Do you lawfully leave a gun in the car when you're not in it?

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FITASC said:
No "gun" decals or other announcements I am a gun owner or have one.
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yes, I think that is important.

For the life of me I cannot understand those people who have gun decals of all the firearms they supposedly own, on the window of their car. WHY?
 
Very rarely do I go somewhere that I can't carry. A heavy duty (7GA) handgun safe bolted down is the best solution to keep all but the most determined thieves hands off your handgun.

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Not leaving anything in view in the first place that they might want to break into your vehicle in the first place is the best defense.
 
I don't keep a gun in my car but I do store it in my car when I go in somewhere that doesn't allow me to carry. My truck is a different story I do a lot of driving in back woods areas looking for hunting areas. There are a lot of crack heads cooking their drugs in the woods, many don't like people looking around in the woods while they are in them.
If you walk through the woods stay away from any kind of box, trash bag or cooler sitting in the woods.
I carry as I scout out the woods that I go through, if encountered I may want a little more than a pistol, so I carry a backup small rifle behind the seat.

Locks & lock boxes only keep the honest, HONEST.
A thief can get into anything provided they have enough time. ;)
 
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No decals or bumper tickers on my cars, nothing visible in the passenger comprartment.
As an old soldier I know the value of camouflage. And, as we used to say in the Army, NNTK-No Need To Know.
 
I put a little professional mental health counselor sticker on my rear window.

Certainly nobody would consider someone like that possibly armed.
 
Some funny comments in this thread. Depending on vehicle make/model...a simple "CLERGY" decal on back with bible on the front seat with a rosary might also throw thieves off the scent! ;-)

In all seriousness...during occasional times that I needed to leave it in the car...it is in the locked trunk, in a lockbox, and steel-cabled to the vehicle.
 
Just a reminder: as expressed in the thread title, the question is "Do you lawfully leave a gun in the car when you're not in it?"

This means that the laws in effect in the jurisdiction must be considered. Some states now require -- in statute -- that guns in unattended vehicles must be stored in some kind of gun safe that is attached to the vehicle. In such states, statements such as the following would not be legal:

I have, and do. Hidden from sight, locked doors (which, last time I looked, is what the law requires).
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Yes. And I always have. I usually don't leave anything inside my truck, so it appears empty and less of a temptation for thieves. My pistol is out of sight, so there's nothing to be seen inside worth stealing.
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I legally keep a handgun in my center console all the times. When home the car is kept in a locked garage. When I am out, the moment the doors are shut i manually press the lock button on the door handle. No exceptions, even if I am just going to be out of the car for one minute. The doors even lock automatically when driving, so effectively the car is locked 100% of the time.
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I will leave my travel gun locked in the car when I can't take it with me.

Doors locked and nothing of value in sight.
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No decals or bumper tickers on my cars, nothing visible in the passenger comprartment.
As an old soldier I know the value of camouflage. And, as we used to say in the Army, NNTK-No Need To Know.
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I put a little professional mental health counselor sticker on my rear window.
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We have fifty states, each of which has its own laws. And, within each state, there may be county and/or municipal laws that are more strict than the state law. As has been commented many times before, in other discussions, there is no good substitute for knowing the laws of the jurisdiction in which you are operating.
 
Yes, I can lawfully leave a gun in my car as a CHL holder in Ohio. That said, I live in a small town and on the rare occasions that I must leave it in the car, it's locked in the glove box and the car is locked. If I'm headed out of town for the day then I have a small lock safe cabled under the driver's seat and out of sight.
 
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I do have a secured lock box, but prefer not to leave firearms in cars, due to potential theft. The lock box is more for if I didn't realize a place is posted "no guns" and I have to disarm to go inside for an errand, etc.
 
My failure to respond comprehensively to any given post should not be considered indicative of unlawful behavior.

I use potential misdirection strategies to deter thieves, nothing more.

After all, it is even the lowly infraction that chips away at the foundations of society.
 
At times yes, though I do try to minimize the frequency and duration of this. As was mentioned be aware of the local, state, and federal laws related to storing firearms of various types in a vehicle. Also be mindful of any state regulations with regards to informing a law enforcement officer during a traffic stop.


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NO ... cars are way too easy to break into ... more guns are stolen out of cars than anywhere else.
Rule #1 ... Never leave your gun in your car... if you absolutely must do it , plqce it in a locked steel box in the trunk chained to a spare tire and bolted to the trunk floor and hide it under covers the best you can .
Make it hard to find and harder to get to ... criminals don't like taking a long time to steal stuff ... your glove box and/or console are the worst place to "hide" your gun .
Gary
 
I "lawfully" leave everything in my car when I get out of the car...

This includes fast food wrappers, empty water and soda bottles, and junk mail to the point where my four door only holds two people. One door is bashed in (still works) and one mirror is attached with duct tape, and the car is 18 years old.

No one bothers it, or anything in it...they can't see anything worth stealing..:D
 
I believe this covers it:

We have fifty states, each of which has its own laws. And, within each state, there may be county and/or municipal laws that are more strict than the state law. As has been commented many times before, in other discussions, there is no good substitute for knowing the laws of the jurisdiction in which you are operating.
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Know your local and state laws and the local and state laws of anywhere you travel.

Here in Ohio yes, I lawfully leave my gun in my truck. Just as an example when I visit the VA where like all government buildings firearms are prohibited.

EDIT: My bad here in that the VA hospital is on federal land. Now federal laws apply. Aguila Blanca was right on that and I also am not about to poke the bear. Thanks.

Ron
 
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Many thanks to Aguila Blanca for bringing something to my attention. My VA hospital like any VA hospital is on federal land. New rules and Thanks Obama. I see the signs with a gun lined through all the time so much so I never give it much thought.

Ron
 
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