Modification to Hide a Weapon from View

This varies by state. In my state, the license covers the vehicle too.

Unfortunately, even some police and prosecutors don't know the law. I knew of a case two decades ago where a local defendant had to go get the author of the state law, who fortunately was also a local (and still alive and in another position of public service), to go tell the prosecutor what the law actually said.

Back when I was an activist and got my first license, the trainers and those with first-hand experience indicated that traffic stops could be handled smoothly if one didn't do anything stupid. In my only encounter, in a questionable stop (for a headlight out, at noon) in the land of F250s, the issue did not come up. Locally, despite a huge number of residents with carry licenses, I see no pattern of news stories about traffic stops of licensed gun owners turning ugly.

 

In WA, the restriction applies only to certain portions of the courthouse, e.g. jail areas and court proceeding areas, and the boundary must not extend beyond the minimum necessary to protect those areas. There is a whole lot of other government business traditionally located in courthouses that does not fall under these restrtictions. From RCW 9.41.300:

(1) It is unlawful for any person to enter the following places when he or she knowingly possesses or knowingly has under his or her control a weapon: ...
(b) Those areas in any building which are used in connection with court proceedings, including courtrooms, jury rooms, judge's chambers, offices and areas used to conduct court business, waiting areas, and corridors adjacent to areas used in connection with court proceedings. The restricted areas do not include common areas of ingress and egress to the building that is used in connection with court proceedings, when it is possible to protect court areas without restricting ingress and egress to the building. The restricted areas shall be the minimum necessary to fulfill the objective of this subsection (1)(b).

The 'gun valet service' derives from:

In addition, the local legislative authority shall provide either a stationary locked box sufficient in size for pistols and key to a weapon owner for weapon storage, or shall designate an official to receive weapons for safekeeping, during the owner's visit to restricted areas of the building. The locked box or designated official shall be located within the same building used in connection with court proceedings. The local legislative authority shall be liable for any negligence causing damage to or loss of a weapon either placed in a locked box or left with an official during the owner's visit to restricted areas of the building.

King County was originally not serious about the checkin service, putting it in a place where gun owners were technically violating the law to even get to the locker room, not opening the service for the morning until after jury pool members were required to be in the jury waiting room, and generally making it unusable. The few court-related hallway assaults had generally involved knives, and hadn't drawn significant attention.

Then a murder-suicide occurred right next to a courtroom, inside the restricted zone. When the building reopened for business, some entrances were closed, airport-style metal detectors were installed at the other entrances, and the whole building was restricted. The excuse was that the other business areas could not reasonably be separated from the court areas, a believable excuse for that particular building layout. But the other county courthouses I have visited have more narrowly drawn restricted areas.

 

Coming from a country where carrying hand guns is banned except in very special circumstances, and semi automatic or military guns are banned, this is one of the weirdest and most unsettling threads I've read.

 

Amendment 2 - Right to Bear Arms. Ratified 12/15/1791.
A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

 

Thank God we live in America:rockon: