[Rollo]

I work for a college and while I can't carry while on campus they have no issue with me locking my pistol in my car (In my lock box). My wife on the other hand does not have this ability. If any employee is caught with a weapon in the building or in the parking lot it is grounds for instant termination.

They do employ several armed guards that walk people to their cars at night so I am not concerned with her getting home, my concern is once she gets home. I am not a huge fan of her walking into the house un-armed. If a attacker in already in our home she has to get upstairs to the bedroom to get her pistol.

Is there anyone out there in a similair situation?

 

[xsquidgator]

I sort of have/had the same difficulty. In FL the law was changed a year or two ago so that one can secure a firearm in one's vehicle and not be fired. That's the law, however it conflicts with other FL labor law and FL being a "right to work" state. Although well-intentioned, I don't think the law provides any real protection. If my employer discovered me securing a gun in my car and didn't like it, all he need do is let me go without specifying a reason, that's totally ok under FL law.

So, what to do? I do not believe there is a perfect solution. The possibilities are to either not carry to/from work and accept the implications of that, or to bring a gun and secure it in one's car. I considered trying to find offsite parking, but that's not a feasible option for me.

After reflecting on it, I'm not willing to be unarmed on the way to/from work, or when I return home to an empty house. I think a good compromise is to secure the gun in some sort of locked safe inside the car. I use one that uses a key lock (Center of Mass safe). If the worst happened and security wanted to search my car, I'd lose the key and then claim I couldn't open the lockbox for them, sorry. If it actually got to the point where they want to search my car I'm probably toast with this company anyway, but at least it preserves some ambiguity about whether or not I have a gun.

YMMV:bier:

 

[RETSUPT99]

Here's a decision you must make...:yup:
As long as it is not illegal to have a weapon hidden in the vehicle...just against company policy...

You may consider finding a hidden place in the vehicle where a Center of Mass safe can be placed. The weapon can be stored in the safe...well-hidden in the vehicle and ready for access once off the job site.
At least she could stop...get a little gas and retrieve the firearm for coming home...reverse the process for going to work.

It's either that...or no weapon.:aargh4:

 

[puncho]

You have two options here. Have her carry a gun and leave it in the car at work, or continue to worry about what happens if she has a flat tire or other issue on the way home.

 

[Bm7b5]

You have two options here. Have her carry a gun and leave it in the car at work, or continue to worry about what happens if she has a flat tire or other issue on the way home.

There are obviously more than two options.

 

[coriantan]

We've got a COM safe with the cable around the drivers seat post. The safe slides under the drivers seat and stays hidden. The ONLY way anyone would know it is there is if they searched the vehicle. Your employer doesn't have the right to search your vehicle without your consent. And the key can be conveniently "lost" or "left at home" and the safe can be a safe for "valuables" while you travel.

 

[theotherlis]

If you ultimately decide that keeping the gun in the car is not a possibility, I would re-consider where you keep the gunsafe in the house. If you have a garage, maybe keep it in there? So you can get into it before entering the home. If you must enter the home first, then perhaps locate it so it is basically the first thing one can reach when coming inside.

 

[lance22]

Mouse guns were invented to solve your problem. Pocket carry a P 3AT or LCP. Nobody will know, nobody will find out. Stoke it with high quality defensive ammo and it will do it's job should it be called upon. Pocket carry means you don't have to leave it in a car where it could be stolen. Best of all, pocket carry allows you to have the gun in your hand before a gunfight - hand in the pocket can look relaxed and natural when in fact your ready to end a confrontation.

I'm not a big fan of leaving it in the car. It gets stolen and used in a crime some whack job activist judge is going to want to pin the responsibility on you. Pocket carry alleviates that risk. There is no gun more secure than the one on your person and under your control.

 

[ccwguy]

Garage gun.

 

[Bark'n]

How often do they randomly search vehicles in the parking lot of your wife's work? Is this a regular occurrence? And what right do they have to do random searches of vehicles?

