I understand if I am pulled over by the police in my vehicle I have to disclose that I am CCW.
But what if there is an unrelated incident in my vicinity and the police show up and happen to be next to me. Do I still need to disclose that I am CCW?
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What state are you in? Sometimes stuff like this falls to established case law, so knowing what state you live in helps.
Welcome to the community by the way.
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Depends upon what state you are standing on if you’re traveling or if you’re at home your state of residence.
I can tell you however; in May this year I had a female police officer here in my home to take a police report. She came in started taking the details down. She saw my Concealed Carry Magazine on the kitchen table. She asked me what gun I Carry? I told her, she said that she knew I had a Concealed Carry license before she arrived. She also said to me you can never have enough armed law abiding citizens in her opinion. She was very nice. Finished up taking the report, called dispatch for a report number. Gave me her card and said have a nice day.
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California
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It appears CA does not have a duty to inform but some counties do. I would presume in any location where there is a duty to inform it would apply to any interaction with to police where they are approaching you in an official capacity. In other words, if you are pulled over in a car or are approached by an officer in uniform or otherwise identified as a police officer, I would advise them that you are armed and have a license, assuming you have one.
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Fun fact: CA has issued approximately 120K licenses to its almost 40 million residents compared to Kentucky that has issued 374K licenses to its 4.5 million residents. 1/3 the number of licenses to a population that is almost 10 times as high.
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Hi Mike, I saw the latest statistics from Illinois State Rifle Association Just recently there’s about an equal amount of Illinois Concealed Carry licenses as Kentucky approximately the same.
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That is good news in light of their “shall issue” licensing. Given a little more time, they should about triple that to have the same per capital rate at Kentucky.
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I live in Los Angeles County, probably the leading gun control lobbyist state.
Thankfully I was able to by-pass the state CCW permit and get a federal CCW license. LEOSA USC 18 926C.
Thanks for the info.
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Michigan is duty to inform, requiring immediate disclosure when stopped and dealing with officers on official business (being questioned due to being a witness or whatever).
However just being in the vicinity of officers or even having a friendly conversation in passing is not a reason to disclose here. I can’t speak to Cali laws though.
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LEOSA is one of the best things done in the legislature in 2004. I recently renewed mine and am waiting for my new card. Unfortunately, last years expired yesterday and my new one won’t arrive until next week. In the meantime, I carry my SO ID, my proof of qualification and a copy of the webpage from KSP showing m new license has been issued. In KY, retired LEOs qualified under LEOSA can carry at all Ike’s and all places in the Commonwealth except corrections facilities. Violation of that law is punishable by fines of $500 to $2500.
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So I checked the link here on USCCA under Gun Laws by state. It states in California there is no law requiring CCW’s to disclose to police officers, seems odd?
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If you have your firearm on you, Yes, it is best to let them know you have a CCW and are carrying with your hands on the steering wheel. If you decide not to let the officer know and he spots your firearm while you are reaching for your wallet or registration, that could get dangerous and might make the officer a little jumpy.
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This is what your state legislators wanted and voted for however; no matter what the law is it’s better to be proactive and disclose information even if not asked already. I’m very sure the police would be appreciative and better so the person is not shot and becomes their own unintended victim. There’s been people shot and killed documented by not disclosing.
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I agree it is best to disclose expecially if pulled over in a car.
Good training and learning on the subject.
Thanks all.
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@Anthony39 - this is really a state issue as folks have said. In Missouri we’re constitutional carry, and you also have no duty to inform, and since licensing isn’t required, anyone can be armed at any time. The officers know that, and simply assume that everyone is.
This came up in another thread and @WildRose and I were arm wrestling over the right answer on informing - so I called some different local law enforcement agencies (both counties and cities) and asked. The resounding answer in our area of MO to “should I inform?” is “meh”. They don’t care if you inform or not.
They also don’t know, for sure, if you’re licensed, since that data is unreliably presented when they run your ID or license (sometimes they get the permit status, sometimes they don’t). But seeing as we’re constitutional carry… you might be armed, license or not, and they simply assume you are.
The “inform” laws generally state “contacted” rather than “detained” or “stopped” so that applies to any time you have an interaction with an officer (check your local laws).
In a “must inform” state, I’d think that would mean the officer addresses you in the context of being an officer. If you’re a bystander and witness to something, and an officer says “what did you see?” - I think you’re being contacted. If you and the officer are riding up in an elevator together and the officer says “Hey” as a polite greeting, or gives you a nod, I’d think you’re not being contacted. Maybe @MikeBKY can check my work on this.
Lastly, the word “immediately” in “must immediately inform” matters if it’s in your local law - in Michigan, case law says 40 seconds into the contact is not considered immediate and can result in being found guilty of failing to comply with the law. (@dawn were you ever able to run the reference to ground on that one?)
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@Zee is correct. First, you need to become familiar with the law in the state you are present. If you are in a must inform state and you are approached by a law enforcement officer in an official capacity you must immediately inform the officer that you are carrying a firearm and that you are licensed. In some states you must also present your CCL and sometimes your drivers license. Immediately means just that. A minute later could be a minute too late.
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This would not generally apply to incidental contact, such as approaching an officer to thank him for serving or just passing on a sidewalk.
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Indiana does not have a required to inform law. With that in mind if they run your driver’s license for anything your License to Carry automatically pops up so they already know.
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They know you have your CCL, not whether you are carrying @Harleymac1.
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