Don't be stupid

[freddie]

(1)My CCW class was taught by the sherrif of my county and we actually read all the laws concerning concealed carry. His advice was to inform whether carrying or not to save yourself some headaches.

(2)Even though the law states when you are carrying a firearm you must notify the officer of the law immediately it is what it doesn't say that will get you in trouble. The law does not specificially say you do not have to inform an officer if not carrying and that is where the problem occurs. We had a judge verify this and what he said was there are some gray areas that are not perfectly clear and as a safety procedure you should notify any officer immediately whether you are carrying or not to be on the right side of the law and not in the gray area. I do so as not to create any problems that I don't need.

Airshot

1. While I agree it isn't a bad idea to put the officer at ease by saying that you are not armed, it isn't the law. Every encounter is an opportunity for both sides to give and take a little, in order to reach an agreement. Maybe notifying him that you aren't armed, puts him or her at ease enough to just give you a warning instead of a ticket. Who knows. Then again, there are those who will abide by the law (inform only when armed) and nothing more. I can see it both ways.
2. That is wrong, and so is the judge. The Ohio Revised Code covers it all. There is no gray area in regards to notification. It is black and white. I just posted the ORC section, there is no other section on it. The ORC explicitly says what is illegal. If it is not in the ORC, then it is legal.

The only gray areas are in regards to self defense situations and how to handle them.

[airshot]

freddie....
I would like to see the part where it states that if you are not armed you do not have to tell the officer you have a ccw permit. If you read it it states that you must notify if you are armed. There is no specific statement that says
" you are not required to notify an officer that you are a ccw holder if not carrying a firearm" it does not say that and that is the gray area. I ma not
trying to start anything here, but one cannot assume the law is on there side because something is not clarified. The officer knows whether you have one the minute he runs a plate or runs your license, hell they even know when they run your fishing and hunting license. Your ccw is listed on all federal and state documentation. I will take my chances with the judge's opinion as he will be the one to make the decision.

Airshot

[Recurve]

I want any LEO speaking to me to be as at ease at possible. By simply handing the CCW permit with the I.D. at the same time and declaring if I am carrying or not is easy enough - providing the request for the I.D. from the officer(s) is a legal request in the first place.

[ReelTime]

freddie....
I would like to see the part where it states that if you are not armed you do not have to tell the officer you have a ccw permit. If you read it it states that you must notify if you are armed. There is no specific statement that says
" you are not required to notify an officer that you are a ccw holder if not carrying a firearm" it does not say that and that is the gray area. I ma not
trying to start anything here, but one cannot assume the law is on there side because something is not clarified. The officer knows whether you have one the minute he runs a plate or runs your license, hell they even know when they run your fishing and hunting license. Your ccw is listed on all federal and state documentation. I will take my chances with the judge's opinion as he will be the one to make the decision.

Airshot

Seriously are you kidding me?!?! It is very clearly written and stated in the law that was posted by freddie.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/2923.12
Quote:
(B) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license shall do any of the following:
(1) If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the person after the person has been stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license and that the person then is carrying a concealed handgun;

The part of the law that I highlighted in red is the proof. If it were the law that you had to notify even if you were NOT carrying a concealed weapon then that part would just be left out and it would read like this...

If the person is stopped for a law enforcement purpose and is carrying a concealed handgun, fail to promptly inform any law enforcement officer who approaches the person after the person has been stopped that the person has been issued a concealed handgun license.

I run in to this conversation all the time. While I agree that it is probably just as easy to go ahead and inform either way, it is not the law to do so. Everyone that has their CCW should know the law clearly because you WILL be challenged sooner or later. I take my right to carry concealed very seriously and suggest that anyone else that has a CCW do the same. Know the law and know your rights.

There is a great forum that covers lots of topics like this. It is http://www.ohioccwforums.org/
I highly suggest that you guys check it out. It is packed with a bunch of topics such as the one we are discussing and has many members that have a wealth of knowledge on the CCW subject.

Be safe.