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Road side rests off limits?

G

grishnav

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Going to be spending a lot of time in Seattle, and trying to get in touch with Washington laws...

According to handgunlaw.us, rest stops are off limits, but they don't provide a citation. I've never heard of this in Washington or Oregon. (They also list rest stops as being off limits in Oregon, which they might be for CHL-holders as a "public building").

So... what's the word. Is handgunlaw.us wrong? Should I mail them a revision? Or is there something I don't know about.
 
S

sv_libertarian

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They are wrong. In Washington the only areas off limits to guns are the secure areas of police stations, courthouses, mental health facilities or airports. Also no carry in places off limits to persons under 21, and schools (except when picking up or dropping off a student)

So rest areas are good. In fact I would think that would be a place you would want a gun more than most places...
 
G

grishnav

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sv_libertarian wrote:
So rest areas are good. In fact I would think that would be a place you would want a gun more than most places...
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. Rest areas are fringe areas, for those who subscribe to the theories on the "no-nonesense self defense" page...
 
I

Izzle

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I always carry when I make the trek from Ellensburg to Seattle at night and I stop half way, call me big chicken but I hate rest areas at 2 am
 
Bill Starks

Bill Starks

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I'm going to agree with SV on this one. I've not seen any RCW prohibiting carry at a rest stop. I travel to Walla Walla and Spokane several times a year and I'm not about to leave it in the car while I do my business.

While we are on the subject.... what does everyone do with their pistol (waist band / hip holster) when the business requires you to sit down?

edit: way to go.... my 500th post deals with crap....LOL
 
just_a_car

just_a_car

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Perhaps that site made a mistake in assuming that because you had to have a CPL to carry in a vehicle that it was somehow illegal to carry and/or OC in a rest stop.

Whatever the case may be, it's public property and there's nothing legal they can do against you.

IANAL
 
I

Izzle

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I just checkout out the site and they only talked about cc and said it was legal in reast areas. Where did you see where it says you cant carry at all?
 
Bill Starks

Bill Starks

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grishnav wrote:
Izzle wrote:
I just checkout out the site and they only talked about cc and said it was legal in rest areas. Where did you see where it says you cant carry at all?
Click to expand...
In there USA Off-Limits N-W (PDF), updated 7/27/08...
Click to expand...
Every state on that page (except islands & Wisconsin) its legal to carry at rest stops, Just don't carry hollow points in New Jersey. The rest stops in Washington are run buy the state and maintained by the state DOT.
 
B

Bear 45/70

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Rest stops in Washington are just like state parks. Perfectly legal to Open Carry. Oregon would be the same, as except in a few cities OC is perfectly legal in your vehicle and the ODOT takes care of both highways and rest areas.
 
Machoduck

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Bear 45/70 wrote:
Rest stops in Washington are just like state parks. Perfectly legal to Open Carry. Oregon would be the same, as except in a few cities OC is perfectly legal in your vehicle and the ODOT takes care of both highways and rest areas.
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Bear, are you remembering that grishnav has a WA CPL? I don't. Memory is the second thing to go.

I would just hate for grishnav, or anyone else reading this thread, to get caught up in our "no loaded pistols in car without CPL" law.

MD
 
B

Bear 45/70

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Machoduck wrote:
Bear 45/70 wrote:
Rest stops in Washington are just like state parks. Perfectly legal to Open Carry. Oregon would be the same, as except in a few cities OC is perfectly legal in your vehicle and the ODOT takes care of both highways and rest areas.
Click to expand...
Bear, are you remembering that grishnav has a WA CPL? I don't. Memory is the second thing to go.

I would just hate for grishnav, or anyone else reading this thread, to get caught up in our "no loaded pistols in car without CPL" law.

MD
Click to expand...
The car thing is a separate issue from the rest stop thing. Walking around a rest stop OC is perfectly legal just like strolling thru a Washington State Park OC is, CPL not withstanding. The car requirement for a CPL is another issue.
 
just_a_car

just_a_car

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Bear 45/70 wrote:
The car thing is a separate issue from the rest stop thing. Walking around a rest stop OC is perfectly legal just like strolling thru a Washington State Park OC is, CPL not withstanding. The car requirement for a CPL is another issue.
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Actually, it's not a seperate issue as the majority of rest stops in WA can ONLY be accessed by vehicle. Thus, you must have a valid CPL to have gotten there and leave unless you intend on loading upon exit and unloading prior to entering your vehicle.

