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My question has to do with carrying in the Vehicle. In September, 2007, Texas passed the law that you can carry a firearm concealed in a vehicle without a permit. My wife does not have her CHL ( yet) and we do carry in the vehicle. I have told her to always inform the LEO of the weapon and location upon any traffic stop. I would like to hear from LEO'S and anyone who has been stopped while carrying ( legally) in their vehicle that does not have a permit and what their experience was like. How do you LEO'S feel about it and do you really like it. The main reason for my question is we recently moved back to Texas from Arizona, I had my permit there as well even though we had open carry in Arizona. One big difference was carrying in vehicles. With my permit, I could conceal in or out of the vehicle but if we had a concealed gun in the car and my wife got stopped and the gun was discovered, she was going to jail. In Arizona, she is allowed to have the gun on her,on the dash, in the seat or anywhere it is open where it can be seen, just not concealed in the vehicle without a permit. I always thought this was a crazy law because to me, it seemed very dangerous for an officer to approach a vehicle,see a gun before the driver has a chance to inform the officer of the weapon. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone with first hand experience on this subject.

Thank you.

Before I got my chl, I was told - Keep it concealed, don't mention it. Keep your hands on the wheel and the dome light on if it's at night. If the stop moves in a direction where it's prudent, THEN tell them...or if they ask of course.

DEADEYE1964 wrote:My question has to do with carrying in the Vehicle. In September, 2007, Texas passed the law that you can carry a firearm concealed in a vehicle without a permit. My wife does not have her CHL ( yet) and we do carry in the vehicle. I have told her to always inform the LEO of the weapon and location upon any traffic stop. I would like to hear from LEO'S and anyone who has been stopped while carrying ( legally) in their vehicle that does not have a permit and what their experience was like. How do you LEO'S feel about it and do you really like it. The main reason for my question is we recently moved back to Texas from Arizona, I had my permit there as well even though we had open carry in Arizona. One big difference was carrying in vehicles. With my permit, I could conceal in or out of the vehicle but if we had a concealed gun in the car and my wife got stopped and the gun was discovered, she was going to jail. In Arizona, she is allowed to have the gun on her,on the dash, in the seat or anywhere it is open where it can be seen, just not concealed in the vehicle without a permit. I always thought this was a crazy law because to me, it seemed very dangerous for an officer to approach a vehicle,see a gun before the driver has a chance to inform the officer of the weapon. I would appreciate any feedback from anyone with first hand experience on this subject.

Thank you.

I worked under the lightbar for many years, and have a first hand appreciation for the feelings an officer has when he approaches a stopped vehicle, so, on the rare occasions where I may be stopped, I conduct myself as I wish the people I stopped had.

I pull well off the roadway to give the officer a good safety zone on the driver's side of the car. I put on the hazard flashers and roll down the window all the way to allow conversation, and I turn on the dome light if it is at night. I turn off the engine and place the keys on the dash. (This tells the officer you're not about to try to back over or run on him), and I put my hands on top of the steering wheel. I explicitly avoid any motion that could be seen from the officer's position as trying to access or hide something.

Although under Texas law I'm not technically required to tell an officer I have a concealed gun, when the officer asks for my ID, I tell him I'm a retired law enforcement officer lawfully carrying a concealed weapon under the federal Law Enforcement Officer's Safety Act of 2004 (known as HR218, currently Chapter 44, Title 18 US Code, Section 926(c)) and where it is located. I also tell him where my ID is (which is never in or near the same place for obvious reasons), and ask him what he would like me to do. The officer usually will say either "That's fine" or "Just don't reach in that area." When I give him my driver's license, I also give him my TCLEOSE Firearms Proficiency Certificate and my retired officer's ID, which constitute the identification requirements for lawful carry under LEOSA.

These steps alleviate much of the worry an officer has about walking up to someone who could either be a certified good guy, a raving lunatic, or a wanted felon. I have no reservations at all about letting the officer know about the gun. Bad guys don't do that, but good guys do, so it helps an officer form an initial assessment of what kind of person he's dealing with.

I've always received very professional and courteous treatment with this approach, and, at the end of the stop, I have been thanked for my courtesy on more than one occasion.



I hope this helps to answer your questions.

See that's what's so frustrating for everyone.. you'll get one answer from one LEO or former LEO and the flip side answer from another. I'd never suggest that all police officers should have the same personality or anything, but a uniform code of conduct or behavior for stops would be nice. LOL

Of course you have the "luxury" of being able to say that whole "retired LEO" bit that most of the rest of us don't.

Easier to just get the CHL and hand it to them with the license. :)

I suppose that I could do all of the same thing. I've just been told from another former LEO that anything that has you verbalizing "I have a gun" is "bad."

"Hello officer... I am have a CHL and a legally concealed handgun. My identification is...."

Also, I think DEADEYE1964 was asking for advice what his wife should do. She doesn't have her CHL yet.

I bet she doesn't have a TCLEOSE Firearms Proficiency Certificate and a retired officer's ID either.

Morgan wrote:See that's what's so frustrating for everyone.. you'll get one answer from one LEO or former LEO and the flip side answer from another. I'd never suggest that all police officers should have the same personality or anything, but a uniform code of conduct or behavior for stops would be nice. LOL

Of course you have the "luxury" of being able to say that whole "retired LEO" bit that most of the rest of us don't.

Easier to just get the CHL and hand it to them with the license. :)

I suppose that I could do all of the same thing. I've just been told from another former LEO that anything that has you verbalizing "I have a gun" is "bad."

"Hello officer... I am have a CHL and a legally concealed handgun. My identification is...."

Deadeye 1964 asked how LEO's handle being stopped, so I wrote from that perspective.

