Full Timing With Weapons

[Larryzv7]

As a fulltime RV’er traveling from State to State what is your general understanding of carrying weapons from one State to another?

I do not have a concealed carry permit but I do keep a .45 cal in my 5th wheel. I also have a 19-million volt Stun Gun, and realize that different States have laws regarding stun guns. I also have some Alaska Bear Spray, which I don’t think is governed by any laws but I would be interested in hearing what others think of bear spray as an effective deterrent against bears?

Now I know I can just do a search of State laws before entering a State but I was just wondering if such laws generally make exceptions for visitors who may only be in a State 90-days or less? As a U.S. Army veteran I know that if I stay at a campground on a military base I have to let the Provost Marshall (Military Police) know that I have a firearm within 24-hours of entering that base.

A few years ago I was camping at a California State Park, and was getting ready to leave that campground after a 14-day stay; I put my unloaded .45 in my tow vehicle and left the ammo in the 5th wheel, which is the legal way to travel with a firearm in your vehicle in many States.

Another camper, who was evidently afraid of guns, saw me put my .45 in my tow vehicle and informed the park ranger that I had a gun. Within minutes 3- park law enforcement vehicles pulled up to my campsite, where I was getting ready to leave, and the park police, with their guns drawn, yelled out for me to get face down on the ground.

I didn’t hesitate because there were 5-of them with guns drawn pointed at me. They asked me if I had a gun; I replied that I did, and the bottom-line is that they gave me a citation for having a lethal weapon on State property. California law says that you can have a gun while camping but it excludes State property.

The citation was a misdemeanor and because I do not have a criminal record I ended up with a $1000.00 fine and 1-year unsupervised probation. Again, I do not have a concealed carry permit and the California Attorney General’s website says that you can have a firearm with you while you are camping, but the park police told me that this did not include State property.

So this is my long story as to why I am asking about generally traveling with a firearm between different States? It is very hard, dependant on the county of your residence, to get a concealed carry in California.

[cacherjoe]

I haven't read all the posts in the 11 pages, but wanted to weigh in. I'm from Canada, ex-military and worked in protective services for 20 years so fire arms don't bother me. Being from Canada, I find it hard to fathom people just carry fire arms around, we just don't do that. Not saying it's wrong, just not something we are use to.

For me, I'd say unless it's needed, keep it stowed away. The problem you ran into is you had the weapon out. Don't know if there was a need or not, but the need would have to be very high before I would take our a fire arm.

Protection from animals may be a reason, but for all the years I've spend in the woods I've never felt I needed a weapon to protect myself. I do carry bear spray.

Like I said I'm comfortable with weapons and do think our gun laws up here could be eased a bit. I also can't say that if I could carry, I wouldn't. Just a different perspective I guess.

[PastorCharlie]

Here are two great sites for information on each state gun regulations: Pick your states.

http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/forum.php

http://www.handgunlaw.us/

[Larryzv7]

The times they are a changing; California’s concealed carry law is currently being challenged and may be made easier for Californians to get a CHC permit. Last week a Federal Court declared California’s CHCL requirements “unconstitutional.”

From Inside Bay Area California News; Dated 2/13/2014:

“In a surprising ruling, a federal appeals court Thursday declared unconstitutional the restrictions that many California counties have used to sharply limit the right to carry a concealed handgun.”

Full Story

[paul2006]

The decision to carry is one's own, I have carried a fire extinguisher in my vehicle for 30 years and have never needed it once, but I still choose to carry it. I have also stopped at a McDonalds for a quick meal once and had a nut with bugged out eyes pull a very large knife on myself and my family. In the last 20 years that is the only time I have needed to draw my weapon, but had I not had it I'm certain it would have not ended well. I did not fire, the threat of just seeing it and a few descriptive words with the guy were enough to convince him he would need life insurance if he did not back down.

As far as the legal tangled web goes, it can get very complicated. There is an excellent Android app called CCW. It costs very little, and is continuously updated with the latest facts. It has all the important things on the front page and all you need do is pull up the state, or even turn on the gps and it knows your state if you are on the edge and not sure. You can put your permit in the settings and it shows all the states your permit is good for, even if you put multiple permits in like a non resident permit to go along with your resident permit if you have more than one.

It tells you where it is illegal to carry and quotes the state law.

It tells you if it is a "must inform" state where you are required by law to tell an officer who pulls you over for a traffic violation that you are carrying before the conversation even gets started.

And pretty much anything else you need to know to keep you legal.

Each state law is different, I know many states have changed the law to allow for carry in State Parks.

The big one use to be the Army Corps of Engineer property since it is Federal Property. Half the campgrounds I would use are Army Corpse of Engineers. The laws are constantly changing, but last I heard a case was filed and it is now legal on Army Corpse of Engineers. A different ruling may come out later, but this is what I read recently.
I hope this information is useful to those who choose to carry for their family's protection.

