Handgunlaw.us Draft of Long Guns in Vehicles Update

[Gary Slider]

Things have been going much better than I ever imagined. Thanks to everyone who has given me feedback. It has really helped! This is all still in draft form. I will say that I caused some lively debate on some state forums. Information was exchanged and laws discussed and in some cases there was no clear answer. Some depended on what the definition of “IS” is! Had to throw that “Is” in there as some laws are so hard to understand and even read. It just showed how out of touch some lawmakers are/were when writing gun laws.

I have reworked the first page trying to explain that people need to look at Places off Limits etc on each States Page at www.handgunlaw.us. Plus other information they need to be aware of. I have also made the states name on each section a link to that States Page at Handgunlaw.us so they can access it easily.

The states I have information for still need looked at by others and feedback on what may need added or removed would be greatly appreciated. The biggest problem is that if there is no law against something it is legal. Laws are so varied and spread out in the Statutes/Administrative Rules and Hunting Regulations it can be tough to find some of them. Then if there is not a law against it you can search forever and there is nothing to find. I have been cautious on some state entries. I just don’t have enough information and don’t want to get someone arrested and maybe lose their gun rights. That is where your feedback can assist me. Then we get to the Catch 22 again as there may be no law against it so you can’t show a statute/Rule Etc that states it is legal!

Below is a link to the latest Draft. Again feedback is most welcome! This is the same link to the first Draft Document. I just updated it. Thanks again to everyone who has assisted me. It is very much appreciated!
http://www.handgunlaw.us/documents/LongGunDraftDocument.pdf

 

[henschman]

As a criminal defense attorney, I can appreciate the difficulty in such an undertaking.

Oklahoma's laws are a bit strange on the subject. I usually tell people that if they don't have a carry license, the surest thing is to carry in compliance with one of the list of affirmatively legal methods listed in 21 O.S. 1289.7. That section was written with horrible grammar and punctuation, but I am confident that a Court would find that any of the methods listed would constitute an affirmative defense to a charge of unlawful carry. However, there is no law stating that these are the only lawful ways to transport a firearm in Oklahoma. As you say, if an activity isn't specifically prohibited, it is legal. So it is conceivable that there are other methods of transporting a firearm that are legal. If the method of transport does not fall under 1289.7, the inquiry would boil down to whether or not the method of transport violates the unlawful carry statute, which is 21 O.S. 1272, and prohibits the carrying in public of offensive weapons, including firearms, on or about the person. How close would a weapon have to be to you inside your vehicle for a court to determine that it is "on or about your person?" No one really knows. It is clear that a gun that is in contact with your body, or is right next to your seat, would fall into that category. Anything beyond that would be a judgement call, and would depend on how close it is to you, and how easy it is to access.

Thank you for your efforts on this Mr. Slider. You have a great website, and I refer people to it often.