There’s been a lot of publicity photos, past and current, showing the Pres of the time out hunting in his “private” life. I was wondering, does the post of President, as CinC, allow the imcumbent to carry a weapon? Seeing as how he’s “on duty” at all times, I imagine he would be allowed to carry a sidearm, but doesn’t because its unecessary - or maybe he carries a concealed one?
And what weapon licenses does Bush himself, as a private citizen, have, anyway?
Curses. Incumbent.
He can do just about anything (legal…and sometimes not…) he wants to do, including carrying a weapon. I don’t see why he would, given that he’s got lots of secret service protecting him 24/7. Besides being kind of silly to have the President carrying around a weapon (for self defense? For machismo?), it wouldn’t be the best public relations statement in general.
-Tofer
Earlier thread on this very topic.
Conclusion? No factual answer possible since this has never come up as a point of law.
As a private citizen and resident of DC, Mr. Bush can’t carry or possess a handgun.
As President, I’d argue that the rules are different. The President is the chief executive, and may authorize himself to carry a handgun under federal rules.
When G. Gordon Liddy came to DC to serve as an Assistant Treasury Secretary, he was faced with this issue. He relates in Will that he simply put a memo in the file that he, as an Assistant Treasury Secretary, was a Treasury agent within the meaning of the law permitting Treasury agents to be armed, and was instantly authorized to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in the United States.
Gee, I don’t know, it seemed to work well for Saddam. 
As for our President, who’s going to tell him he can’t do it if he wanted to?
The Secret Service possesses a lot more guns than he could.
"Friends, Americans, Countrymen, lend me your ears… "
That’s what I was thinking.
“Gun!”
<tackles the president>
I still contend that his phone is a weapon since he can call up a cruise missle strike up your rear from half a world away it.
But I have re-thought my senario of his being unable to carry a firearm into the US Senate because of the Senates Master of Arms and the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branchs. The Secert Service is obvioulsy armed while there, why couldn’t he be packing?
From the military perspective, I cannot think of any protocol that would allow him, as Command in Chief, to carry a weapon.
Well, I meant that in normal day-to-day operation. If he assumes command on the battlefield, he could then brandish a firearm. I suppose he could also relieve a sentry and thus take over his weapon as well, providing he was qualified.
In fact, that might be the biggest problem in all of this. You can’t arm yourself in the US military unless you are qualified on paper to fire the weapon.
I authored the first thread on this topic, and still haven’t gotten a satisfying answer.
For one thing, we have to realize that this is a question of status. What we are wondering is, does the status of being Prez. alone allow for legal carrying of a weapon? We know that in most places a law abiding adult can carry a handgun, either concealed or openly (In many places in the USA open carry is perfectly legal, even if not appreciated by the local residents & police. ) But does being the POTUS give him the status to carry, above any local/state laws?
I’ve seen pictures, video of military officers walking around with side arms in holsters. I would think as Commander in Chief the President would be able to do that also.
But under what actual law I know not. I fall back on thinking it’s a question of status.
There is a federal gun permit that supercedes are state and local laws. This is not the same as the Federal Firearm Licence that applies to dealers, but rather a permit to carry a firearm anywhere in the US - even on planes. I suppose that the President could apply for one through the Dept of the Treasury.
Even if he could legally, I would think he would avoid any images that could be compared to other political figures who are identified with carrying sidearms, such as Fidel Castro or Yasser Arafat.
Well, what are all of his different statuses?
He is a citizen and resident of Washington D.C… As Bricker noted, citizens cannot carry guns in D.C., so as long as he is merely a citizen in DC, he cannot carry.
He is the Commander in Chief of the military. The military has strict guidelines concerning having the qualifications necessary to wield a gun. Even the captains/commanders/admirals have to get qualified (I know first hand, i’ve qualified with the CO of my ship in the past). So if he gets his qualifications in, he would be eligible to carry a weapon. However, he would still need a need to carry. He can commandeer any command or post in the military, so if he were qualified he could simply walk over to one of his sentries and order him to do a proper turnover of his weapon, even in Washington D.C.
He could also become qualified to carry a concealed weapon under military rules. I know there is a procedure for this for intelligence officers and obviously special forces. I have not heard of this being permitted outside of a military installation on US soil.
As a US citizen he also has the second ammendment, so whatever regular rules apply also apply to him. His status as CiC is quite special as he is the only person in the military who does not fall under the scope of the UCMJ.
Would the nuclear suitcase count?
An FBI agent can carry his weapon, concealed, in all fifty states. So can a DEA agent, a Secret Service agent, a Treasury agent, and all other manner of federal law enforcement types, at the direction of their department heads. That’s a result of federal law.
The President may simply order that he is designated under that same law. All of those departments fall under his control.
There’s really no serious doubt about that.
I grant that there’s some interesting debate in the question of whether he could legally accry WITHOUT any special action on his part.
That is, I believe it’s a no brainer that the President may issue an order that says, “Henceforth, the President is a federal agent for the purposes of federal firearms purposes.” It’s a more open question if he DOESN’T issue such a order, and tries to carry anyway.
All law enforcement officers & retired officers, whether local/county/state or federal can CCW in all 50 states.
CITE? I never heard of a Federal CCW permit.
Whether he could legally carry or not, I’d say it’s best for security purposes that he doesn’t. The problem is, the only way he’d be able to effectively use a gun in a firefight would be to expose himself to aim at an enemy, and in a firefight where the Prez is involved, his job is to duck when his Secret Service agents say duck, run when they say run, and hunker down wherever they drop him for the moment. If he’s popping up from behind cover to take shots at his assailants, it makes the Secret Service agents’ jobs harder, to say the least.
If it really came down to a situation where he HAD to draw a gun to defend himself, however unlikely, no doubt there would be a number of Government issue pistols laying around nearby (even in the somewhat not-hindered-by-reality action movie Air Force One this was basically what he ended up doing).
Yes, with some restrictions. You must be authorized by your agency to carry a firearm, not the subject of any disciplinary action by the agency, meet your agency’s standards for qualifying in the use of a firearm, and not be prohibited by Federal law from receiving a firearm. This rule does not permit the possession of firearms on any State or local government property, installation, building, base, or park. It does not override the right of private persons or entities to prohibit or restrict the possession of concealed firearms on their property. In these regards it differs from the FBI, DEA, etc.