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VA Open Carry in car: clarification

pjsmith67

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Northern Virginia
Hi everyone,

I have a question about open carry in va. When I hop in my car do I keep it in the holster on my belt which is going to be on my right hip next to the seat belt buckle. What do you do take the gun out of the holster or undo your belt and take the holster off keeping the gun it and place the holster on the seat.

I would prefer for security to keep the gun in the retention holster on my belt, that way it won't go anywhere in a panic stop and as soon as I step out of my vehicle the gun is where it belongs on my belt.

Appreciate the comments. THanks.
 

hunter45

Regular Member
Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
969
Location
Myrtle Beach, SC
Hi everyone,

I have a question about open carry in va. When I hop in my car do I keep it in the holster on my belt which is going to be on my right hip next to the seat belt buckle. What do you do take the gun out of the holster or undo your belt and take the holster off keeping the gun it and place the holster on the seat.

I would prefer for security to keep the gun in the retention holster on my belt, that way it won't go anywhere in a panic stop and as soon as I step out of my vehicle the gun is where it belongs on my belt.

Appreciate the comments. THanks.

I don't do anything. I keep my firearm holstered on my hip. And your post is pretty hard to comprehend. If you are asking a question, try using a question mark (or two).
 

Badger Johnson

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
1,213
Location
USA
Need more info. With a CHL/CHP, you don't need to be concerned about where your pistol is (loaded, visible, or whatever) when in the car. With no permit, you'll have to check further. See handgunlaw.us for info.

As of July 1, 2010, a concealed handgun permit is not necessary when carrying a handgun while in a personal, private motor vehicle or vessel and such handgun is secured in a container or compartment in the vehicle or vessel.

It's open for some discussion if a proper holster with retention is 'secured'. It's paramount that you have it 'secured' from becoming a missile if you have an accident, imo.

Cite:
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms_Transporting.shtm

HTH and welcome to OCDO
 
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pjsmith67

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Northern Virginia
I don't do anything. I keep my firearm holstered on my hip. And your post is pretty hard to comprehend. If you are asking a question, try using a question mark (or two).

Sorry about all that. Typing on a mobile device tends to do that (at least it wasn't all caps) ;)

Thank you for your answer. In reading the law it was not clear that open carry in a car meant in your holster. In the holster is what makes the most sense.
 

pjsmith67

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Northern Virginia
Thus my question. I ask in the context of VA Open Carry and specifically inside a vehicle. Do you meet the requirement of in plain view inside a vehicle if your gun is in it's holster on your hip?

Thanks in advance.

Need more info. With a CHL/CHP, you don't need to be concerned about where your pistol is (loaded, visible, or whatever) when in the car. With no permit, you'll have to check further. See handgunlaw.us for info.



It's open for some discussion if a proper holster with retention is 'secured'. It's paramount that you have it 'secured' from becoming a missile if you have an accident, imo.

Cite:
http://www.vsp.state.va.us/Firearms_Transporting.shtm

HTH and welcome to OCDO
 

SouthernBoy

Regular Member
Joined
May 12, 2007
Messages
5,837
Location
Western Prince William County, Virginia, USA
You may, and it is best, to keep your firearm in your holster while driving. This is the safest place for it and keeps it available to you should you have to exit quickly or put it to use. Carrying in this manner is not concealing it as long as it is openly visible (you haven't moved a shirt tale or jacket over it or something else). You should be fine.
 

sol

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 21, 2010
Messages
33
Location
Fairfax County VA
If I'm understanding you, you are concerned that the seat-belt may be covering a part of the sidearm while it is buckled. As long as it is not concealed as to hide its true nature, should be fine.

Otherwise, just holster it and buckle up. A lot of folks like retention based holsters here, myself included.
 

skidmark

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
Welcome to OCDO.

There is nothing in Virginia law that would require you to adjust your holster or remove your handgun from the holster while OCing in your automobile. Folks have been buckling up over their holstered handgun for years with no problems encountered.

Badger, who says he supports OC but has reasons for not doing it himself, tried mightily to confuse the issue by bringing up recent changes in the laws regarding concealed carry. Pay no attention to his post as it will only make you wonder if he knows what the subject of the thread even was - and life's too short to waste time doing that.

If you are not a member of VCDL I encourage you to become one ASAP. There will be several folks at Lobby Day (Monday, Jan 16th, at the General Assembly Building in downtown Richmond) who will have application forms as well as pocket cards with the most relevant gun laws, and most will also have some version of the OC laws business-card. If you can't wait till Lobby Day, go to www.vcdl.org and join from there. Or you could go to the OC breakfast tomorrow - see http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...12-24-2011-Coney-Island-Diner-Ashburn-VA-0930 for details. Ed will most likely have application forms and both types of cards.

But regardless, come to Lobby Day if you can.

stay safe.
 

pjsmith67

New member
Joined
Dec 23, 2011
Messages
5
Location
Northern Virginia
Skidmark,

Thanks, that definitely gave me the answer that I was after.

Welcome to OCDO.

There is nothing in Virginia law that would require you to adjust your holster or remove your handgun from the holster while OCing in your automobile. Folks have been buckling up over their holstered handgun for years with no problems encountered.

