quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
A better plan, of course, is don't get stopped for a traffic violation. I stop at stop signs, stop before making a right on red, I don't take liberties with the speed limit. I haven't been stopped by a traffic cop for decades, and I don't knowingly do anything that would cause me to be stopped.

Sometimes this cannot be avoided. My latest involvement with an LEO was when a "gentleman" ran a red light and took the front off my truck. Ga is not a "must tell" state but as I was going to crawl, bend and stoop to get my possibles out of my truck, I told the officer and his later arriving partner the I had a CCW permit and I was carrying. They appreciated that I told them.

As far as what state you might be in, I would be on the safe side and inform.

I will if asked, but in my state I'm not required by law to inform. I have not been pulled over while carrying so I've never put it to the test. In neighboring VA and NC (I am very close to both) I am required to inform.

I've been lucky and not been pulled over since I got the gun.

No, I don't have to inform and I will not inform. Too many stories around of officers doing stupid things---like taking the gun and running the serial number, unloading it, and taking it "for safekeeping"....if I have to get out of the car, I will inform. Until then, no.

The other question that comes up is "if the officer asks if there are any weapons in the car, can you lie and say no?"

THAT has sparked some heated debate on the local forums, I can tell you.

In MI we have to inform them. I got my chops busted once after the police responded because a woman hit me and took off. I gave him my DL for the report and he came back and said you didn't tell me you have a CPL. I was on my way to work and didn't have my gun on me. The last thing I was thinking about was my CPL since a woman just hit my car.

We have a duty to notify in Ohio. If the police officer takes the gun for whatever reason, he/she is obligated to give it back the same as they took possession. IE, they cannot unload it & put it in your truck until they are gone.

I vote to follow your state's law, unless the gun may be seen or you are asked to get out of the car. If it is a contact in public, and you are not required to inform ,then I would if the conversation seems like I might need a lawyer.

Diplomatically, of course. You can only imagine in the deepest reaches of your mind the numbing stupidity of a rookie who knows just enough to think he knows what he is doing. (Guess who has been teaching at the police academy for the last two weeks lol)

I was a cop. I've heard a rookie scream into the radio, "He has a gun!" . It was an old white guy, with no criminal history, with a properly concealed firearm and CCW license. I've seen CCW holders on the ground at gun point on a simple speeding violation. Some cops are just scared of their own shadow idiots. I do not inform. Wife is instructed not to inform.

Greetings. I keep both hands on the wheel, tell the officer I have a Permit and a loaded gun in my____, ask how they wants me to proceed. I don't want any misunderstandings or misinterpreted motions to allow a simple traffic stop to get out of hand.

I inform. I hand over the permit along with the credentials. If the officer wants more, he will say so. It's his stop. Once informed, it's in his hands.