First off let me address this from the perspective of a Law Enforcement Officer.
In a vehicle stop, I have a reason for the stop, be it a traffic infraction or due to some other circumstance. I am taking my life in my own hands and do a stop at some personal risk. As an LEO I would consider it a sign of respect and cooperative attitude from a person I stopped if the person I stopped voluntarily informed me they were carrying, and handed me their CCW along with their drivers license at the outset of the stop. That kind of respect, is very likely to play a role in influencing how I perceive the person I stop, and may gain you the benefit of my exercising my officers discretion when it comes time for any citation or a search of the vehicle.
Now if I stop you and you do not inform me of the weapon you have, and I end up seeing that you are armed, you will have the very unpleasant experience of me drawing my weapon aiming it at you and ordering you out of the vehicle, disarming you, conducting a search of your vehicle while I wait for the NCIC/NLETS check to come back, and the dispatcher to call your sheriff to verify your permit, while you sit on the bumper of my car in handcuffs. Plus I assure you that you will get the ticket.
Second let me address this from the perspective of a CCW holder. I have been stopped four different times while CCWing in my personal car.
PS these experiences were after I stopped being an LEO so no badge, just a CCW permit and a smile.
1. Once by an Alabama Trooper for speeding.
2. Once by a Mobile Alabama Officer at a DWI/DUI check point.
3. Once by A Louisiana Deputy at a High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area check point.
4. Once by a Florida State Trooper for speeding.
In each case, I presented the Officer with my Drivers License and CCW permit at the onset of the stop, informed them of the location of my weapon, Ie holstered on my right hip, or in the center console.
In each instance, I was never detained for longer than it took the officer ( the AL & FL State Troopers) to run my DL and check me for warrants, I was spoken to in a courteous manner, was never asked to surrender my weapon, or to allow my vehicle to be searched. In the two speeding situations, I was not even given a written warning, and in every situation I was told to have a nice day and thanked for my cooperation.
We all recognize there are some officers, a minority, who are hostile to civilians carrying weapons, Openly or even with a CCW permit, but they are vastly outnumbered by officers who support the second amendment. But we also have to remember that how we react to officers during our encounters with them will have an impact on not only the outcome of those encounters, but may impact on how the officer reacts to the next person they stop who is OCing or CCWing.
If during these encounters, the community of officer's, rightly or wrongly, develop the perception that OCer's and CCW holders, hold them in contempt or disregard, we do this at our own peril, as state legislators are very influenced by the lobbying efforts of Law Enforcement. Showing respect and courtesy to officers during our encounters with them will earn us respect in turn, and will translate into a positive view of OCer's and CCW permit holders. As a former LEO, I can attest that officers are influenced by their peers, and while your encounter with the officer may be limited to one or two officers, many others will become aware of positive encounters with us, and ALL will become aware of negative encounters with us. Officers do talk to each other about their encounters with citizens both positive and negitive.
It is up to each of us to handle these encounters as individuals, but we should remember that often individual encounters will translate into more widely held perceptions of CCWers and OCers as a "group".
Respectful consideration and professional courtesy is our best currency, and in the relationship between OC/CCW permit holders and LEO's, that is certainly a two way street.
Just saying.