Open Carry While at Home

[Mark77]

Had a friend that got surrounded by cops, because he was carrying his work box-cutter. Someone mistook the sheath for a holster. So no, I wouldn't walk around with an empty holster.

Also heard of cops visiting people who were in their garage with their guns (I don't know what the outcomes were), so I wouldn't do that either. If I felt the need to brandish guns in my garage, I would have the garage open half-way, so nobody can see what is in my hands.

[R Dale]

I have the same situation you do OP. I Open the side door of the garage and raise the garage door up about a 1 to 1.5 feet. There usually is a breeze that goes across the garage and cools the area I am in. It will give you a break if someone does try to come in and puts them at a disadvantage.

I do the same at my place when I work in the garage I don't like my garage being open so that people can see inside as they walk or drive by. As I understand the law having a CCW would not help in the OP's case because you cannot have a firearm in plane sight in your front yard if it's not fenced in fact you can't even have a BB gun in sight.

[MrOrange]

Had a friend that got surrounded by cops, because he was carrying his work box-cutter. Someone mistook the sheath for a holster. So no, I wouldn't walk around with an empty holster.

I've had multiple encounters with police where they thought a flashlight on my belt was a gun. They ranged from the full-on felony stop walk backwards with your hands on your head routine, to an SFPD cop who just said something like "Whoa, what the heck is that?" because he thought the Surefire 9AN was the barrel of some "Dirty Harry sized" piece.

[Wordupmybrotha]

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.

Would you mind posting a link to a case law supporting that please? Doesn't make sense to me that I am allowed to carry at home, but have to hide it when I open the front door because I've eliminated the barrier to the public. But then by hiding it out of sight, now I've broken CCW law while standing in the threshold of my own house?

[joepamjohn]

I load and do my firearms maintenance in my garage...We have a constant stream of the "church ladies" from the 7th day Adventists and also many "leafelet droppers" that come up to our door...past the garage door....When I'm in the garage I pull the big door down...I've had a couple of occasions where I've been "walked in on" when someone sees me in the garage...

Good thing my Fed ex guy is a shooter...I was bore sighting a rifle from a table/gun vise back in the corner of the garage and pointing down the street to a street light "target" I could bore sight on...of course the bolt was out and no ammo around....I'm looking through the bore when I heard sort of a "gasp"...it was the Fed ex guy coming around the corner of the garage and facing a rifle/scope pointing at him...I got him quieted down and he laughed as he fully understood..said it was just a "moment"....no way would I want some "church lady" having that same experience...

My Neighbors are good and know I have guns...We are within the 1000 foot rule of a school yard so I'm extremely careful about showing anything...if I'm loading my car with stuff to go to the range..I back the car into the drive way and don't walk about with gun cases exposed...just a bit inconvenient but why slap the bull on the nose.

Nice, and the Fex Ex guys tells his buddies where to come rob.

[adamjay]

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.

Yes, I think a firearm in plain sight might well meet the definition of "exigenct circumstances", prompting action. Now whether or not the court ultimately decided that you were ok because you were in your garage (home) has little to do with the fact that any interaction with LEO would be a hassle (not to mention paranoid neighbors or criminals). Just because you've done nothing wrong doesn't mean it won't still cost you $50k proving as much.

As we all agree - stay concealed.

What the OP is actually asking is about the law, a fact many of us are still missing.

[adamjay]

Nice, and the Fex Ex guys tells his buddies where to come rob.

Not so sure robbers actively seek out armed victims.

[adamjay]

Originally Posted by 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.

Would you mind posting a link to a case law supporting that please? Doesn't make sense to me that I am allowed to carry at home, but have to hide it when I open the front door because I've eliminated the barrier to the public. But then by hiding it out of sight, now I've broken CCW law while standing in the threshold of my own house?

Pointerman, I think if you reference the above cases, you will clearly see that the Supreme Court disagrees.

[joepamjohn]

Not so sure robbers actively seek out armed victims.

You are not armed if you are not home. My guess if the Fed Ex guys knows about more than you think. Not a chance I would take.