imported post
NewZealandAmerican wrote:
It is legal to open carry your holstered gun in you car, but does it mean you break the law when you set your feet on the ground after exiting you car? On foot you can only open carry 2 actions from firing (unchambered).
If this is correct i guess you have to empty the chamber every time you step out of your car which is unnecessary gun handling that is potentially unsafe and an "ND" likely occuring.
This is true if you are stepping out of your car onto a "public road". If you are stepping out onto your own driveway, your own business property, your own ranch/farm field, or maybe even onto State or federal land where you can legally carry a loaded gun without a permit, then there is no need to unload.
And remember, only a handgun can legally be loaded in your car if you don't have a permit. Long guns are still required to be unloaded if a person doesn't have a permit.
Now, if you are stepping out into a "gun free school zone" (don't forget the 1000' rule, or in Utah day cares, preschools, colleges, vocational schools, etc) then you can't legally take your gun out of the car (loaded or not) without a permit unless you are on your own property.
With some work and a little luck, it won't be much longer before Utah has permit-free carry. But even that won't do anything abut the school zones, as rarely enforced as they may be.
I'd suggest getting a permit and not having to worry about such things.
Short of that, I'd suggest carrying Utah unloaded
and carrying a really good map or personal GPS system on which you've notated all the school zones.
Or, you might have a loaded gun you leave in the car for when you are in the car (with all the joys of properly securing it when you leave the car and then making it reasonably accessible when you get back in), and a Utah unloaded gun on your person.
Charles