I am glad it turned out alright for the op, but I don’t see where the officer had a right to order him out of the car or search him.
I got pulled over here in Texas and politely told the state trooper that I had a concealed handgun license (CHL) and was currently carrying. After asking for and reviewing my license and chl, he finished his ticket, gave me my ticket, and thanked me for my cooperation. The operative thing was that I told him I had a chl before mentioning that I had a gun on me. I volunteered this info because you are told to do so when ever getting stopped.
I believe that the law involved is that the LEO is guaranteed a safe work environment. He told her he was carrying. It is reasonable, based on the number of idiots that have shot cops during these kinds of encounters, that the LEO secure the weapon until the proper documentation has been verified.
I wonder was the SOP would have been if he had not mentioned it, and the LEO saw it.
In our training class we were told that we should not volunteer the information during a stop, as in most cases it would raise the tension unnecessarily. If they see the weapon, follow their instructions in a calm and immediate manner.
Sounds fair to me. I am not a big fan of LEOs in general, but I certainly appreciate their apprehension. Sometimes common sense communication makes life easier.
We think the situation with guns is so much better now that states have passed CCW and such but 40 years ago, at least in much of the south, people did not worry about other people who were carrying guns. Now we have all these official "rights" but our freedom is more restricted.
Good job because the officer probably already knew you had a carry permit... linked to the driver’s license in Texas.