Traveling into WA, question on open carry

[TMcArthur]

OK, I know that my Colorado Conceal Carry Permit is not honored in WA, so I am left with openly carrying. I'm OK with that, but I am a bit confused on the WA laws regarding open carry. It states that I can openly carry without the need of any permit, but to enter my vehicle the gun must be unloaded... unless I have a valid CPL.

So here is the question; Is my Colorado permit going to be considered a "valid CPL" to open carry in my vehicle?

Thanks in advance

 

[Alex220]

No. There will be no consideration for your Colorado CPL at all. I'd suggest going to the closest law enforcement agency to you in Washington and applying for your Washington CPL. When traveling with your weapon in your car, it must be locked (unloaded) in the trunk. And if you are contacted by an Officer, announce it right up front.. they don't like surprises

don't feel bad about not being up on the rules for open carry.. 99.9% of the people aren't fully aware of the nuances of open carry. Far too many think that 'open carry' is free license to go where ever you want with no repercussions.. remember..open carry only applies to public spaces. NOT private property..

You can walk 3 blocks down a city street and cross over private to public boundaries 10 times.

I see all the time where some yahoo walks into a mall (private property) open carrying and then screams foul when security and police respond to the weapons complaint. which, by the way, the police are OBLIGATED to respond to a weapons complaint.

 

[TMcArthur]

Thank you Alex, I will do just that.

 

[NavyLCDR]

No. There will be no consideration for your Colorado CPL at all. I'd suggest going to the closest law enforcement agency to you in Washington and applying for your Washington CPL. When traveling with your weapon in your car, it must be locked (unloaded) in the trunk. And if you are contacted by an Officer, announce it right up front.. they don't like surprises

don't feel bad about not being up on the rules for open carry.. 99.9% of the people aren't fully aware of the nuances of open carry. Far too many think that 'open carry' is free license to go where ever you want with no repercussions.. remember..open carry only applies to public spaces. NOT private property..

You can walk 3 blocks down a city street and cross over private to public boundaries 10 times.

I see all the time where some yahoo walks into a mall (private property) open carrying and then screams foul when security and police respond to the weapons complaint. which, by the way, the police are OBLIGATED to respond to a weapons complaint.

You are wrong on several counts in Washington (and the following is for Washington only). First - the firearm does not have to be locked in the trunk. RCW 9.41.050 prohibits two acts without a CPL - concealing the firearm on the person (anywhere, loaded or not, inside a vehicle or not), and placing or carrying a LOADED handgun in a vehicle. If the handgun is unloaded, the handgun can be ANYWHERE in the vehicle - open or concealed, so long as it is not concealed on the person. The glovebox is legal, the front passenger seat is legal, in a belt holster openly carried is legal. The only place that is illegal is concealed on the person. The loaded magazine can be anywhere except inserted in the gun.

You say to lock the gun up in the trunk AND notify LEO? Are you serious? What am I going to tell them? Officer, I have an unloaded handgun locked in the trunk?!? Are you SERIOUS? There is no requirement to inform in Washington, just keep your mouth shut, regardless of where the gun is, unless the officer is going to search and find it anyway. And certainly don't tell them about an unloaded gun locked in the trunk, that is totally 100% ridiculous.

Open carry applies to private property just as much as it applies to public places. A private property owner can ask you to leave their property for any reason, and if you don't then it is trespassing. It is exactly the same with open carry in Washington State. Yes, you can walk 3 blocks down a city street and cross over private to public property 10 times....AND IT DOESN'T MATTER! If the private property owner does not ask you to leave, then you are just fine and perfectly legal. And the private property owner/agent can ask you to leave because you are wearing socks with sandals, just the same as they can ask you to leave because you have a holstered handgun and both reasons would carry exactly the same weight in regards to trespassing laws; you leave, everything OK; you stay, you can be trespassing.

Pretyy much Alex220's post is about 90 percent bull crap.

You do have to be careful of the 1000' FT Federal School Zone prohibition, without a CPL actually issued by Washington.

