Informing Law Enforcement of Handgun


B

busdown3

New member
When stopped by law enforcement, either on foot or in a car, is it necessary to inform officer of handgun possession in Florida? I do have a concealed carry license.
 

Although it is not required by law, it is a good idea to look at the context of the interaction between you and the officer...ie...traffic stop, or standing in line for coffee as a thermometer for the encounter.

I prefer to inform any time I have official business and to date have never had a bad experience. I must live in a fairly pro 2a area. I dont know if I would inform in miami dade or west palm beach. They simply do exhibit the same level of trust with the armed citizen as they do in okaloosa county.

Again though I think the context of the interaction are crucial.
What does typically happen with me is, I hand the officer my DL, CCW permit, and retired military ID. This is accompanied by the phrase " I am a concealed carry permit holder and am armed. How do you wish to proceed?"

Like I said, I have never had a bad experience, but I also treat police, fire and ems with the utmost of respect. Others treat cops with contempt...I can see why with the increase of youtube videos showing woefully uninformed officers and bullies with badges. Neither of these do anything to further how we as human beings conduct themselves.
 
festus said:
Although it is not required by law, it is a good idea to look at the context of the interaction between you and the officer...ie...traffic stop, or standing in line for coffee as a thermometer for the encounter.

I prefer to inform any time I have official business and to date have never had a bad experience. I must live in a fairly pro 2a area. I dont know if I would inform in miami dade or west palm beach. They simply do exhibit the same level of trust with the armed citizen as they do in okaloosa county.

Again though I think the context of the interaction are crucial.
What does typically happen with me is, I hand the officer my DL, CCW permit, and retired military ID. This is accompanied by the phrase " I am a concealed carry permit holder and am armed. How do you wish to proceed?"

Like I said, I have never had a bad experience, but I also treat police, fire and ems with the utmost of respect. Others treat cops with contempt...I can see why with the increase of youtube videos showing woefully uninformed officers and bullies with badges. Neither of these do anything to further how we as human beings conduct themselves.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info!
 
While it has not happened to me yet.. I plan to disclose it for sure.. At the very least it shows the officer right froom the jump I cleared NCIS and that Im an American.. lol
 
busdown3 said:
When stopped by law enforcement, either on foot or in a car, is it necessary to inform officer of handgun possession in Florida? I do have a concealed carry license.
Click to expand...

In fla you do not have to inform upon contact with a leo, if asked it would be wise not to be forthright and lie about it. I do not agree with some of the advise already offered, there is never any reason to divulge anything to any cop. jails are full of people who talked their way in
 
Let's face it most retired civil and military servants do it to hopefully get them a break.


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The safest place for my gun is in the holster with no one touching it. Informing the officer about my CPL and my gun is an invitation for that officer to take my gun from me "for officer safety" and handle it which places everyone near the scene at an unneeded increased risk of a negligent discharge. I simply won't do that. If they want to know if I have a gun or not, all they have to do is ask. If it isn't important enough to them to take two seconds to ask, "Do you have any weapons or firearms in the vehicle?" then I am not going to make it important to them by offering the information when there is no legal requirement to do so.
 
Hmmm interesting take. Do you think it would also give them a green light to search the vehicle ?


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Merf said:
Hmmm interesting take. Do you think it would also give them a green light to search the vehicle ?


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Click to expand...

Yes, it does. Several US Supreme Court decisions have upheld the authority of a police officer to search the area of a vehicle immediately accessible to the occupants for weapons when there is a reasonable belief established that there are weapons present that pose a danger to the officer. So...let's examine the typical traffic stop....

My wife is driving her car, which is registered in my name. She gets stopped for speeding. The license plate check before the officer approaches the vehicle comes back to me, a male who possesses a CPL. The officer may or may not get CPL information with the registered owner's name from the license plates. Specifically, in Florida, they do NOT. Officer approaches the driver's side and finds a female driving the vehicle - clearly not the registered owner.

Case 1 - wife informs the officer of her gun and CPL (in Washington where I am from it is a Concealed Pistol License). At this moment the officer has no verifying information that her CPL is real and valid or not. Just like he has no idea if her driver's license is valid or not which is exactly why they will verify it by calling in her information. The officer is perfectly within his legal authority to seize the firearm until he can verify that she has a valid CPL (especially since in WA a CPL is required to carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle). He is also perfectly within his legal authority to search the area of the vehicle from which my wife could obtain another weapon. Why? Because by telling the officer that she possessed the firearm she established for the officer the reasonable suspicion that she is armed - and he has no real way of knowing whether she is dangerous or not because he cannot know the validity of her CPL.

Now...case #2:

2. Same stop for speeding. He approaches the window, and everything goes like millions of traffic stops do - she gives him driver's license, insurance and registration. Nothing is said by either party anything about a firearm or a CPL. Officer goes back to his car and calls in her information and, let's say for fun that he finds out she has a CPL and it is valid. What has just happened? The legal authority to search her and car for weapons has been removed by the information that he has just received that IF she is in possession of a firearm, which she was not legally obligated to tell him about, the state has verified that she possessed a valid license for it and that should remove any REASONABLE suspicion that her possession of that firearm poses a danger to the officer because that is the exact excuse the state has used to require the CPL.

