Depends on the state. In CA my instructor told us NOT to show, CA doesn't require it and CA cops are notorious for harassing CCW holders at traffic stops if they know you are armed. Some states require showing your CCW, I don't know why, it is none of the cops business if you are legally armed or no.
I got stopped the other night in Idaho. Forgot to give the Sheriff of Nottingham a sack of gold for the privilege of using the public roads.
Aside from the delay, there was no problem.
I handed the deputy my DL, registration, and concealed weapons license, he checked to see if I had warrants (at least, I guess that was what he was doing back there), returned my documents, let me off with a warning, and that was the end of it.
Not a word was said about my concealed weapon.
Cops here don’t wet themselves at the thought that a citizen might have a firearm.
Wonder how long that will last.
Maryland police will not accept your out-of-state Concealed Carry permit, even if you are an off-duty or going-to-duty police officer or federal contractor who has a Q clearance if you tell them that you have it loaded in the glove-compartment. They will seize your weapon unless it is unloaded, ammo separate and in different parts of the car.
Some of these cops are anal-retentive assholes and don’t realize that CCW people, esp. other cops/law enforcement people are their best second-line of help in an emergency. They have now lost that back-up, possibly at the cost of their lives, thanks to a few assholes in Montgomery County.
One judge wondered out loud why Maryland didn’t have a cross-state recognition policy for both DC, Virginia and Pennsylvania.
My son is a combat veteran of Iraq and a federal police officer yet the Maryland cop won’t give him a break (my son told him that he had a concealed permit and weapon in the car). The cop couldn’t give a damn and had the weapon seized and it was never returned.
Maryland has turned into a marxist state under O’Mallery and you don’t know if you can trust the police anymore. I lived there for years and worked with the police. In those days they had common sense and appreciated the help that some of us were able to provide.
What a shame that the Democrats have fucked up another once decent state to live in.
Well, I guess that the phrase "YMMV" must apply, as my own experience contradicts that assertion.
Anecdotally as well, having discussed this exact question with more than a few CCW holders and LE folks over the years, the exact opposite obtains more often than not ... the copper's reaction being "oh, this guy's stand-up....why not warn him about the moving violation (or whatever) and send him on his way?"
Like I said, YMMV, and no doubt regional differences come into play in a state as large as Cali, but I call foul on the blanket assertion.