Motorist Protection Act and Motorcycles

[Tireshred]

I'm in the waiting room and don't have a CHL yet, but I carry every day since it's legal to carry on my person "in" a vehicle, but if I step out onto anything but private property I'm illegal, so I leave it in the truck if it's illegal. My employer allows me to carry at work so between my house and work I'm legal while in my truck, but does anyone know about motorcycles? Seems to me if I put a foot down on pavement I could be illegal? I know I could put it in a bag and probably be ok, but I like to carry so I don't have to announce to the entire company I'm carrying when I get to work (the owner is the only who knows). I also wear full protective gear when riding so getting to a handgun in an emergency is not likely, but not having to move it to my person is the problem.

Jimmy

[jiannichan]

I'd like to find a better way to carry on the motorcycle as it would take me a while to draw if anything was to ever happen. I sometimes wear a full leather suit while I ride, but most of the time just jeans and a leather jacket that I would have to unzip to get to my weapon.

As far as the MPA on a motorcycle, I have heard many who ride say when you're in the vicinity of the bike like getting on and off would still be fine but IANAL so I can't say for sure. Before I got my plastic I always carried on the bike and would discreetly place it in the 'trunk' when I got to my destination. I would think that it would be stupid to be able to get in trouble for UCW if you got off of your bike so you can lock it in the trunk or bag somewhere.

[RPBrown]

First IANAL. But I would think that a case could be made depending on the LEO and his view on carrying. if you were stopped and asked to dismount, and he is an anti 2 A, a hard nose, or just un-informed, he could arrest you. You could probably beat it in court but at what cost? Would it be worth it?

I think that until you recieve your CHL, it should remain on the bike out of sight. This could save you a lot of time money and heart ache in the long run.

There are several ways to keep it hidden depending on what you ride and what storage capability you have. The first that comes to mind is a vest (leather of course) with a concealment pocket inside. Keep it in the pocket and remove the entire vest, put it in the saddle bags and good to go.

I actually got one of these vests for Christmas. Made by Coronado Leather and it will conceal any of my full sized handguns. Works great after you get the CHL for the bike as well.

[The Annoyed Man]

My lawyer, who did not have a CHL at the time we had this conversation, told me that he carries in his saddlebag on his motorcycle, and that it's legal. I assume he's correct, but he practices business law, not criminal defense, so don't take my word for it.

[Fangs]

At my class the instructor said you should be fine without a CHL within about 3 feet or so. I.E. - getting on/of, filling up on gas... NOT going inside the gas station with your firearm on you. Based on other things he told me, I've realized that he leaned heavily on the side of safety (like incorrectly saying that you can't have any alcohol in your system at all), so if he said it's ok to carry on/around a bike I'd assume it's pretty safe.