Millions of traffic stops happen every year where no mention is made of a gun or a license to carry a gun. The vast majority of stories you hear on these forums over the years of people who have had their guns taken from them by police officers during traffic stops (not to mention being handcuffed and searches performed) has been from people who have first told the officer that they were in possession of a firearm. I just won't take that chance.
 
In reality, telling the officer about my gun does noting to make them any safer, because if I am in control of it, it is going to stay in it's holster. I more than likely don't know the officer who is at my window. Sure, me telling them about my gun might "put them at ease". But how do I know that? It might have just the opposite affect on them and they might decide they want to pull me out of the vehicle, take my gun, and handcuff me - "for their safety". I carry a gun because I don't know every person that I meet on the street. I won't tell an officer about my gun because I don't know every officer out there or how they will react either. Odds are if I don't say anything about my gun they aren't going to either - I will play the odds in my favor.
 
This brings up the issue of the search and secure laws. You have probably read bout the cops stealing cash from innocent people
who they stop. When traveling from TN t FL to spend the winter our vehicle has several firearms and lots of ammo not to mention
several thousands in cash. I would not want them searching my car if I got stopped for some traffic violation. That could turn out
to be a very costly for me.
 
Merf said:
Let's face it most retired civil and military servants do it to hopefully get them a break.

Not sure how others feel, but I'm not too keen on being referred to as a 'servant'.

A for the OP, if it isn't required by law, it's better left unsaid imho. Flat out, EVERY leo better approach EVERY traffic stop ready for the worst. To do any different makes them an even bigger target than the uniform and car does. How the stop goes depends entirely on the two people involved. As a citizen, don't give the leo an opportunity to screw with you. That said, some of them don't know the laws as well as they should. In those cases, it's better to 'stand up for your rights' in court after the fact than your family to sue later after your dead.
Click to expand...
 
If the term offends you , I'm sorry. In the end you know what I meant.


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Not required, I don't tell them. Talk to the police as little as possible.

Sent from my D6616 using USA Carry mobile app
 
NavyLCDR said:
Yes, it does. Several US Supreme Court decisions have upheld the authority of a police officer to search the area of a vehicle immediately accessible to the occupants for weapons when there is a reasonable belief established that there are weapons present that pose a danger to the officer. So...let's examine the typical traffic stop....

My wife is driving her car, which is registered in my name. She gets stopped for speeding. The license plate check before the officer approaches the vehicle comes back to me, a male who possesses a CPL. The officer may or may not get CPL information with the registered owner's name from the license plates. Specifically, in Florida, they do NOT. Officer approaches the driver's side and finds a female driving the vehicle - clearly not the registered owner.

Case 1 - wife informs the officer of her gun and CPL (in Washington where I am from it is a Concealed Pistol License). At this moment the officer has no verifying information that her CPL is real and valid or not. Just like he has no idea if her driver's license is valid or not which is exactly why they will verify it by calling in her information. The officer is perfectly within his legal authority to seize the firearm until he can verify that she has a valid CPL (especially since in WA a CPL is required to carry a loaded firearm in a vehicle). He is also perfectly within his legal authority to search the area of the vehicle from which my wife could obtain another weapon. Why? Because by telling the officer that she possessed the firearm she established for the officer the reasonable suspicion that she is armed - and he has no real way of knowing whether she is dangerous or not because he cannot know the validity of her CPL.

Now...case #2:

2. Same stop for speeding. He approaches the window, and everything goes like millions of traffic stops do - she gives him driver's license, insurance and registration. Nothing is said by either party anything about a firearm or a CPL. Officer goes back to his car and calls in her information and, let's say for fun that he finds out she has a CPL and it is valid. What has just happened? The legal authority to search her and car for weapons has been removed by the information that he has just received that IF she is in possession of a firearm, which she was not legally obligated to tell him about, the state has verified that she possessed a valid license for it and that should remove any REASONABLE suspicion that her possession of that firearm poses a danger to the officer because that is the exact excuse the state has used to require the CPL.

Millions of traffic stops happen every year where no mention is made of a gun or a license to carry a gun. The vast majority of stories you hear on these forums over the years of people who have had their guns taken from them by police officers during traffic stops (not to mention being handcuffed and searches performed) has been from people who have first told the officer that they were in possession of a firearm. I just won't take that chance.
Click to expand...
Don't forget #3.
-
He asks her to step out of the car and tells her he suspects she's been drinking as she wasn't driving straight. He arrests (or threatens to arrest) her on suspicion of DUI and searches the car. The stop is likely illegal. The search is illegal. He does it anyway. He lies about the circumstances in his reports. That's the new America.
 
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