Apple to ONIONS comparison. . .hillfighter wrote:I hope you don't have anything in your house that's illegal. Does that mean the police should be allowed to search your house without a warrant at any time?TexasGal wrote:As for running the serial number. I hope people are not carrying guns around they don't know for a fact are clean. That is sort of a no-brainer. Maybe cousin Vinny isn't the right guy to get your EDC from
A traffic stop (usually) means you were seen doing something outside of the law and thus, the officer/deputy/trooper/agent has probable cause to stop and detain you. While you are being LEGALLY detained, the officer has specific abilities, covered in law, to ask you for certain things. In the case of CHL, he/she has the lawful ability to ask you to temporarily forfeit your weapon.
Cops do not randomly pick houses to suddenly pull into the driveway, dismount from their car, ring the doorbell and then ask to come in and search your house.
I've been stopped on three occasions since receiving my CHL--headlight out (which had just happened courtesy of a rock-hauler
, expired inspection sticker (eleven days out on a car I drive once every few months), and mistaking a green "turn arrow" for the regular green light at 1:00 a.m. after a LONG, LONG day.All three occasions, I had my CHL out and handed it to the officer along with my DL. On all three occasions, the officer/s asked where my firearm was. On two occasions, I told them in a holster attached to the bottom of my seat (my pickup) and in the sports-car, behind the passenger seat.
I was polite, "yes sir/no sir," had zero attitude (why should I have had attitude? I was wrong on all three counts). IF the officers had asked me to step out so that they could retrieve my weapon, I would've complied with zero problems--two of the stops were late at night.
I only received a ticket for the expired inspection sticker (I was in Coppell where you get fined for breathing without a permit). All officers were polite, professional and a credit to their profession.
Attitudes work both ways, and I for one refuse to act with police in a manner that will create or further any real or perceived divide between law-abiding gun-owners and CHL holders and law enforcement.
NOBODY wins when we do that.