Open Carry Question...

[Metal425]

My dad is going to pick me up a handgun soon maybe, and I was thinking about the XD-45.

He's going to transfer it to my name, I wanted to make sure if I can legally Open Carry in Orange County with me being 18.

Also, any advice on Open Carry? Im still having some situations go through my mind, saying...damn.. I actually might get shot.

[Turo]

My dad is going to pick me up a handgun soon maybe, and I was thinking about the XD-45.

He's going to transfer it to my name, I wanted to make sure if I can legally Open Carry in Orange County with me being 18.

Sure, you legally will own it, and therefore can do what you please with it within the law.

Also, any advice on Open Carry? Im still having some situations go through my mind, saying...damn.. I actually might get shot.

I believe the official advice of CGN is NOT to Open Carry at the current time, unless you have at least $5,000-$10,000 handy for the legal fees you can incur.

[lorax3]

You only need to be 18 to own a handgun, so legally there will be no issues with ownership. Although uninformed LEO's may not realize this.

I would recommend you DO NOT open carry by yourself. Lone wolf style OC can be extremely dangerous. If you are going to OC anyway I would urge you do not OC in any groups less than 5, with one of those persons being a non-carrier.

Be aware of all the laws, federal, state, and your local city and county laws.

Again, OC can be extremely dangerous if proper and extensive research is not done.

There will probably be another San Diego Open Carry meet within the next few months, I would recommend waiting until then so you can get some open carry experience with a larger more seasoned group.

[josh_crosson]

i was thinking the same thing, its our right as citizends of california to OC with some exceptions. i dont get why you should have any problems with the law. yes if a cop see it and asked to inspect to make sure its not loaded, and you coopperate there should be no problem.
i myself am considdering OC every chance i get, but i will do even more homework on the issue as well.
if we dont excersize our rights, we lose them.

[SCMA-1]

i was thinking the same thing, its our right as citizends of california to OC with some exceptions. i dont get why you should have any problems with the law. yes if a cop see it and asked to inspect to make sure its not loaded, and you coopperate there should be no problem.
i myself am considdering OC every chance i get, but i will do even more homework on the issue as well.
if we dont excersize our rights, we lose them.

You are assuming that LEOs will behave the way you expect them to when you encounter them with heat hanging from your belt. What if Joe public sees you walking around packing heat and calls the cops. A unit responds to MWAG call; they draw down on you and order you to prone out. You move a little too quickly and................

......often times theory is not reflected by real life. Murphy is alive and well.

stay safe,

SCMA-1

[Kid Stanislaus]

i was thinking the same thing, its our right as citizends of california to OC with some exceptions. i dont get why you should have any problems with the law. yes if a cop see it and asked to inspect to make sure its not loaded, and you coopperate there should be no problem.

Woe to thee of little experience with the police!

[offshores]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1szBxnAEsMw&feature=PlayList&p=9CDFD99BEFA7E9CB&index=0&playnext=1

Here's a good link to a series of videos regarding open carry in CA. I took the time last week to watch all the vids and gained a great deal of knowledge. Very interesting stuff and good luck with the OC in OC...

[ponderosa]

I think the term UOC is more precise, with U = Unloaded... I'd recommed reading the forum posts from people detained and even arrested for UOC in CA at: http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum12/, which might be a more supportive forum in the long run at this time for UOC.

[TitanCi]

http://www.californiaopencarry.org

although I don't see a real need to OC in Orange County, middle to upper-middle class. Personally I wouldn't carry unless I had a CCW, to avoid potential issues.


this should be helpful for you, it's a bulletin that the OC Sheriff put out about the legality of open carry:

http://www.hoffmang.com/firearms/carry/OCSD%20Training%20Bulletin.pdf

[MasterYong]

i was thinking the same thing, its our right as citizends of california to OC with some exceptions. i dont get why you should have any problems with the law. yes if a cop see it and asked to inspect to make sure its not loaded, and you coopperate there should be no problem.
i myself am considdering OC every chance i get, but i will do even more homework on the issue as well.
if we dont excersize our rights, we lose them.

You should really read some of the OC experiences on here and the other sites mentioned so far. Most LE confrontations are nervous to say the least, and result in arrest or false prosecution in the worst cases. It's not all wine and roses when it comes to dealing with LEOs. I am confident that most LEOs are good people and want to do a good job, I'm just not confident that all of them know HOW. Keep in mind that training in what is legal/permissible and what is not is VERY minimal in the academy.

[ChrisDM]

I can't think of a good reason to open carry in OC either.

[hoffmang]

if we dont excersize our rights, we lose them.

Here is your fundamental problem. California state courts are your enemy and the Federal Courts will take time before they will take carry seriously. We have embarked on getting the Federal Courts to take carry seriously but we may have to lose all the way to SCOTUS before we get the right to carry in California recognized.

In other states where OC has worked, those states have protection of the right to bear arms in their state Constitutions. WE DO NOT IN CALIFORNIA.

So you may think you have the right, and I agree you probably do, but that will not stop you from wasting time and treasure while losing your gun rights and potentially having serious negative consequences on the rest of California's gun owners.

Please read up on how likely it is that Theseus is going to lose his case, lose his gun rights, and probably make it so that you can't carry (loaded or concealed) in a business in a school zone - even when you own it.

Think first.

-Gene

[TitanCi]

I hope people don't open carry because they think it "looks cool" - oh, look at me! I have a ... gun! personally, I think it's just a way to advertise to a potential BG what you have. CCW is the way to go, although many in SoCal probably won't be getting one. just a man's opinion!

[aethyr]

I believe the official advice of CGN is NOT to Open Carry at the current time, unless you have at least $5,000-$10,000 handy for the legal fees you can incur.

Gah. Was this always the advice? I haven't been keeping up on UOC for about 6 months and I thought it was all the rage. Not so much anymore?

[MasterYong]

Gah. Was this always the advice? I haven't been keeping up on UOC for about 6 months and I thought it was all the rage. Not so much anymore?

That's been the official word for as long as I can remember. Some of the folks high up in CalGuns think that UOC isn't a cause worth fighting for at this time (many say it's actually counter-productive, though I wouldn't tend to agree) so it's advised to not do it. I understand their reasoning, you can only fight a battle on so many fronts and we've gone so far past UOC as far as having our rights violated- I think they're talking the fights right now that A. We think we can win, and B. affect the most gun owners, and the restrictions on UOC don't affect nearly as many Californians as many of the other, even more restrictive laws.

If you do it, do it in a group, with several guys, one of them that's NOT carrying. Have all the paperwork (read: laws), a voice recorder, and be prepared to be arrested/get the "draw down"/get shot. UOC is inherently dangerous. Unarmed citizens get shot by LEOs without provocation, so the chances are even higher if you're carrying (i.e. doing something that may make a trigger-happy LEO nervous).