Open Carry While at Home

[CBR_rider]

So lately I have been open carrying when I am at home. I have gotten real comfortable with having my side arm on all the time now. I do have a quick question tho. I know I can open or conceal carry while both inside my house and in my fully gated backyard but can not carry in my front yard since there is no gate or fence around the front of my house. I love to work in my garage and during the winter months I have the garage door closed but now that it is hot as heck in the Inland Empire I would like to open my big garage door that faces the street BUT if I do there is no barrier between me and the public domain. Could I be arrested for carrying in my garage with the door open? Also is there a law that states I am not allowed to have my holster on when I go to the store with NO firearm in it? This is for those times I need to leave the house to get parts or lunch.

You should read UNITED STATES v. OAXACA from the ninth circus in regards to whether or not your garage is treated like your house in regards to privacy/etc. I can't answer your question for sure and there are probably numerous other factors that would play into whether or not your open garage is open to the public; tread carefully. I think the equally large (bigger?) issue is just being sure you are concealed and don't attract unwanted attention from thieves.

[ifilef]

I am planning on getting an M&P Shield soon. Then I wont have to wear a stupid holster.

I'd only give it a '6' on scale of '10' for pocket carry. Used to own one, it's heavy for pocket carry and you need suitably large pockets. As I recall, it's about 23 oz. when fully loaded with the smaller 7-rd mag and 1 in the chamber.

[packnrat]

pending time, what i am doing, etc. open carry, concealed carry (preferred) or just at hand.

everybody should be armed at least 70% of there time. (i classify "armed" to include having a loaded and chambered pistol within a foot of your body).

empty guns are just like a stick or rock.
not that much use if attacked by multiple attackers.

[adamjay]

You should read UNITED STATES v. OAXACA from the ninth circus in regards to whether or not your garage is treated like your house in regards to privacy/etc. I can't answer your question for sure and there are probably numerous other factors that would play into whether or not your open garage is open to the public; tread carefully. I think the equally large (bigger?) issue is just being sure you are concealed and don't attract unwanted attention from thieves.

That case is very interesting,

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1287175.html

Essentially, the police arrested a man as he was standing in his open garage without a warrant, even though he was a known drug dealer, they had a phone recording of him agreeing to sell a pound of meth. They entered his garage, arrested him. They found drugs. They got consent to search the house from his sister. All of that evidence was suppressed because of arrest with no warrant in his home (garage).

 Oaxaca acknowledges that probable cause existed to arrest him, but he contends that the evidence the Government found in his home was the fruit of an illegal arrest and that the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress it.   The Supreme Court and our court have made crystal clear that, in the absence of exigent circumstances, the police must obtain an arrest warrant before entering a person's home to arrest him.   See Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 590, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980).   As Judge Fernandez emphasized in United States v. Albrektsen, 151 F.3d 951, 953 (9th Cir.1998) (citation omitted):

Nowhere is the protective force of the fourth amendment more powerful than it is when the sanctity of the home is involved.   The sanctity of a person's home, perhaps our last real retreat in this technological age, lies at the very core of the rights which animate the amendment.   Therefore, we have been adamant in our demand that absent exigent circumstances a warrant will be required before a person's home is invaded by the authorities.

The Government does not claim that there were exigent circumstances that justified the warrantless entry into Oaxaca's garage.

 In the face of clearly contrary law, the Government asserts that the agents were not required to obtain an arrest warrant because Oaxaca's attached garage is not part of his home.   The Supreme Court has long extended the Fourth Amendment's protection to garages. We can conceive of no reason to distinguish a garage, where people spend time, work, and store their possessions, from a den or a kitchen, where people spend time, work, and store their possessions.   Simply put, a person's garage is as much a part of his castle as the rest of his home.

This case would seem to suggest that your garage is definately a part of your home, even with the door open. Once again, stay concealed.

[rivercityshooter]

Wow, OP, sorry some of these guys are all over you, seems like a simple question and I'm not sure you've gotten a real answer yet.

I have the same situation as you do with the garage and have asked before with no real legal conclusion. The one opinion I did get that seemed valid was that your garage is just like your house - a reasonable person (public) would not feel welcome or justified entering your house (or garage) uninvited even if the door was open. As long as you are inside the threshold, you are good. Again, this was someone's interpretation, not legal advice or case law, but it makes a lot of sense to me.

If your garage were public space, you wouldn't be allowed to mount a scope out there or clean your guns. If I'm in the garage working on a rifle, you can bet I've got a sidearm on. I built a shelf and backed it with a tarp so that I can leave the door open while being completely screened from sight unless someone actually enters. I would never have guns in sight from the street. Notably, I live in a small, rural town.

What I find frustrating is that we are supposed to unload and lock up our pistols every time we go between the house and garage.

