let the LEOs know I have a weapon in the car is all.Have had no problems and i let them know I am on their side.
I live North of Houston. I keep a Taurus P145 Mellenium Pro in the glove box.
Uh oh! I thought that's what that box on the right side of the dash was for. Why else would my 38 fit it so well?
Lots of people downtalk Taurus as being an inferior product. I LOVE my Taurus .357, it’s my favorite.
"...To many prosecutors, the law was as clear as mud. What if a driver met all the conditions to qualify for the "presumption," but was only headed around the corner for a carton of milk? Was he traveling?..."
The author repeatedly tries to play up the ambiguity of the word "traveling" and gets no traction. He assumes the reader drank the gun control Kool Aid also, but his bias is apparent to me.
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