Ski Bag and/or Station Wagon Transport

imported post

hey all, I've got a question about keeping a gun in the trunk of a car that either has a ski bag or is a station wagon. according to the ORC Chapter 2923.16 C2:

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923.16

No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle, unless the person may lawfully possess that firearm under applicable law of this state or the United States, the firearm is unloaded, and the firearm is carried in one of the following ways:
In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle

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Is it lawful to transport a firearm in these situations? In the ski bag scenario, it's possible to open the ski bag compartment, detach the ski bag, and attempt to fish out the gun without leaving the vehicle. Similarly in a station wagon, it is possible to open the cover and attempt to grab hold of the gun in this way. Gah, if only my barrel was 2 inches longer, then these silly rules wouldn't apply :banghead:


-poddus

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Easy answer there. You have to read the whole code.

(C) No person shall knowingly transport or have a firearm in a motor vehicle, unless the person may lawfully possess that firearm under applicable law of this state or the United States, the firearm is unloaded, and the firearm is carried in one of the following ways:

(1) In a closed package, box, or case;

(2) In a compartment that can be reached only by leaving the vehicle;

(3) In plain sight and secured in a rack or holder made for the purpose;

(4) If the firearm is at least twenty-four inches in overall length as measured from the muzzle to the part of the stock furthest from the muzzle and if the barrel is at least eighteen inches in length, either in plain sight with the action open or the weapon stripped, or, if the firearm is of a type on which the action will not stay open or which cannot easily be stripped, in plain sight.

imported post

My understanding is that when you are open carrying the mag must be seperated from the weapon and the gun in a locked box or container.
My question is can the mag be on your persons,say in the extra compartment of your holster or in your pocket.
Another confusing thing is,can you build a gun rack say in your honda accord and secure your pistol in plain sight?

imported post

Carry and transport are legally distinct here. You can carry a loaded handgun openly on your person. People may flip out and the police may presume to demand explanations, but it is not of itself illegal. You can carry magazines and ammo as you see fit.

Transportation (with limited exceptions) in a vehicle requires that any firearm be unloaded, with the magazines/speed loaders empty, unless you have a concealed carry permit, in which case you can keep a loaded handgun on your person, or stored in an approved manner (http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923lists all therelevant gun control laws). You can transport an unloadedhandgun secured in a rack in plain view as you described. I'd be worried about someone trying to steal it though.

-ljp

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So the law states it must be in some sort of closed container,but the ammo or loaded magszines connot be transported with the weapon?
Can the container be in your back seat,as to imply that you have to leave your car to obtain the weapon?
I was going to buy a small safe and have it mounted on the back of my driver seat,or have my tacle box behind my seat.
I have to be super carefull of how I transport in Kent since there are over 5 juristictions of police in the Area,Kent city,Kent State PD,Stow,Brimfield,Silver lake,Ravenna,Cuyahoga Falls,Brady Lake,and if you ever drive in Kent past 12 at night be ready to get pulled over. My Dads and Mp and I have never been pulled over so many times by LEOs.

imported post

Well, all these various jurisdictions are bound by the same statelaws. Ohio has preemption now, so previous local ordinances are generally null and void. Cities can still prohibit discharging guns in city limits, and they can specify zoning requirements for gun shops, for example, but that's about all they can do beyond what state law says.

Ammo and magazines/speed loaderscan be transported with the weapon, as long as the gun and mags are empty (unloaded). They don't have to be in separate compartments of the vehicle. The case/container with the gun in it can be in the back seat, in your example - the case does not itself have to be stored in a glove box or trunk or whatever. As long as the (unloaded) gun is in such a container, you're good. That leaving-the-car-to-access-it bit concerns a weapon not already in a container or rack or whatever.

Also, unless you have a carry permit and are carrying or transporting a firearm in a manner that requires a permit, you are not required to inform the police that you are in possession of any weapons. They usually ask, and they will probably get pissed off if you refuse to answer, but if you acknowledge that you have any guns in your car during a stop, they will claim that they want to check that they are being transported legally. This is often a pretext to search your car generally to check for contraband, and it is a presumption upon your liberty that you are not obliged to submit to. If guns or even a gun case is in plain view, they may invoke a (fictional) safety exception to the 4th amendment to justify a search as well. I advise you not to lie about having guns, but you can reserve the right to (respectfully) decline to answer, if you don't feel like going through a lot of explanations.

I have had legal run-ins over gun transportation. I went to jail and was prosecuted for it, in fact. If you want to bore yourself with the details, there's a thread in the Ohio section about it, so I do know something about it. That said, I'm still not a lawyer and this is not meant as any definitive legal advice, although I'm confident it's right. When in doubt, refer to a lawyer and the actual text of the laws in the Ohio Revised Code, already linked above.

Welcome to the forum.

-ljp

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Thank you guys so much.There are so many confusing laws to follow.
I want to be safe about this before I go and open carry for my first time.
And any advice and thoughts feel free to respond.
Thanks NBC

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Thank you Legba,after reading your post I have alot more info and understanding of the wording you really have to look into it alot. So I take it that if you get into your car with a loaded weapon,you have to take the ammunition out of the mags and put them away,and then when you leave reload your weapon upon leaving the vechile?

imported post

thanks all, I wasn't particularly clear, but my idea was to transport the gun in my trunk ready to go (with loaded mags elsewhere in the car) and the case I have for the gun requires it to be partially disassembled, so that's why I was asking. I always get tripped up with the legal vs. laymen's meanings of words :/ It's great to have a place like this online where people can ask questions, I am eternally grateful to the open carry movement


thanks again,

-poddus

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bustelo - yeah, you have to do the "magazine shuffle" with unloading and reloading every time you get in and out of a car, to be compliant. It's worth getting a carry permit just to avoid doing this regularly. A lot of people who don't necessarily carry guns get permits to facilitate transportation.

poddus - even with the gun stored in a case and in another compartment, the magazines still have to be empty unless you have the carry permit.

-ljp

imported post

poddus - even with the gun stored in a case and in another compartment, the magazines still have to be empty unless you have the carry permit.

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yes I'm aware of that, thanks for making sure though

imported post

poddus - even with the gun stored in a case and in another compartment, the magazines still have to be empty unless you have the carry permit.

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yes I'm aware of that, thanks for making sure though