Getting pulled over in CA for traffic violation or spot check

To Lashlarue,

In Texas when stopped by law enforcement you are supposed to hand over both your driver's license and CHL license at the same time. Failure to do so one time might be deleterious to your CHL license-you may not have it anymore!!!
 
Page 32 is helpful:

http://caag.state.ca.us/firearms/forms/pdf/cfl.pdf

My personal take is that the gun and ammunition must be separate. Though the ammunition is not required to be in a locked container, a CHP officer advised me that if both are in the trunk of my car, they should be in separate locked containers (the locked car trunk is an approved locked container).

I gather it is necessary in California to keep the gun and the ammunition separated by an 'approved' lock.
 
In Texas when stopped by law enforcement you are supposed to hand over both your driver's license and CHL license at the same time.
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1. You do not have to hand over your DL & CHL just because you are stopped, you only have to provide them when asked for ID. Yes, you will almost certainly be asked for ID if you are stopped, but the point is that your obligation occurs when you are asked for ID, not when you are stopped.

2. You do not automatically have to hand over your CHL when LE asks for ID UNLESS you are carrying at the time.

Here is the correct version.

In Texas if you are asked for ID by law enforcement you are supposed to hand over your DL (or TX ID) and, if you are carrying, your CHL.
 
Ammo dose not need to be locked up and your safe as long as their in some sort of container, separate from the gun. Also Handguns DO NOT need to be in locked cases in in the car trunk..........as long as there in the car trunk and not in the rear storage area like with a SUV, then they need to be in a locked container. :D
 
Just keep in mind that if they decide to detain you there while

a search warrant is brought out.... or even just a supervisor shows up to determine what to do, all the LEO's are getting paid to wait around while they waste your time.

Nothing against LEO's but as long as they don't do anything to cause them grief, real complaint and internal affairs check.... what do they care if they have to sit by the road with you for a couple hours or drive around somemore?
 
Getting pulled over in CA

I try to avoid driving in California, however, I have to go through California on my way to Reno or Vegas. If I was stopped and the line of questioning lead to "do you have this or that in your car"? I would tell him I have nothing in my car that affects my ability to drive it, that there is nothing in my car that I don't own. If he asks me to step out of my car, I will, but I'll take the key out of the ignition first and lock the door behind me. If he asks why, I'd tell him it's a habit. Locking your door keeps him out of your car. If he wants to search my car he will definitely need a warrant first. If he detains me, I start taking notes and looking for any kind of reason to bring a lawsuit against him and his department. Believe it or not I have a small digital recorder I carry in a shirt pocket when I'm traveling, I want to be able to prove what was said during the stop, and I'm hoping he will lie on the witness stand. My time is just as valuable to me as his time is to him, and that is the only way I'll get paid for my time. Most LEO's are decent guys, but I hate dishonesty in anyone, and I have ran into a few bad apples. I've worked at the state level as an LEO for 11 years, before starting my own business.
 
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"Except For Ending Slavery, Fascism, Nazism, and Communism, WAR has Never Solved Anything" ................................................................................Don't forget 1776...................
 
You do not have to answer questions about what is in your trunk. If you choose to answer, don't lie, tell the truth.
Officers do not have a right to open a locked trunk and search absent some extenuating circumstance.
They cannot conduct a Terry protective search of a trunk as anything in a locked trunk is generally not available to the occupants of the care for use as a weapon against an officer.
 
JohnKSa said:
In Texas if you are asked for ID by law enforcement you are supposed to hand over your DL (or TX ID) and, if you are carrying, your CHL.
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That is indeed what the law says. In practicality though, it's probably best to show both whenever asked for ID. If the officer runs your license he'll see you have a CHL and may become suspicious as to why you didn't offer it. I suppose assuming we are unarmed is just not the way they are trained to think. (And I don't blame them for that.)
 
I agree that providing both is probably a prudent course of action. They will see that you have a CHL when they run your DL anyway and will want to know why you didn't tell them up front.
 
lawboy said:
You do not have to answer questions about what is in your trunk. If you choose to answer, don't lie, tell the truth.
Officers do not have a right to open a locked trunk and search absent some extenuating circumstance.
They cannot conduct a Terry protective search of a trunk as anything in a locked trunk is generally not available to the occupants of the care for use as a weapon against an officer.
Click to expand...

Except in California.

§12031(a) (carrying a loaded firearm):
(a) (1) A person is guilty of carrying a loaded firearm when he or she carries a loaded firearm on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an incorporated city or in any public place or on any public street in a prohibited area of unincorporated territory.
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Now, even if your firearm is unloaded and properly locked up for transportation, if you reveal the presence of a firearm in the vehicle to the officer, then he may demand to inspect said firearm using 12031(e):

(e) In order to determine whether or not a firearm is loaded for the purpose of enforcing this section, peace officers are authorized to examine any firearm carried by anyone on his or her person or in a vehicle while in any public place or on any public street in an incorporated city or prohibited area of an unincorporated territory. Refusal to allow a peace officer to inspect a firearm pursuant to this section constitutes probable cause for arrest for violation of this section.
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Notice that subsection (e) only authorizes the officer to determine if the firearm is loaded. It does not authorize him to remove the firearm from the vehicle and "run it" through NCIC or to jot down the serial number to run it through NCIC. If he does either, he is detaining you unlawfully.
 
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blume357 said:
Just keep in mind that if they decide to detain you there while a search warrant is brought out.... or even just a supervisor shows up to determine what to do, all the LEO's are getting paid to wait around while they waste your time.

Nothing against LEO's but as long as they don't do anything to cause them grief, real complaint and internal affairs check.... what do they care if they have to sit by the road with you for a couple hours or drive around somemore?
Click to expand...

If stopped for a motor vehicle code infraction and the officer holds you for an hour to obtain a search warrant, his probable cause on the warrant had best be rock solid and built upon some kind of tangible evidence. For instance, spotting gun periodicals in the car along with a box or four of ammo in a semi-transparent bag, coupled with a refusal to answer his query about guns in the car or a refusal to open the trunk does not give him probable cause to believe a crime is being committed.

If his warrant turns up no crime, you can bet I'm going to have a lawyer sue the bejesus out of the agency if his PC is sketchy or "embellished" to make a moutain out of a molehill.
 
The original post:

Getting pulled over in CA for traffic violation or spot check

if U get pulled over for something and the officer asks for your driver's license, proof of insurance and registration... Are you supposed to tell him U have an unloaded, locked-up firearm in your trunk? and what if U are not making a bee-line from your house to the shooting range? what if you are out running errands as well?
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If it's not illegal to carry an unloaded gun in this fashion why wouldn't you tell the peace officer if you are asked?

Granted, I live in Texas, but I've always found it works well to be honest and non-evasive when conversing with law enforcement officers.
 
Sport45 said:
If it's not illegal to carry an unloaded gun in this fashion why wouldn't you tell the peace officer if you are asked?
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The OP (which you quoted) did not ask "if you are asked". The OP asked "should I volunteer information about having a gun in the trunk merely because it is an LEO that pulled me over".

The answer is "no".
 
In CA if he don't ask you don't have to tell. Give him your DL, insurance and registration and play it from there. If he asks you can tell if you want to. He ain't a Fed so you can lie if you want. Just keep in mind that the lie will make the stop longer and more uncomfortable if it is found out. Best bet is to play it straight and since you are an upstanding citizen who isn't a felon, doesn't have any outstanding warrants, isn't a gun prohibited wife beater and isn't stinking of weed, meth or booze you shouldn't have any problems as long as your handguns are locked up and all your guns are unloaded.
 
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