New to open-carry, I have a glock 26. I was out with my friend yesterday who has his CCW's and carries a glock 19. He informed me that if I was open-carrying a glock a bullet can not be chambered because in the state of Ohio you have to be two actions away from pulling the trigger. Is this true?? Can someone help me with this??
Your friend's information about the two actions is correct...but for the wrong state.
In Utah, to carry concealed or carry a handgun "loaded," you must have a permit. Without a permit, you may openly carry a handgun "unloaded," per the definitions of Utah law. In most states, unloaded means that the ammunition is separate from the gun; and, in some states, the ammo and gun cannot be immediately accessible to you. However, in Utah law, unloaded means that no round is in the firing position, and the gun is at least two mechanical actions from firing (pulling the trigger counts as an action). Hence, in Utah, for a semi-automatic, a semi-automatic handgun may have a loaded magazine; but, as long as there isn't a round in the chamber, it's still "unloaded."
In Ohio, it doesn't matter. You need a permit to carry concealed or carry in a vehicle. Other than that, open carry on foot is legal without a permit. There's no requirement in Ohio's law that an openly carried gun be "unloaded." Therefore, by default, openly carrying a loaded gun is legal.
