?? open carry - states and questions ??

[palmtree]

i got this curiosity about what parts of the country or states, that allow you to open carry loaded guns. Also, when did calif outlaw rifles in windows of pickups. I read that about 30 some states allow open carry, is that true, or am i missing something. Also, is that a loaded gun that is allowed in 30 some states. If any of you live in these areas, i'D be curious how often you see citizens going about there day carrying guns openly. i realize these things need to be holstered, but do rifles qualify, if you have one slung over your back??? thanks

[CitaDeL]

45 states have some form of open carry. Texas is the most recent to join this majority (come January 1st. 2016), altering only their licensing scheme to allow open carry with a handgun license.

California went the other direction in 2010 and 2011, prohibiting the open carry of handguns and then rifles in incorporated areas. Loaded open carry remains legal in most rural areas. There are a host of exemptions that carve out territory that can be exploited by regular people, but most wont risk the legal peril.

To answer your question about window racks- I'm pretty sure that fell out of favor in the 1970's to 1980's due to theft and the growing anti-gun culture, but if we were to stay specific to the legalities, it would have been when Anthony Portantino went after UOC of rifles in 2011.

[dustoff31]

i got this curiosity about what parts of the country or states, that allow you to open carry loaded guns. Also, when did calif outlaw rifles in windows of pickups. I read that about 30 some states allow open carry, is that true, or am i missing something. Also, is that a loaded gun that is allowed in 30 some states. If any of you live in these areas, i'D be curious how often you see citizens going about there day carrying guns openly. i realize these things need to be holstered, but do rifles qualify, if you have one slung over your back??? thanks

AZ does allow loaded open carry. I've lived here for 23 years and can probably count on both hands the number of times I've seen residents OC handguns. I don't recall ever seeing anyone OC a rifle. I live in a more rural area, so things may be different around East, East LA, err, I mean Phoenix.

The above does not include places where one would expect to see someone OC, at the range, out in the desert, etc.

Nor does it include in "because I can" type things like tourists from CA, protests, on so on.

[palmtree]

thanks for the reply, as i remeber it, it was ok to carry handgun unloaded in ca, but not loaded. Would you say that it is accurate to say, some 30 some states allow open carry of handguns

[Cokebottle]

AZ does allow loaded open carry. I've lived here for 23 years and can probably count on both hands the number of times I've seen residents OC handguns. I don't recall ever seeing anyone OC a rifle. I live in a more rural area, so things may be different around East, East LA, err, I mean Phoenix.

The above does not include places where one would expect to see someone OC, at the range, out in the desert, etc.

Nor does it include in "because I can" type things like tourists from CA, protests, on so on.

This.
Spent a fair amount of vacation time in AZ and I think I've only seen one OC, and that was a custom holster mounted to a custom motorcycle seat... not carried on the person.
The owner stayed with the bike when I was there so I don't know if he open carried away from the bike or not.

Last couple of trips, after Brewer signed off on Constitutional Carry, I've paid attention looking for signs of printing and I haven't noticed more than a couple.

Surprised that I haven't seen California tourists carrying.

[Cokebottle]

thanks for the reply, as i remeber it, it was ok to carry handgun unloaded in ca, but not loaded. Would you say that it is accurate to say, some 30 some states allow open carry of handguns

Loaded open carry remains legal in CA in unincorporated county areas where shooting is not otherwise prohibited.

As with AZ, while 30 some states allow some form of open carry, it is not common to see it.

There ARE pitfalls.
The Federal Gun Free School Zone law is in effect nationwide and impacts both handguns and long guns. Unless you have a CCW from that specific state, you may not carry within 1000ft of a K-12 school.
Even if you have CCW from CA, AZ, Utah, and Florida, you are still only exempt from the GFSZ in those specific states.

Also, of those 30 some states, some allow loaded open carry, some do not.
There is no way to make a blanket statement that covers "most" with any kind of meaningful number.
You need to research the specific laws of the actual state(s) that you are planning to vacation in.

And of course, just because you can doesn't mean you should.
As mentioned, until just a couple of years ago, it was LEGAL to have an unloaded rifle in the gun rack in your pickup.
That hasn't been smart in metropolitan California since 1960.
Even when UOC of handguns was legal, those who did so were a constant target of harassment... Not that the police were intentionally harassing them, but they were forced to respond to calls from people freaking out that someone had a gun.

If you are simply working on a research paper... anything you read here is not going to be accepted by your instructor... we can give you ideas on which direction to take your paper though.

You are going to need to cite specific laws from each state's PC, build your own matrix, and credit the states' PC sections in your bibliography as your source.