Badger, who says he supports OC but has reasons for not doing it himself, tried mightily to confuse the issue by bringing up recent changes in the laws regarding concealed carry. Pay no attention to his post as it will only make you wonder if he knows what the subject of the thread even was - and life's too short to waste time doing that.

If you are not a member of VCDL I encourage you to become one ASAP. There will be several folks at Lobby Day (Monday, Jan 16th, at the General Assembly Building in downtown Richmond) who will have application forms as well as pocket cards with the most relevant gun laws, and most will also have some version of the OC laws business-card. If you can't wait till Lobby Day, go to www.vcdl.org and join from there. Or you could go to the OC breakfast tomorrow - see http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/s...12-24-2011-Coney-Island-Diner-Ashburn-VA-0930 for details. Ed will most likely have application forms and both types of cards.

But regardless, come to Lobby Day if you can.

stay safe.
 

Badger Johnson

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
1,213
Location
USA
Badger, who says he supports OC but has reasons for not doing it himself, tried mightily to confuse the issue by bringing up recent changes in the laws regarding concealed carry. Pay no attention to his post as it will only make you wonder if he knows what the subject of the thread even was - and life's too short to waste time doing that.

And Skid doesn't mean to be contentious, will waste your time getting in digs at other members of the forum for no good reason. Thanks, buddy.
 

TFred

Regular Member
Joined
Oct 13, 2008
Messages
7,750
Location
Most historic town in, Virginia, USA
And Skid doesn't mean to be contentious, will waste your time getting in digs at other members of the forum for no good reason. Thanks, buddy.
With all due respect, and I do try to respect all members here... Skid is right, the OP asks about open carry, and you went down a dark alley that was not at all related to the question.

It's commonly accepted, at least here on OCDO in the Virginia forum, that "open carry" is "open carry" without regard to where one may be standing to view the gun. Or in other words, it's OC if it's visible, if one takes the effort to look. That is what the OP is asking, and that is the answer.

v/r,

TFred

ETA: Of course, one must always remember that you can be arrested for anything at any time by a LEO who has an attitude. This is not something that is confined to OC issues.
 
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peter nap

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Oct 16, 2007
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Location
Valhalla
Badger knows all that TFred, he's just playing his usual games. It's probably a little slow under the bridge today.
 

Sheriff

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May 19, 2008
Messages
1,968
Location
Virginia, USA
You guys can discuss this thing until you're blue in the face. But nothing, including law, is going to prevent some snot nosed police rookie from saying the weapon was concealed from his view by the position of the driver's body and seatbelt. After the (false) arrest, it's all up to the judge.

Does anybody have any case law on this question? I would love to see it.
 

SirTiger

Regular Member
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Messages
32
Location
Richmond
You guys can discuss this thing until you're blue in the face. But nothing, including law, is going to prevent some snot nosed police rookie from saying the weapon was concealed from his view by the position of the driver's body and seatbelt. After the (false) arrest, it's all up to the judge.

Does anybody have any case law on this question? I would love to see it.

Wearing a seatbelt is not a different situation then sitting in a booth at Burger King, or even leaning on a wall. C'mon duh!
 

skidmark

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Joined
Jan 15, 2007
Messages
10,444
Location
Valhalla
You guys can discuss this thing until you're blue in the face. But nothing, including law, is going to prevent some snot nosed police rookie from saying the weapon was concealed from his view by the position of the driver's body and seatbelt. After the (false) arrest, it's all up to the judge.

Does anybody have any case law on this question? I would love to see it.

Wearing a seatbelt is not a different situation then sitting in a booth at Burger King, or even leaning on a wall. C'mon duh!

You and I know that!

But read what I said again. The key word is "rookie".

Are Badger and Sheriff joined at the head? (Was going to ask if they were thinking alike but decided they were/are not thinking at all.)

Any cop, with any amount of time on the force, can display any amount of negative attitude, at any time, for any (or no) reason.

If you are going to go around not doing stuff (like OCing) because some cop could decide that the fact that they could not see your handgun OC'd on your hip from where the cop was positioned and therefore arrest you for concealed carry with no CHP, then I suggest that you just not bother crawling out from under the covers where you are hiding because there might be a monster under the bed.

Either that or go out and buy a Lotto ticket because you could win the jackpot.

Personally, I like to make my decisions about what to do based on what is the most probable outcome as opposed to worrying about what the worst possible outcome might be and avoiding it by just not doing anything that has any bad possible outcomes. Given the state of science these days, it is possible that I could become pregnant. It's just not probable that will happen. So I don't obsess about getting pregnant, just like I don't obsess about getting busted for concealed carry without a CHP because some cop could not see my handgun from where they were standing.

Obviously, mileage does vary for some others.

stay safe.
 

Sheriff

Regular Member
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May 19, 2008
Messages
1,968
Location
Virginia, USA
So what? Another opportunity to make some money for yourself.

Could be. I would have to let my CHP expire first.


And Skidmark, I also do not worry about what they may or may not do. if it's gonna happen, it's gonna happen. Do you know of any case law where a cop has mistakenly arrested somebody for what he/she thought was illegally concealing a weapon with a seat belt? I just can't imagine it having not happened somewhere in the State of Virginia.
 
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