jpbikerfreak's Blog

I AM NOT A LAWYER.

Friends I have done a lot of research on firearms and weapons laws. Being a law abiding gun (and other weapons) owner, I want to make sure I'm legal when I'm carrying or storing my weapons. What I have come across is a tangled web of ridiculous laws that make it almost necessary to have an attorney with you at all times when you're carrying firearms.

For instance, the state of Florida issues non-resident CCW permits. This is the cheapest, easiest, and fastest way for anyone to get a permit. If you've got a clean record, $117.00, and a hunter's safety card, a dd214, or simliar document, you' can get this. Kansas and Missouri both recognize Florida's CCW, BUT, Kansas says you have to actually LIVE in Florida for it to be valid. Missouri doesn't care where you live, but doesn't honor Florida's weapons policy (Florida's permit is a concealed cary WEAPONS permit, which includes stun guns, knives and billy clubs, etc). So a Flordida permit holder can live in Kansas, legally carry a gun in Missouri (but not a knife), but not in his own state. If he moves to Florida, he can come back and carry in Kansas.

But if he crosses state lines it becomes a federal issue. Federal law dictates that a person must transport firearms unloaded and locked in trunk. So if a Permit holder crosses state lines between two states who honor his CCW, he should stop at state line, unload his weapon, lock it in the trunk (God help him if he's on a motorcycle), cross state line, take it back out, load it and put it back in his hiding spot?

Then there is the endless list of forbidden carry places. Some are places in which weapons are needed the MOST (college campuses and churches come to mind), others are fairly reasonable (courthouses) and common sense. Then there are the ridiculous city ordinances. Overland Park does not allow tasers. But a CCW holder can carry a handgun. But not a fixed blade knife.

Kansas has a law saying that employers may not forbid employees from having guns in their cars in their parking lot. Kansas says that if a gun is unloaded and fully encased, a person cannot be prosecuted for having it in his vehicle. If it is loaded, however, it's up to a judge to determine if it's considered concealed carry.

Or my favorite, a person may have numchucks if they are locked up, out of reach, and he is a certified martial arts instructor on his way to and from a class in which he regularly teaches 5 or more paying members.

Ridiculous.