Walk It Through: Carrying At A Traffic Stop
A handgun in the console, a broken taillight, a request to search, and an old conviction.
A driver with a handgun in the center console is pulled over for a broken taillight.
Two things a person in this spot might do. Picking one shows what the law says about it.
One stop with a handgun in the car. A school or court on the route, a passenger who is prohibited, a federal record and a carry license from another state are not worked through here.
A practice walkthrough, not a prediction of how any real one will go. Legal information, not legal advice.
Words this turns on
Terms with a legal meaning that is narrower than the everyday one. Each links to the definition and the authority behind it.
- ConcealedCarried so that another person in the ordinary course of events would not be put on notice of the weapon.
- Concealed handgun licenseA license a resident applies for to the sheriff of the county, with a fee of $50, issued only for pistols and revolvers.
- Deadly weaponAn instrument designed or readily adaptable to be used as a weapon, including a knife with a sharp-edged or sharp-pointed blade capable of inflicting cutting, stabbing or tearing wounds.
- Permitless carryCarrying a concealed deadly weapon without a license, which any person may do who is at least 18 years of age, a United States citizen or legal resident, and not prohibited from possessing a firearm.
- Domestic violenceBetween family or household members, causing or attempting physical harm, placing someone in reasonable fear of it, creating fear through harassment, stalking or threats, sexual assault, or holding someone against their will.
- Prohibited personA person the weapons article bars from possessing a firearm, including anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year, an unlawful drug user, and a person adjudicated mentally incompetent or involuntarily committed.
- Certificate of insuranceThe certificate of insurance or other proof of security, which the insured carries in the vehicle and presents at inspection.
- Consent formThe form that records an operator's written consent to a vehicle search, stating that the operator may refuse, is consenting freely and voluntarily, and may withdraw consent at any time during the search.
- Recorded oral consentAn operator's spoken consent to a search, evidenced by an audio recording. On a traffic misdemeanor stop, a search needs probable cause or another lawful basis, written consent on the form, or this.