A driver’s license can be suspended in one state. You ma still be able to drive just fine in 49 other states, but in that state in which it is suspended, you cannot.
Will there be similar provisions to suspend people’s CC licenses if they violate the laws of a state?
You say “foolishly” told the cop about the gun. I don’t know about philly or NJ, but in ohio, if you have a gun in the car, registered or not, CCW or not, and you don’t tell the cop, that’s what is foolish.
What she was actually facing was not “years behind bars”:
But the governor thought that even this light a sentence was too much. Has he done this for anyone else that has broken this law?
I don’t think you have that right. And I certainly don’t believe what reporters write in popular publications. In most states, if you DON’T have a carry license/permit to go from you house to a gunsmith or shooting range, or to your office. You need to put your unloaded gun in your trunk, or locked in a container, and the ammo needs to be in a separate container. And you must be going directly to or from your home, workplace, gunsmith, gun store or shooting range. If you DO have a carry permit, you can generally have a loaded gun within reach in the passenger compartment.
Th reciprocity law does address what happened to this woman. She was legally allowed to carry a loaded gun in PA, but NJ does not recognize PA’s carry permit, so she was breaking the NJ law, inadvertently and unknowingly. If the law passes, NJ would have to recognize PA’s carry permit. She would still have to know whether or not she is allowed to carry into a bar, church, bank, etc., but she would be OK in her own car for sure.
This is all as I understand it, based on having my carry permit in PA, and reading gun rights forums. I have not trudged through the bills, but will do so when I get a little time.
There are some differences between the House and Senate versions.
OK, I was inserting my opinion. It varies by state. In PA, you don’t need to tell a cop that you are carrying. And I wouldn’t do so in a normal traffic stop. No need to have the word “gun” or “firearm” cross my lips and change the nature of the interaction.
You also don’t have to notify a cop in NJ - not that very many people have a carry permit in NJ. But you are right that you are required to do so in OH.
From that same article:
The state didn’t start off by allowing her to get a light sentence.
Good to know, I was not aware that states varied so much, and would have though it required in all states to inform a cop that pulled you over that you were carrying a weapon.
But, I assume that if I were to get a ccw, that sort of thing would be covered, at least for neighboring states that you are likely to enter.
Relevant NJ law states that all guns being transported “shall be carried unloaded and contained in a closed and fastened case, gunbox, securely tied package, or locked in the trunk of the automobile in which it is being transported, and in the course of travel shall include only such deviations as are reasonably necessary under the circumstances.”
This AFAIU applies to NJ residents who have concealed carry license as well. She would have been in violation of this even with the reciprocity law in effect.
I wouldn’t assume that at all. Most license courses are more about safe handling and reasonable accuracy. Some get into home state requirements, but I don’t believe most cover how the law varies from state to state.
I find this to be a good resource if you wonder about laws in other states:
I don’t favor this law.
It should be for states to set their own standards for carrying and licensing firearms.
Of course, those standards must meet the minimum required by the Second Amendment, and I suspect this bill is an effort to clean sweep those states which do not.
But that’s not the way to do things.
Does the Senate version also tack on the provision that allows a qualified individual to carry or possess a concealed handgun in a school zone and in federally owned lands that are open to the public, like the House version does?
I am not a NJ resident, so I could be mistaken. But my reading of that is what I stated before. “Guns being transported” is different from guns being carried with valid permit. “Transported” means being taken to and from ones home, work, shooting range, etc., as indicated in your quote. “Carried” means being loaded and on one’s person.
You may be right. IANAL, and the law is fairly convoluted.
I’m not a big gun supporter by any means, but I’ve often wondered why all states don’t recognize other states’ CCW permits.
Can you explain how this is different than all states recognizing other states’ drivers licenses?
I don’t believe there are any states out there that issue drivers licenses without some moderate level of testing of both the ability to drive and a fundamental knowledge of the laws. Can the same be said for the issuance of CCW permits?
I’m not an expert in this area, but I’m pretty confident that:
A – there is no Federal law requiring states to recognize other states’ drivers licenses;
B – states may not recognize a drivers license in all circumstances, for example, if State A requires that a driver be 17 before being licensed, and State B requires a driver be 15 before being licensed, the license for the 15 year old from State B need not be recognized in State A.
I am torn in several directions on this subject. I have an Ohio permit, which allows me to carry in about 30 states. It is inconvenient when passing through Illinois to have to separate gun and ammo. It is somewhat worse than inconvenient, IMO, to be unable to carry in my lovely hometown of Baltimore, MD when I visit.
But my general inclination is that states ought to be able to decide a lot of things on their own. This results in situations like the somewhat ridiculous patchwork of liquor laws that we have in the US. My first inclination, even as a gun owner and CCW holder and user, is to think that the states ought to decide these things for themselves, regardless of the inconvenience to me.
And then, (am I on my third hand yet?) I remember that we are talking about a constitutional right to keep and bear. Do I surrender that right when I cross a state line? I currently do.
It’s not just a question of equal standards/laws-it is also a question of what those standards/laws should be. IF we decide on a national standard, it matters if that standard is the lowest allowable by law, the most restrictive, or somewhere in between.
Yep. I am in favor of required training, so I would lean to the stricter side there, but would tend toward the lenient side on who can carry, where and when.
I spent eight hours in a classroom and four hours on a range to qualify to apply for my Ohio permit. I didn’t start carrying a gun until I had spent an additional twenty hours at a range.
This law would allow someone from a state with little to no training requirements the same rights as you in your own state.