That's why I mentioned it in my first reply to this thread.
 
B

Bear 45/70

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just_a_car wrote:
Bear 45/70 wrote:
The car thing is a separate issue from the rest stop thing. Walking around a rest stop OC is perfectly legal just like strolling thru a Washington State Park OC is, CPL not withstanding. The car requirement for a CPL is another issue.
Click to expand...
Actually, it's not a seperate issue as the majority of rest stops in WA can ONLY be accessed by vehicle. Thus, you must have a valid CPL to have gotten there and leave unless you intend on loading upon exit and unloading prior to entering your vehicle.

That's why I mentioned it in my first reply to this thread.
Click to expand...
Doesn't matter, If you are sans a CPL you just carry unloaded as required by law until you dismount the vehicle. When you get back to you vehicle, you unload. What is so hard to figure out here?
 
just_a_car

just_a_car

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Bear 45/70 wrote:
Doesn't matter, If you are sans a CPL you just carry unloaded as required by law until you dismount the vehicle. When you get back to you vehicle, you unload. What is so hard to figure out here?
Click to expand...
Although that's what the law requires someone to do without a CPL, I still think that tip-toes the line of "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place...that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons."

At the very least, it adds to "evidence" for a prosecutor that wants to crucify you.
 
B

Bear 45/70

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just_a_car wrote:
Bear 45/70 wrote:
Doesn't matter, If you are sans a CPL you just carry unloaded as required by law until you dismount the vehicle. When you get back to you vehicle, you unload. What is so hard to figure out here?
Click to expand...
Although that's what the law requires someone to do without a CPL, I still think that tip-toes the line of "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place...that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons."

At the very least, it adds to "evidence" for a prosecutor that wants to crucify you.
Click to expand...
No more than driving up in your vehicle with a CPL and your sidearm and getting out and walking around OC. You are really stretching the law here. How does following the law put you into "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place...that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons."
 
just_a_car

just_a_car

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Bear 45/70 wrote:
No more than driving up in your vehicle with a CPL and your sidearm and getting out and walking around OC. You are really stretching the law here. How does following the law put you into "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place...that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons."
Click to expand...
They got Randolph Spencer in "State v. Spencer" for walking "in an assaultive manner" while carrying a slung rifle and convicted him. I could see a prosecutor saying that inserting a magazine and racking the slide was "assaultive" and warranted alarm for the safety of other persons.

Do I think that's the case? No. Do I think an anti-gun prosecutor would use it against you to the fullest extent? You bet your ass I do.
 
J

joeroket

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just_a_car wrote:
Bear 45/70 wrote:
No more than driving up in your vehicle with a CPL and your sidearm and getting out and walking around OC. You are really stretching the law here. How does following the law put you into "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place...that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons."
Click to expand...
They got Randolph Spencer in "State v. Spencer" for walking "in an assaultive manner" while carrying a slung rifle and convicted him. I could see a prosecutor saying that inserting a magazine and racking the slide was "assaultive" and warranted alarm for the safety of other persons.

Do I think that's the case? No. Do I think an anti-gun prosecutor would use it against you to the fullest extent? You bet your ass I do.
Click to expand...
I gotta agree with this. Getting out of a car and racking the slide of a pistol could very well be considered warranting alarm.
 
B

Bear 45/70

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joeroket wrote:
just_a_car wrote:
Bear 45/70 wrote:
No more than driving up in your vehicle with a CPL and your sidearm and getting out and walking around OC. You are really stretching the law here. How does following the law put you into "in a manner, under circumstances, and at a time and place...that warrants alarm for the safety of other persons."
Click to expand...
They got Randolph Spencer in "State v. Spencer" for walking "in an assaultive manner" while carrying a slung rifle and convicted him. I could see a prosecutor saying that inserting a magazine and racking the slide was "assaultive" and warranted alarm for the safety of other persons.

Do I think that's the case? No. Do I think an anti-gun prosecutor would use it against you to the fullest extent? You bet your ass I do.
Click to expand...
I gotta agree with this. Getting out of a car and racking the slide of a pistol could very well be considered warranting alarm.
Click to expand...
Geez, haven't you guys ever heard of keeping the gun low, hidden by the door and your body and then rack the slide, then holster the weapon? Didn't you ever sneak any booze out of you parents house as a teen? I never advocated laying everything on the roof of the car and loading up. You people need to learn to be covert.
 
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