I would agree that saying "I have a gun" would cause more alarm than needed, and would probably generate different responses from different officers. This is undesirable. You want a script that is universally applicable and doesn't trip alarm bells and flashing lights from any officer's perspective.

If you're not an active or retired LEO, of course you can't use exactly the same language I spelled out for LEOSA carry, but you sure can use almost the same verbiage by putting your CHL information in its place like this when asked for ID:

"In accordance with Texas law, I want you to know that I am lawfully carrying a concealed handgun which is located at ________. I have a Texas CHL. My identification is in ________. How would you like me to proceed?"

Since not providing the CHL with your ID would violate Texas law, and an officer seeing your CHL is almost certainly going to want to know if you're carrying and where (and may be pretty unhappy that you haven't given him this information already), IMHO the up front approach described here is the best course of action that will be appreciated by most officers and has in fact worked very well any time I've seen it used. It also prevents alarm if, in the course of reaching for your ID, the weapon, holster, magazine, etc. is accidentally exposed. If this were to happen before you've disclosed your status, you may suddenly discover it's "kiss the pavement" time.

For non CHL's carrying off the person but in the vehicle, I would suggest a minor variation:

"I would like you to know that I am traveling and have a lawfully possessed handgun in my vehicle. It is located at: _________. My identification is in ________. How would you like me to proceed?"

It would be advantageous to hear from active duty Texas LEO's who can either confirm that these are good ways to go, or to suggest another approach that is preferred in their agencies.

Excaliber had a very good way to handle it. He is also correct that most cops tend to handle being stopped as they would want people to do for them.

I tend to be just the opposite of him and not worry about weapons. If I have a reason to worry, I will ask. My advice would be for her to not mention the firearm to the officer unless he asks about it.

I get very casual about being armed and will even forget about it at times. I also carry my wallet in my left front pocket (a habit since I lost one from my hip pocket in high school). So, when I was stopped by an Austin PD officer a few weeks ago, I pulled over, rolled my window down, and put my hands across the top of the wheel to wait for him (I prefer people not to dig around for ID and all until I am by the car and can see what they are doing). So, he walks up and asks for my DL and I twist around so I can get my wallet out. He sees my magazines on my hip and decides to ask if I am armed. I had forgotten all about them. So as I get my wallet out, I tell him I am armed and a police officer. I then give him the DL and he asks to see my ID and badge also. Afterwards, I thought he was pretty cool about the way he just mentioned "I see you have your magazines there, do you have a pistol also?" but I also thought I was grateful it was his only response.

So, as someone else has pointed out, the different officers will handle it different ways, each according to their personality and experience. There is no one guideline to give. If you are going to do something that would require going near the weapon or showing the magazines or something, you should probably say something first. If the weapon and ammo are concealed and the officer will not see them under the normal stop conditions (like while you are getting your wallet out), you can do things differently. And you might consider that your luck may be as bad as mine and whichever way you choose will be the wrong way for the officer that has just stopped you.

srothstein wrote:Excaliber had a very good way to handle it. He is also correct that most cops tend to handle being stopped as they would want people to do for them.

I tend to be just the opposite of him and not worry about weapons. If I have a reason to worry, I will ask. My advice would be for her to not mention the firearm to the officer unless he asks about it.
I get very casual about being armed and will even forget about it at times. I also carry my wallet in my left front pocket (a habit since I lost one from my hip pocket in high school). So, when I was stopped by an Austin PD officer a few weeks ago, I pulled over, rolled my window down, and put my hands across the top of the wheel to wait for him (I prefer people not to dig around for ID and all until I am by the car and can see what they are doing). So, he walks up and asks for my DL and I twist around so I can get my wallet out. He sees my magazines on my hip and decides to ask if I am armed. I had forgotten all about them. So as I get my wallet out, I tell him I am armed and a police officer. I then give him the DL and he asks to see my ID and badge also. Afterwards, I thought he was pretty cool about the way he just mentioned "I see you have your magazines there, do you have a pistol also?" but I also thought I was grateful it was his only response.

So, as someone else has pointed out, the different officers will handle it different ways, each according to their personality and experience. There is no one guideline to give. If you are going to do something that would require going near the weapon or showing the magazines or something, you should probably say something first. If the weapon and ammo are concealed and the officer will not see them under the normal stop conditions (like while you are getting your wallet out), you can do things differently. And you might consider that your luck may be as bad as mine and whichever way you choose will be the wrong way for the officer that has just stopped you.

DEADEYE1964 wrote:My question has to do with carrying in the Vehicle. In September, 2007, Texas passed the law that you can carry a firearm concealed in a vehicle without a permit. My wife does not have her CHL ( yet) and we do carry in the vehicle. I have told her to always inform the LEO of the weapon and location upon any traffic stop. I would like to hear from LEO'S and anyone who has been stopped while carrying ( legally) in their vehicle that does not have a permit and what their experience was like.

When I get lit up I turn on my four way flashers and start looking for a safe place to pull over. After I stop I roll down the window then turn off the engine and keep my hands on the steering wheel. At night I turn on an interior light after I pull over. I wait for the cop before doing anything else. I give him my drivers license and insurance card when he asks for my paperwork. After he gives me the ticket I wait until he's back in his car before I leave. Depending on the ticket I might take defensive driving or hire a lawyer.

If he asks about guns I would tell him but it hasn't happened yet.

The way I look at it, it's legal to carry a concealed firearm in the vehicle, it's also legal for me to keep a candy bar in my console. If the LEO asks if I have any candy in the vehicle, I'll tell him. Same with the firearm. Otherwise he does not need to know..

I got pulled over a lot when I was younger, had a lead foot. I've never once been asked if I had a firearm in the vehicle.