[palmtree]

thanks for the answers guys. sounds like people in az can, but don't choose to excercise it much.

[dustoff31]

thanks for the answers guys. sounds like people in az can, but don't choose to excercise it much.

True, but also bear in mind that AZ is a constitutional carry state, and CCWs are shall issue. So just because you don't see a gun by no means indicates that one isn't present.

[MXRider]

Here in Virginia open carry of loaded guns is legal without a permit. It's also pretty rare here since concealed carry permits are shall issue (anyone that can buy a gun legally can get a permit) and most tend to conceal their guns.

I still see gun racks In the window but it's typically only the rural areas.

I've never seen someone open carrying a rifle.

[audiophil2]

thanks for the answers guys. sounds like people in az can, but don't choose to excercise it much.

There are a open carry dinners held monthly out here. Usually at a Golden Corral restaurant. I've never been to one but I'm not into chain buffet food.

Open carry is not completely out of the norm. In the 6 years I have been here I have seen well over a dozen carriers and I am rarely out and about. I hardly leave a 5 mile radius of my house.

The last open carrier I saw was at our city's Christmas event last night. It was a dad carrying a stainless 92 pushing a stroller. There were a few thousand people at the event and plenty of kids since it was Christmas themed. I was pocket carrying simply because I don't like the weight of a gun dragging me down.

WHen my son was younger I used to chase him on the play structure a few blocks from city hall and the PD. Lots of kids there and no one called the police.

In the same area I can still see dad's kicking a soccer ball around while open carrying.

In the same area the police host a community event yearly. They do K9, helicopter rappelling, and other demos. A lot of people open carry to the event. They even have a few tables with all their guns, less then lethal, shields, robots, and comms equipment for kids to check out.

The city hall has gun lockers right before the entrance. WHen my wife and I have to do business there we drop in pistols, switchblades, and pepper spray then come back outside and gear up as other people are going in and out of the building.

I've seen mom's and other women open carrying at the grocery stores. Nothing nicer than looking at a 1911 on the hip of a pretty girl in tight jeans.


I open carry every time I go out shooting in the desert and by desert I mean the dirt areas just outside Phoenix. I live in a town of 100,000 in the NW suburbs of Phoenix so it's not like I am in some middle of nowhere town. My clients usually are open carrying when they come in to buy stuff. They walk in with all kinds of toys they want to show off and none of them bring them in cases. They have them slung over their shoulder as soon as they get out of the car.

[Dodahdude]

Here in the "Fly Over" state any lawful citizen of the state that meets the lawful requirements can carry a loaded firearm open or concealed, in a vehicle, with or without a permit. Regardless of obsolete window or door stickers of the contrary. Only lawfully licensed CCW permit holders are exempt from restricted school boundaries.

As far as open carry and long gun it is rare to see but known throughout the community to happen. Why advertise?

EDIT: If a Kansas CCW holder crosses any state line that reciprocates with another state cannot carry on that states school property.

[Cokebottle]

EDIT: If a Kansas CCW holder crosses any state line that reciprocates with another state cannot carry on that states school property.

Reciprocity would not come into play WRT school zones.
Federal law requires that to be exempt from the GFSZ (similar to CA, 1000ft), one must possess a license to carry "issued by the state"

Safest legal presumption is that "issued by the state" refers to the state in which one is presently carrying, otherwise the law would have been worded differently such as "a license to carry recognized by the state"

AZ nonresident allows carry within school zones within AZ, but not within New Mexico or Nevada, even though the nonresident AZ permit allows CCW within those states.

[palmtree]

well, this helps me out. thank you for the effort you guys put in by describing some of what you've seen in length. It sounds like a fair amount of people carry in one way or another in other states, and i really don't read about accidents to much. Sometimes husband and wives or family members get pretty emotional, so it sounds like those who carry, handle themselves pretty well as a whole. thanks

[Cokebottle]

well, this helps me out. thank you for the effort you guys put in by describing some of what you've seen in length. It sounds like a fair amount of people carry in one way or another in other states, and i really don't read about accidents to much. Sometimes husband and wives or family members get pretty emotional, so it sounds like those who carry, handle themselves pretty well as a whole. thanks

Yep.

There are some accidental shootings, but overall, nationwide, there are 3x as many fatalities from traffic accidents than firearms... and that's including the firearms fatalities from criminal/gang acts.

[1CavScout]

I see OC once in a while in AZ but it's not as common as some would think. I see it mostly on guys riding motorcycles. I OC to and from the range, but mostly carry concealed.

The last time I was at a Starbucks out there, the guy in front of me was OC'ing a 1911. He was from CA and said the first thing he did when he crossed the border was strap on his rig.