You (and Alex220) need to read RCW 9.41. Especially .050, .060, .290 and .300.

http://apps.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=9.41

 

[Alex220]

LCDR.. I'm speaking from a Law Enforcement perspective.. you can quote RCW all day, it doesn't matter, but if you have an unloaded pistol on your seat, and you're stopped by an Officer, you're going to be answering a few questions. Or the more classic of reaching for your credentials in your glove box and an unloaded pistol becomes visible as you reach in... you're going to have a pretty bad day after that.

you can scream RCW all day, but you're still going to have a gun screwed into your ear.

 

[NavyLCDR]

So now we have a decision to make. Follow the law, or lick the boots and polish the badge of a rogue cop who doesn't care what the law says and looks for an excuse to go jack booted thug on people. Badge polishing and boot licking goes against my oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United against all enemies both foreign and domestic. An oath that apparently Alex220 kept his fingers crossed when he repeated it.

And people wonder why I say to not ask cops for legal advice.... notice Alex220's reply:

it must be locked (unloaded) in the trunk.

Flat out lied, knowing full well what the real statute said.....

 

[Kasper]

Well lets thank Alex cause when he does give someone a hard time for no reason we Washington tax payers will be paying for his ignorance. Well it is no longer ignorance since NavyLCDR showed you the RCW and you refuse to follow the Laws that you are suppose to be enforcing. So if you are wondering why people do not like the police it might just be due to most of you have this type of attitude.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Washington honors a non-resident Utah permit. Utah does require that you sit through a class, but 30 states honor Utah so it is worth it. It took 70 days to get ours from mailing the application packet to the laminated card in hand.

 

[TMcArthur]

Thank you NavyLCDR, for clearing that up. I will educate myself with the RCW

@ Alex - while I thank you for your advice, what matters to me is the actual and factual law, not the "LEO perspective". Please, next time you offer advice based on your own personal feelings and not fact, just say so and I will take it with a grain of salt. Thanks anyway.

 

[NavyLCDR]

Thank you NavyLCDR, for clearing that up. I will educate myself with the RCW

@ Alex - while I thank you for your advice, what matters to me is the actual and factual law, not the "LEO perspective". Please, next time you offer advice based on your own personal feelings and not fact, just say so and I will take it with a grain of salt. Thanks anyway.

You will find very few police officers like Alex220 in Washington, and most of those like him are in Seattle. The vast majority of police officers in WA are professionals who respect the law. If you have any questions about the RCWs, just ask!

 

[TMcArthur]

So, here is a question;

I open-carry my pistol in a public place and upon returning to my car to drive off, I can not have a loaded gun in the car since my Colorado CCP is not honored. So, I must unload the gun outside of the car, which requires me to un-holster a loaded weapon, drop the magazine, and even rack the slide to clear the chamber... all outside the car and in public. Am I seeing that correctly?

 

[Kasper]

Yep that's what I do when I go down to Portland. I stop at the rest area before crossing into Oregon and unload and lock up my gun.

 

[NavyLCDR]

So, here is a question;

I open-carry my pistol in a public place and upon returning to my car to drive off, I can not have a loaded gun in the car since my Colorado CCP is not honored. So, I must unload the gun outside of the car, which requires me to un-holster a loaded weapon, drop the magazine, and even rack the slide to clear the chamber... all outside the car and in public. Am I seeing that correctly?

Many people in Washington carry without a round in the chamber before we get our CPLs. Exit vehicle, insert magazine into gun without removing it from holster. Enter vehicle, pop magazine out of gun without removing gun from holster. Not ideal, of course, but that is one option. Also, you are not limited to open carry in public places either. Open carry on private property is just as legal as on public property. The only difference is that a city or county government cannot legally prohibit firearms on public property because to do so would violate RCW 9.41.290; but a private property owner can ask you to leave because of the gun, if they choose to.

 

[TMcArthur]

Although I'm not comfortable carrying un-chambered, if that is my only viable option it is better then not carrying at all.

Thanks again.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Yep that's what I do when I go down to Portland. I stop at the rest area before crossing into Oregon and unload and lock up my gun.

