On Friday I got pulled over for speeding near Anacortes. I had my pistol in the glovebox becuase I'd left from work and can't carry at work. I chose to hand my CPL to the cop (Yes, I know that I did not have to).
The cop asked me where my pistol was and I replied "In my glove compartment".
He said 'It's against the law to not have it on your person, when in the car, and he could write me a citation for that".
I asked him which RCW stated that it was illegal, to which he responded "It's not a written law it's a common sense law".
I asked "How could he write a citation for a non written law?"
His response was that "It was written in the [Workman] Booklet".
My reply that Workman's booklet was a fine piece of research and opinion; but was not the law, and that the Attorney General had specifically published an opinion that stated it was not illegal, earned me a road side lecture that I did not need.
The upshot was that showing my CPL did not get me out of a speeding ticket but did extend a simple traffic stop for much longer than I cared for. I won't make that mistake again!
Well, this copper completely misinterpreted (perhaps deliberately) what he read.
On Page 15 of the current edition, it is clearly stated that having the gun in a console, on the floor under a seat or in the glove box is legal. There's a quote from the AG's opinion dated way back in 1987, and that hasn't changed.
What this guy evidently did is read what he wanted to read and understand what I wrote the way he wanted to, not how the law works, or what is actually stated in the text.
I strongly suggest carrying the gun on your person while driving for any number of reasons, the most important being the security of the firearm if you:
a) have children in the car (or perhaps somebody who goes pawing around and finds a gun he or she can't resist putting their hands on...)
b) get into a crash where a loaded gun that could end up flying around with enough centrifugal force to cause a discharge (bad enough being in a crash, worse still if you get plugged in the butt by your own gun in the process)
If this guy equated my suggestion on the level of a safety concern with what the law allows, that's nobody's fault but his own. BTW: There's no such thing in our firearms statutes as "common sense law." I'm wondering where the hell that came from?
Now: Rio, you wrote:
In chapter 4, 'Concealed and Open Carry', the book, in no uncertain terms, claims that an individual may be arrested and 'rightfully so' for OC or even 'printing' while CC and charged with 'public menace' under RCW 9.41.270 AND have their CPL revoked!
Where does it state that a person may be arrested "and rightfully so" for OC? I didn't say that and what I wrote can't possibly be read to say I said that. I was talking about a nasty habit of some people to "flash" their guns when they are carrying concealed. This is hardly the same as having a firearm exposed by a sudden gust of wind. This addresses the people (and we've probably all encountered someone like this) who just can't resist showing the whole world they're packing a piece, when they ought to keep the thing covered up, if that's their intent. Open carry is discussed elsewhere in the chapter.
This chapter details the problems one faces with 9.41.270 (1) and a look at many of the encounter reports in this forum over the years bears that out, particularly down in Clark County. If it was up to me, I'd trash 270 (1) in a heartbeat, because it gives far too much latitude to nervous nellies who cringe at the sight of a firearm carried in a peaceable manner. The whole basis of that tenet was a fear in the legislature back in the late 1960s about the Black Panthers showing up like they did in Sacramento — I believe the year was 1967 — with loaded rifles. Pretty lame, but that one rests with the Legislature.
It's good that
Casad narrows the scope of 270 (1) but because it is an unpublished opinion (and nobody has ever come up with a good reason why it was unpublished) it can't be used in court, but that didn't prevent me from quoting the most important paragraph of the ruling, on page 20 of the current edition.
Now, far as Nick/GoGoDawgs is concerned, I encourage everyone to trot down to Champion and buy everything on the shelves and give all the credit to Nick for getting you into the store, so maybe he gets a raise
He needs the gas money!
