Do you let LEO's know? (Merged)

[Kaneco]

New to the Concealed weapons lifestyle, is there ever a time that I should let an officer know that I'm (legally) carrying a fire arm? I don't mean after some (God forbid) incident, but in the circumstances we all face each day...

I have some friends that have said ".... they don't care, and don't want to know.."

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[pcon]

it depends on your state...some say you have to inform an officer during a traffic stop...in some states, you don't need to. you may want to check Handgunlaw.us to see what FL requires

[svgheartland]

In NC I'm told that you'd better, in the event of being pulled, let an LEO know that you're a permit holder and whether you do, or don't have one with you. The logic is that they'll take your license back to the car and do a call-in on you and then find out that you've got a permit. If you don't come clean immediately they're going to wonder what else you're not disclosing and the buggering begins.

[Cupcake]

Why not?

[bandit383]

Check search...this question gets asked every two weeks....

Rick

[Kaneco]

Check search...this question gets asked every two weeks....

Rick

Sorry Rick, I"ll search. I didn't know.

Thank you

[Kaneco]

I know I'm probably messing up the site (I don't know where to post questions...) but I'm new to the Concealed weapons lifestyle;

Is there ever a time that I should let an officer know that I'm (legally) carrying a fire arm? I don't mean after some (God forbid) incident, but in the circumstances we all face each day. If this is State specific, I'm live in Florida and travel through Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Tennessee.

I have some friends that have said ".... they don't care, and don't want to know.."

[SubNine]

If your state has a "duty to inform" law in place, then you should let a police officer know if you ever have to encounter one during a traffic stop, or other official business.

Even if I didn't live in a state where a duty to inform law was in place, I would still let them know, as its common courtesy IMO. Everyone wants to go home after a long day including police officers. I know law enforcement encounter a lot of individuals that don't have their heads screwed on straight, and nothing is worse than dealing with the unknown. Some officers won't even care that you're armed, but at least they'll know that you're not someone who will use a firearm for the wrong purposes.

[rstickle]

Some states require it and you are supposed to go by the law of the state you are (legally) carrying in. So you should check the laws of the states your permit will allow you to carry in.

[possessed]

Required to inform in NC and SC and many other states.

[KralBlbec]

The one-stop reference for laws per state is http://www.handgunlaw.us/

They have pretty much all the common questions answered there. Welcome to the family :D

[Maybejim]

If your state has a "duty to inform" law in place, then you should let a police officer know if you ever have to encounter one during a traffic stop, or other official business.

Even if I didn't live in a state where a duty to inform law was in place, I would still let them know, as its common courtesy IMO. Everyone wants to go home after a long day including police officers. I know law enforcement encounter a lot of individuals that don't have their heads screwed on straight, and nothing is worse than dealing with the unknown. Some officers won't even care that you're armed, but at least they'll know that you're not someone who will use a firearm for the wrong purposes.

I don't live in a state that requires notification and I do not. They have no reason to know if it is a traffic stop. If for some insane reason they want to search me (I've never been searched) than I would notify. Cops particularly in Kalifornia have a poor reputation with dealing with guns. Los Angeles as I understand it has an average time on the force of about 5 years meaning they don't have a lot of experience. I don't want some guy who may not know how to handle a gun handling my gun and putting me in danger by his mishandling it.

[Kaneco]

I've (quickly) reviewed the handgunlaw.us website, and now I'm totally confused about the notification laws..... Am I missing the proper tab that defines the notification states? Is there somewhere else to get the info? Am I Internet impaired?

[ncglock]

My experiences have always turned out better once the LEO knows your legal. I'm not 100% sure but i'm willing to bet I was given a "warning" instead of a ticket because of my permit when I was pulled over recently.

[FlyboyLDB]

If your state has a "duty to inform" law in place, then you should let a police officer know if you ever have to encounter one during a traffic stop, or other official business.

Even if I didn't live in a state where a duty to inform law was in place, I would still let them know, as its common courtesy IMO. Everyone wants to go home after a long day including police officers. I know law enforcement encounter a lot of individuals that don't have their heads screwed on straight, and nothing is worse than dealing with the unknown. Some officers won't even care that you're armed, but at least they'll know that you're not someone who will use a firearm for the wrong purposes.

If you didn't let them know - why would they not "go home"? Some officers will not care if you are armed - but others will ruin your day if they do know - legally or not. What harm has come to them from not knowing? How does informing benefit anyone - including the LEO? You think because he/she knows that you are carrying - now all of a sudden they get a warm comfy feeling? You desire trouble - inform.