Morris v. US Army Corps of Engineers, D. Idaho, Jan. 10, 2014. “The court strikes down the regulation on 2A grounds. The court reasons that the regulation affects the core Heller right of self-defense, and that possession in a tent is as protected as possession in a home, the regulation entirely forbids that, and therefore is subject to strict scrutiny. It reasons that possession for self-defense outside the tent is also protected. It reasons that a complete ban on that is a serious infringement, but it is not necessary to pick a standard of review since this would fail even intermediate review. It grants a preliminary injunction since plaintiffs have proven a ‘strong likelihood’ that they will win at trial.”

[Larryzv7]

BillyandKris wrote:
You should consider getting your CHCL in your state of residence. You will feel more comfortable after doing so. Also recently learned from someone that (in Texas at least) if you are pulled over and hand over your Drivers License, you better hand over your CHCL to them at same time. Here is a website that is helpful. http://www.arkansascarry.com/gun-laws/chcl-reciprocity-grid.html

I'm new here. What's a troll?

It is rather hard to get a concealed-carry in California and right now having a concealed-carry is not enough for me to want to move my legal address to another state, although I might consider doing such sometime in the future.

From Wikipedia:

“In Internet slang, a troll is a person who sows discord on the Internet by starting arguments or upsetting people, by posting inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community (such as a forum, chat room, or blog), either accidentally or with the deliberate intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.”

[DianneOK]

Bwaaahahah.... 🙂 🙂

[2gypsies1]

DianneOK...you're lasting a long time. 🙂

[DianneOK]

troll....one who creates discourse.......

[BillyandKris]

You should consider getting your CHCL in your state of residence. You will feel more comfortable after doing so. Also recently learned from someone that (in Texas at least) if you are pulled over and hand over your Drivers License, you better hand over your CHCL to them at same time. Here is a website that is helpful. http://www.arkansascarry.com/gun-laws/chcl-reciprocity-grid.html

I'm new here. What's a troll?

[DianneOK]

Dont go political on me, folks ........

[coolbreeze01]

I don't use state parks, but if I ever do, I'll take Larryzv7's experience as a heads up. So thanks for paying it forward.

[Larryzv7]

Jim, People are entitled to their own individual opinions, and some have chosen to post their opinions, as you have, but this thread is not about the rights of gun owners, more succinctly it is about under what circumstances can a person possess a gun when camping in their RV. If we make this into a political discussion, as some have, it will stray from its’ original intent. Second Amendment rights would not have been an effective defense in the situation which I described in my original post.

[JimM68]

bigdogger wrote:

Larryzv7 wrote:
Can’t leave the gun at home when you are full-time RVing and the RV is your home. I have never once heard a person say that they drove thousands of miles and only had one or two incidents where they needed a gun, or they have been RVing for 30+ years and only needed a gun a few times; it is always how long they have been doing something and never needed a gun.

The thing is you only need one incident, only one, and it does not matter how long you have been traveling on the road; that one incident can mean the difference between life and death. After I got out of the army my first job was as an ambulance paramedic (EMT) and I saw lots of murders, suicides, vehicle accidents, etc. It only has to happen once and the difference could depend on whether or not you can defend yourself.

Considering the incident with the rangers in your first post, it appears that you have come much closer to being killed for having a gun, then you have ever come to needing a gun to prevent someone or something from killing you. A different poster here posted they once had their gun out because a "beat" (later corrected to a bear) was wandering nearby. If you shoot a bear that is not directly attacking you, you will face a huge fine for hunting out of season without a license and if it happened to be an endangered Grizzly, you might get a few years of government housing. Now if that original post had been accurate, but for a different mis-spelling and a "beet" had wandered through the site, that would demand action. We all remember "The attack of the Killer Tomatos" and rogue fruits and vegetables obviously require prompt lethal action.

OK, I may be crossing the line here, directly quoting the constitution of the United States of America, but...

THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO KEEP AND BEAR ARMS SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.

I don't know why that is so difficult for some.
As you do not choose to forcibly guarantee your own rights, it is us who shall guarantee them.

[JimM68]

fla-gypsy wrote:

Larryzv7 wrote:

Francesca Knowles wrote:
I wish I could say I was looking forward to your next Troll Attempt, but I'm not. :R

So why do you think I am a troll?:R

Francesca is known not to be a supporter. It is obvious you are not a troll since you joined in 07 and are a senior member. You will find there are many people on this forum including moderators who do not think you should carry firearms with you even though it is a constitutionally guaranteed right.

Damn I should just quit reading today, as I am sure to get in "trouble"

What part of "SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED" ARE THESE PEOPLE HAVING TROUBLE WITH?