Having the security force to escort people to their cars is awesome and I applaud the employer for providing that service, but what happens if she has a flat tire 4 blocks from work. Or she has some other mechanical problem with the car? Pretty vulnerable at that point.

We've got a COM safe with the cable around the drivers seat post. The safe slides under the drivers seat and stays hidden. The ONLY way anyone would know it is there is if they searched the vehicle. Your employer doesn't have the right to search your vehicle without your consent. And the key can be conveniently "lost" or "left at home" and the safe can be a safe for "valuables" while you travel.

Now I'm not sure of Indiana State law regarding guns in parking lots. And I certainly would not suggest she violate any of the States criminal code. However if it isn't against the law, coriantan has a good post.

You see what he's getting at?

I would sure hate to have my wife driving around unprotected and becoming extremely vulnerable if the car breaks down between point A and point B.

A lot of predators prey on stranded motorists for the mere fact that they can not escape because their vehicle is broke down.

 

[jbum]

What Ret said!!!!

 

[JohnKelly]

I would position the COM safe in such a way that she can retrieve the gun without stepping outside the vehicle. She puts herself at risk stopping somewhere off-campus before going home to retrieve the gun.

 

[Vic303]

Can she park just off employer (campus??) property? Does her employer/campus provide for safety escorts for students or staff? If so, have her sign up for someone to walk her to her car every night. Get her some pepper spray like Fox, to provide less than lethal options. Concealed means concealed...

 

[theotherlis]

Mouse guns were invented to solve your problem. Pocket carry a P 3AT or LCP. Nobody will know, nobody will find out. Stoke it with high quality defensive ammo and it will do it's job should it be called upon. Pocket carry means you don't have to leave it in a car where it could be stolen. Best of all, pocket carry allows you to have the gun in your hand before a gunfight - hand in the pocket can look relaxed and natural when in fact your ready to end a confrontation.

I've been looking at mouse guns lately, for the super-conceal-ability options. If I wanted to pocket carry one, even the itsy bitsy 22s I've looked at recently, I'd still have to change out my wardrobe pretty considerably. Women's pockets just aren't usually intended for keeping things of mass in them. My personal answer to this is to conceal on a different part of my body. I can't keep a cell phone in my pockets without being pretty obvious, certainly am not going to keep a little pistol there too.

I'm sure the lady in the OP would feel similar...

 

[searcher 45]

You might check into the knife laws in your state. It might be a step down in defense but if she can have a good sharp knife or even a box cutter on her person it would make for a line of personal defense. In the car if allowed by law put a small fixed blade concealed but in finger tip reach.

 

[GooDoLeBoY]

See if the campus security will hold/secure her weapon until she leaves. I had my ccw while in college and was often coming to school right after work, graveyard shift, just had to fill out a form at the begining of the semester and sign in and out when i turned in the pistol and picked it up. This sounds like another argument for CC on Campus.

 

[gottabkiddin]

Here's a decision you must make...:yup:
As long as it is not illegal to have a weapon hidden in the vehicle...just against company policy...

You may consider finding a hidden place in the vehicle where a Center of Mass safe can be placed. The weapon can be stored in the safe...well-hidden in the vehicle and ready for access once off the job site.
At least she could stop...get a little gas and retrieve the firearm for coming home...reverse the process for going to work.

It's either that...or no weapon.:aargh4:

:hand10: My wifes safety would take precedence over company policy.

 

[sigpack]

This is precisely the reason that Kentucky changed their laws on this. Before it was specified that employers could not prohibit employees from having a gun in their vehicle. Now it is ILLEGAL for them to do it. If an employer tells you you cannot have a gun in your car you can sue them.

 

[Patti]

This is precisely the reason that Kentucky changed their laws on this. Before it was specified that employers could not prohibit employees from having a gun in their vehicle. Now it is ILLEGAL for them to do it. If an employer tells you you cannot have a gun in your car you can sue them.

But it doesn't apply to Federal property.

 

[sigpack]

But it doesn't apply to Federal property.

It does unless federal law prohibits it on that property.