Travelling to PA

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I'm going to be travelling to PAfor a longweekend for Easter. We're going to Slippery Rock and then we'll be in the Pittsburgh area (Southside). I'm mainly just curious if PA has a "stop and identify" law. both my wife and I have VA CHP's which are good while we're in PA; but, I want to make sure I'm within the law if a LEO stops me and asks if he can talk to me for a minute, and I tell him to pound salt. Any other info or advice would be great too...

Thanks

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There is no "stop and identify" law or requirement in PA. We have been able to find no requirements that a person identify themselves, even where the requirements for RAS or Probable Cause are met.

Understandably, although you have your rights, you may end up complicating your encounter to your own disadvantage, so you may wish to use your best discretion!

Example: last summer I went to a open concert in a park in downtown York. I was open carrying a XD45 5" OWB. I noticed a uniformed city LEO making his way through the crowd, apparently socializing. I was taking photos of the event and turned my attention to the camera for a bit, then heard those words we all fear...

"Sir, can I ask you a question?" coming from behind me. It was the LEO. He wanted to talk to me about my...





...digital camera! The horrors!!

No lie, we chatted a good 20 minutes about digital cameras and digital photography. His daughter wanted one for Christmas, and he was looking for pointers. He did end up asking me about my open carry, but only after our friendly chat about photography. And he never asked for any ID, although he did ask if I had my License To Carry Firearms he never asked to see it. Pretty cool encounter in my opinion! This guy was a PRO!!

You will find the atmosphere in PA to be a mixed bag. We truly are "Philly in the east, Pitt in the west, and Arkansas in the middle.

On a side note, I love Virginia, It is one of my favorite states to visit. I hope you find your visit in PA as enjoyable.

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some dept's have a new trick: they'll ssay they're responding to a man with a gun call (MWAG), and that they'll need to see your ID to ensure you're not a felon. they tried this with me a few weeks ago; i posted about it here. they were demanding my ID, and i refused, and even quoted our County DA, who went on record to say that the act of open carry was not RAS, and citizens were under no obligation to produce ID on demand. they left shortly thereafter.

like my friend Curmudgeon says, be aware that you'll get different reactions dependent on where you are in PA. in the big cities, you might get flak. in Philly, you are required to produce your LTCF on demand, but that's the only city where that's true.

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Thanks for the responses...I don't plan on going up there to be a complete Ying. Generally, I will cooperate with a request by a LEO to talk to me...but, the request, "Can you step over here for a minute so I can talk to you?" will always be met with a "No thank you..." from me. I will talk, as long as my firearm is not a topic of discussion or an illegal request to identify myself is not made.

I don't anticipate any problems in Slippery Rock...it's a pretty rurual area. My wife's best friend from childhood lives there. We also have a niece that goes to SRSU. There's a Starbuck's in Cranberrry we always stop at on our way from SR to the Burgh, and I know I'll be OC'ing there. My wife is originally from Pittsburgh and we have family there in the Carnegie and Rennerdale area. We'll bethere for Easter and I've read about the issues durring (and after) the G20Summit and just want to make sure.

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just be cool, and enjoy PA. i haven't been to VA in a stone's age; i've never carried down there. i'm hoping to go down to Hampton Roads next year to see some friends.

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Just thought I'd report back on my trip. I OC'd at the Giant Eagle in Slippery Rock and the Ace Hardware around the corner. We stopped at a Flying J (I think it was a Flying J) at Exit 99 on I79. There were 6 PA Troopers there surrounding a car parked by the building while I was gassing up. One of the troopers noticed my gun; but, didn't flinch.OC'dto Beto's Pizza on Banksville Rd...a few :what:but no comments. We went to a thrift store on 51. One of the Employees asked me if I was an LEO. I told him no and he said, "And you're carrying a gun in here? ...has my boss seen if?) I told him I had no idea if had and that OC was legal in PA. He asked me if I had a permit...I told him yes; but, it wasn't required to OC (didn't go into the restrictions with him.) I could tell most of the employees were either physically or mentally disabled (including him) so I was as nice as I could be. The only other comment was from my MIL's best friend (a 70 year od woman) who, after being at my nephews house for over an hour finally noticed the gun on my hip and asked if it was real...I tld her it was, she asked..."With all the kids around?!?!?! I told her it wasn't going to go off by itself and that was the end of it. Also stopped at a Giant Eagle in Washington, PA on the way back to pick up snacks and drinks for the ride home.

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glad to hear your PA trip was uneventful. eventful encounters in PA are few and far between, and are mostly experienced by me, it seems.

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fully_armed_biker wrote:

Just thought I'd report back on my trip. I OC'd at the Giant Eagle in Slippery Rock and the Ace Hardware around the corner. We stopped at a Flying J (I think it was a Flying J) at Exit 99 on I79. There were 6 PA Troopers there surrounding a car parked by the building while I was gassing up. One of the troopers noticed my gun; but, didn't flinch.OC'dto Beto's Pizza on Banksville Rd...a few :what:but no comments. We went to a thrift store on 51. One of the Employees asked me if I was an LEO. I told him no and he said, "And you're carrying a gun in here? ...has my boss seen if?) I told him I had no idea if had and that OC was legal in PA. He asked me if I had a permit...I told him yes; but, it wasn't required to OC (didn't go into the restrictions with him.) I could tell most of the employees were either physically or mentally disabled (including him) so I was as nice as I could be. The only other comment was from my MIL's best friend (a 70 year od woman) who, after being at my nephews house for over an hour finally noticed the gun on my hip and asked if it was real...I tld her it was, she asked..."With all the kids around?!?!?! I told her it wasn't going to go off by itself and that was the end of it. Also stopped at a Giant Eagle in Washington, PA on the way back to pick up snacks and drinks for the ride home.

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Glad to hear you had a positive PA experience.

Also, the truck stop at exit #99 on I-79 is a "Pilot" Truck Stop. The Flying J is up on I-80 somewhere further east.

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Curmudgeon wrote:

We truly are "Philly in the east, Pitt in the west, and Arkansas in the middle.

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You mean...

Pennsyltucky and Pretzelvania don't really exist? I'm heartbroken.

;-))

Great story!! Thanks for sharing.