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I suggest that y'all review the U.S. Supreme Court cases on "plain view": http://supreme.justia.com/constitution/ ... -view.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The court rarely rules in favor of the convicted person in these cases. It's a roll of the dice.

Of course, a misdemeanor weapon violation is not going to get to the U.S. Supreme Court.

- Jim

The law can be used according to the intentions of those who make it and enforce it.

In other words, if they want your sorry butt in the pokey, they can put it there; and they can make getting out cost a lot of money.

You can call me a cynic. I think I'm a realist.

- Jim

No one has ever been convicted of a PC 30.06 violation, to my knowledge.

I also have never seen a fully compliant 30.06 sign. I know of one that I thought was compliant, but the letters turned out to be around 0.7 inches high.

Of course I marched in and informed the manager of their mistake.

- Jim

I am a simple man with simple thoughts:

• In a holster
• In my hand
• In the safe

Pick one.

- Jim

boomerang wrote:

seamusTX wrote:The downside of having a loose handgun in a vehicle is losing control of it

Like in the infamous Miami shootout.

Which particular Miami shootout? This one? (There have been too many to keep track of.)

If so, thank you. That event occurred quite a while ago.

- Jim

Maybe I'm overlooking something, but I don't see a good reason to have an unsecured weapon in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle in the United States. We're not playing out Road Warrior (yet), and a running motor vehicle is capable of being a multi-ton projectile with millions of foot-pounds of energy.

The downside of having a loose handgun in a vehicle is losing control of it, and those pesky concealment requirements, which now have been mentioned by several contributors to this discussion.

If your local situation deteriorates to the point of having to plan for moving firefights, you need a shotgun or rifle, both of which happen to be perfectly legal to carry openly and loaded in this great state (except for limited statutory circumstances).



- Jim

Any LEO with three brain cells to rub together can find a reason to arrest you.

The first step is not giving him a reason to look for a reason. The second is not giving the DA's office a basis for charges that they can take to court.

There is very little case law on CHL concealment issues or the Motorist Protection Act. The intersection of Terry and the MPA is unexplored. I'm not planning to be a pioneer there.

Dashcams have done away with most of those "Easy Rider" shenanigans.

- Jim

Appearance makes a difference. If it looks like a briefcase, portfolio, CD case, or purse, no problem. If it has a firearm manufacturer or common name like SKB stamped on it, that reasonable person issue becomes operative.

- Jim

Thank you. I am still not a lawyer.

- Jim

Here's the way I see it: Your or my understanding of the statutes carries no weight at all compared to a LEO's or district attorney's.

If an officer thinks that a handgun in one of those zippered pistol cases (which I have several of) is "in plain view," yer goin' fer a ride.

I'm not trying to be argumentative or anything. My experience has taught me that that is how life works.

I put the handguns under the front seat and don't worry about the shotguns. (I also have not been stopped in traffic since 1996.)

That episode in the other thread is an example of the authorities doing what they could get away with, because they are on salary and the citizen has to pay his lawyer upfront.

- Jim

That's it. Thanks.

- Jim

... always wondered what a LEO would say if i were to be pulled over.

The possible answers range from "Have a nice day" to "Step slowly out of the vehicle with your hands in the air."

There is a thread on this forum about a guy who had a handgun on the seat of his vehicle while traveling through some Podunk town and was arrested and had the weapon confiscated. I can't find it now. Maybe someone has a better memory.

- Jim

If an object can be seen from any point where a person has a right to be in a public place, it is in plain view (according to many court rulings). The cops have busted people for things that could be seen from the upper branches of a tree through a window with the blinds partially opened.

Police officers increasingly have adopted a policy of approaching stopped vehicles from the right side. This makes sense to me. Officers are often injured and killed by inattentive or drunk drivers while standing at the side of the road during a traffic stop.

What is so difficult about carrying a handgun IWB while seated in a motor vehicle? I don''t understand the problem. Many accidental or negligent discharges (let's not go there) seem to result from relocating weapons inside motor vehicles.

- Jim