In Portland it is now unlawful for anyone without a CHL to possess a loaded magazine or speedloader in a public place, including your car, even if you don't have a firearm.

 

[NavyLCDR]

In Portland it is now unlawful for anyone without a CHL to possess a loaded magazine or speedloader in a public place, including your car, even if you don't have a firearm.

You are mistaken. It is only illegal if you DO have the firearm in your possession as well:

Link Removed

14A.60.010 Possession of a Loaded Firearm in a Public Place. - Link Removed

(Amended by Ordinance No. 184274, effective December 31, 2010.)

A. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess or carry a firearm, in or upon a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, recklessly having failed to remove all the ammunition from the firearm.

B. It is unlawful for any person to knowingly possess or carry a firearm and that firearm’s clip or magazine, in or upon a public place, including while in a vehicle in a public place, recklessly having failed to remove all the ammunition from the clip or magazine.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Thanks Navy, I only got the abridged version from they media. In a few weeks, or months I will become a permitted person, but it still sucks for those passing through who think that removing the magazine from an empty pistol and locking both complies with the law. Oh no you have to empty all your rounds first.

 

[Alex220]

Ha! I love self-appointed Internet saviors like LCDR..oddly claiming some sort of enforcement ability in the states? rather QA if you ask me. Anyway.. feel as free as you like to open carry wherever you like. Private property..Public property.. Airports, bars, courts, sporting events. Just don't be overly shocked when John Q citizen complains and you get stopped by the boys-in-blue. Better yet.. keep your handgun in your lap when an Officer approaches your vehicle at a stop. :biggrin: I'm sure he'll take the time to hear you spout RCW

stay safe!

 

[NavyLCDR]

Ha! I love self-appointed Internet saviors like LCDR..oddly claiming some sort of enforcement ability in the states? rather QA if you ask me. Anyway.. feel as free as you like to open carry wherever you like. Private property..Public property.. Airports, bars, courts, sporting events. Just don't be overly shocked when John Q citizen complains and you get stopped by the boys-in-blue. Better yet.. keep your handgun in your lap when an Officer approaches your vehicle at a stop. :biggrin: I'm sure he'll take the time to hear you spout RCW

stay safe!

Everything has to be extreme to you. It's not good enough for you that people simply know what the law is and obey it. Just because you are on a power trip, do not expect everyone to lick your boots and polish your badge. Some people like Master Sargeant John Laigaie - you surely know him right - will even get to buy new motorcycles for himself and his wife when the city settles with him because one of the jack booted thugs like you decides to pull his gun in a city park and threaten law abiding citizens.

 

[TMcArthur]

Alex, I've been in the Spokane area for two days now, open carrying (unloading before re-entering my vehicle each time) and not a single citizen has come and screamed at me or ran away from me in fear. No officers have been called and none of pointed their weapons at me. In fact, I've had numerous conversations with just your general citizen on the street and not a single person has even mentioned the full sized S&W on my hip. I think you may be out of touch with what your states LAWS are and what the citizens of this state actually care about.

I will be sure to be polite to any and all officers who approach me. I'd be happy to show them my ID and answer a few basic questions to ease any concerns they may have. Yes, I will keep my hands visible and away from my S&W during said conversation. In the end, I will be allowed to go free (to continue openly carrying) and I will thank them for their service. I'm OK with all of that.

I must ask though, why are you so afraid of it? You think other police officers will fire on me at first sight of my LEGALLY carried gun? Will you? Aren't you and your fellow officers trained on such things? Surely you all must know it is legal to openly carry right? And if so, why wouldn't you be willing to hear me discuss RCW's... the very laws that allow me to openly carry to begin with.

It must be said though, I have open-carried for more than 3 years now, in numerous states, and not once have I had a bad conversation with a LEO when they approached me. Most just want to talk guns, not laws. None have even asked me for ID. I think you may be a little out of touch with reality, sorry to say. Maybe you should request additional training on the matter? I'd hate to see you lose your job when you draw down on a citizen legally carrying his gun, just because you were all hopped up on your ego.

and, stay safe!