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.