Forgive My Ignorance

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Alright,I took my CPL class about a week ago, and the instructor says something along the lines of it being legal to open carry. I pretty much hit the floor. Definitely did not believe him so I wanted to do a little of my own research. Hence I found this site. I am still dumbfounded that this is legal. There are a few things I am still unclear of. If anyone can offer me some assitance, please do.



1. Is there such a thing as casual concealment? If I have my CDL, can I carry with my gun somewhat exposed or does it have to be either completely covered or completely showing? This would make it much easier to carry a big gun i.e. 1911.

2. Is there a list of clearly defined laws and references that support Open Carry? I have downloaded the .PDFs and am still very nervous to open carry.

3. How is this not brandishing?

4. I can't seem to convince anyone I know that this is legal, kund if makes me think it isn't.



Mostly, I just need some convincing. I know this site is great, but I am still very very nervous.

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Welcome Woolf!

Brandishing is basically pointing your gun in a dangerous, stupid, or threatening matter. Leave it in a holster, and you've got nothing big to worry about if you don't break any laws. The only people I know of who have gotten plastered by illegal prosecution didn't have CPL's.

So your advantage is a CPL. There is a chance that if you OC you'll get stopped and bitched at by a jerk cop, especially if you do it a lot, but it's extremely unlikely that you'd get in any form of trouble. But since you have that CPL, you can OC as much or as little as you'd want, or you can casually conceal like you mentioned. Doesn't even hurt to do your first bout of open carrying at a meeting, since that feels the safest for most people. Or you can even decide against ever OCing. The number one suggestion of people here is to carry, OCing is optional.

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Also, I did the math and I guess you wouldn't have your CPL just yet. I've never had one, so I'm kind of slow on these things. :?

So if you do chose to OC before you get your permit, be sure to be very careful.

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Welcome woolf. Go to the stickies at the top of the page, read INFO ON OPEN CARRY, also WASH-RINSE-REPEAT then grab a soda and start reading the OPEN CARRY EXPERIENCES. Enjoy.springerdave

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Welcome to OCDO, woolf. I moved to Rockford from Ypsilanti Twp. 10 years ago, and still miss the area in many ways. I lived just off Textile Road where we had a free air show courtesy of Willow Run Airport.

Read through the forum...particularly the Michigan threads. Know the law before you procede, and stay off campuses until we break down some "walls" of restriction. Michiganderhas covered the basics.

By the way, where did you take your CPL class. I like to know which instructors are giving good info on the legalities of open carry in Michigan.

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Hcidem wrote:

By the way, where did you take your CPL class.  I like to know which instructors are giving good info on the legalities of open carry in Michigan.

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I know you didn't ask me, but I had a good CPL class from MICPL.net, where they told the whole class that OC was legal, "But it could get you harrassed by the cops." All true I suppose.

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Thanks for the good news guys. My instructor was Frank Purk from Cabelas. Wasn't very stoked with him, but there were a few things I learned. Thanks again.

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Thanks for the info, zigziggityzoo. I had wondered about MICPL.net. Personal conjecture on the hazards of open carry is much more agreeable than the outright bad-mouthing with which some other CPL instructors address the issue.

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1. 1. Doesn’t matter, but if you are going to OC, you should not only know the laws, but also your rights and how to properly assert them without escalating any potential encounter. Yes, OC is legal, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t get questioned about it (by both LEO and non-LEO alike.)
   
   2. Law don’t really work that way. Laws are put in place to restrict things, not allow (unless previously restricted). There are no laws restricting OC, so it’s legal.
   
   3. See Michigan AG opinion # 7101.
   
   
   

Hcidem wrote: [/b]

Thanks for the info, zigziggityzoo. I had wondered about MICPL.net. Personal conjecture on the hazards of open carry is much more agreeable than the outright bad-mouthing with which some other CPL instructors address the issue.

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At least two of the instructors are active members of MGO forums. Based on what they've posted over there, it sounds like this is pretty much standard.

ETA:
Sorry, I had earlier posted in a hurry, and didn't realize that the formatting didn't go through the cut 'n paste.

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If you are going to OC, get a good DVR.

I bought a Olympus WS-311M, what I like about it is the USB plug is built in, no searching for that lost cable.

Just turnit on in the morning and letit record all day, that way, you won't be messin' with it if an encounter occurs.

BTW, I'm new here too, welcome aboard.

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ghostrider wrote:

Hcidem wrote:

Thanks for the info, zigziggityzoo.  I had wondered about MICPL.net.  Personal conjecture on the hazards of open carry is much more agreeable than the outright bad-mouthing with which some other CPL instructors address the issue.

Click to expand...

At least two of the instructors are active members of MGO forums. Based on what they've posted over there, it sounds like this is pretty much standard.

Click to expand...

Well, they are in business of getting people trained to conceal, after all!

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But they are honest about the law and THAT is what counts.

When people ask about getting a CPL, I ONLY endorse MICPL.NET

These are also the guys that are willing to cater their weapon retention class (ment for law enforcement) to open carriers. I'll be posting a new thread for this soon.