I almost always carry my pistol strong side OWB with a generous cover garment when I carry at home. To echo the posts above, why advertise or tempt a hassle. I would sometimes disarm but keep my (very small) holster on when I ran to the corner store - still, always with that generous cover garment. Not a big deal.

I did read a post awhile back about a guy who wore an empty holster to town, inadvertently exposed it and had a rather unnerving and unfriendly, time consuming interaction with the police. Not illegal, but what a hassle.

I hope we all get a real answer on this one.

P.s. Getting a CCW if you are able solves all of this.

Thanks for the response. I am working on my CCW my appointment is in late October of this year. Like I said I do try to stay concealed with a big shirt.

[Epaphroditus]

So build a pidly little fence. There has been no legal definition of 'fence' so make it as small as you want but if it were me I'd make it tall enough that one would trip over it. 18" light to be about right.

Decorative but a clear physical demarcation.

I used to be similarly situated with prius neighbors, school next door and church around the corner. Visual barrier worked in my case and could still more sight through a small window.

Sent from my SM-G360V using Tapatalk

[BoJackUSMC]

IWB always for me except on hiking (owb), but still cover with loose tshirts.

[MrOrange]

That case is very interesting,

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-9th-circuit/1287175.html

Essentially, the police arrested a man as he was standing in his open garage without a warrant, even though he was a known drug dealer, they had a phone recording of him agreeing to sell a pound of meth. They entered his garage, arrested him. They found drugs. They got consent to search the house from his sister. All of that evidence was suppressed because of arrest with no warrant in his home (garage).

This case would seem to suggest that your garage is definately a part of your home, even with the door open. Once again, stay concealed.

Wow, I had no idea it was protected to that extent. Although, in both Oaxaca and it's referenced "virtually indistinguishable" case Payton, there was nothing in plain sight to give LEOs bad vibes let alone probable cause, 'sides the (alleged) criminal himself.

Keep in mind there's what's technically legal, and then there's plain horse sense. It doesn't matter to me whether it would be legal to carry in my open garage (if I had one), the point is I wouldn't want anybody who happened to be in the area to know I owned guns, let alone had one on me.

There's also the degree of concealment necessary, which varies greatly. An example might be some public celebration, with a crowd bumping into you, where you can count on there being both uniformed and undercover police present. Every one of the people in that crowd have a phone to summon the police if they get the wrong idea about why you're carrying (or the right idea, for that matter.) That's a bit different from being on your own property with people looking on at a distance.

When I was house sitting in a rural area a while back, I carried my Commander in the right front pants pocket of my cargo pants, including when working in the open garage. You'd have to be standing right next to me, looking at the right angle, to see the very end of the butt in my pocket. That same carry wouldn't work for a trip to town, even if I never got out of the vehicle.

BTW I own three different brands of cargo pants, all supposedly the same size (Short/Fat), and only one brand will work with the Commander. One other brand makes it painfully obvious from 20 feet away, and the other I can barely get a folding knife into.

[Adobe]

You have two choices.

1. If you walk into your garage and open the door. Take the firearm out of your holster and lay it close to you. If it's not on your person then its not a Open Carry.

2. Wait to open your door after Charles Nichols open carry case wins.

[steelholder]

This morning I heard a story on the news where a man opened fire on a group of men having a bbq at their apt. One of the intended victims was carrying and fired back killing shooter. Anyone else hear this one this morning?

[pointerman]

I think you really need to consider the fact that once you open your garage door you have eliminated the barrier to the public and you could be arrested and charged. I would take the suggestion of another and just open your garage door a foot or two to let the air flow (and buy a fan) thus keeping a visual barrier for your garage.

On another note, not sure why you don't think you would need a holster for an M&P shield. I am not aware of a single firearm that should not be carried on person in a holster that blocks off the trigger from an accidental pull. A long and firm trigger pull can still be done accidentally. Use a holster.

[AEtrane]

Is this thread for real?

Worried about carrying in your own garage?

Carrying an EMPTY holster!?

Hilarious!

[stormvet]

I'm firmly with the don't advertise crowd, if I'm working with firearms or ammo or have any visible. My garage door is closed, if it's hot. I may crack the bottom of the door and leave the side door open for a draft, but that's it.
I have been carrying concealed for decades, if not in uniform I'd be uncomfortable open carrying.

[Citadelgrad87]

^^^ This. I don't know why anyone would carry an empty holster. It's just too easy to take it off before you go out. BTW what's a coos?

Cops, sorry, I turned off autocorrect. At least it doesn't randomly substitute words for me any more.

[Cato]

Why would you openly want to do something that would call attention to yourself? This is California after all . . . .

Yeah, you are just giving a nervous law enforcement officer a reason to shoot you dead.

...or robbers a prime target when you are at work or shopping. If you have one gun, you probably have a safe full of goodies.