Posted: 10/14/2006 3:10:59 AM EDT
| Is it legal to open carry in GA? I open carry all the time. I even open carry into my bank. The reason I ask the question is a friend says it's illegal. |
Banks are private property. It is legal to carry on private property with a permit. The bank may have rules against it, but it's not illegal. |
sorry but that is incorrect. you may not carry a firearm into a bank thats a federal law. only law enforcement may carry into a bank. open carry in ga is legal though. |
Link to law? |
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www.packing.org/community/laws_politics/listview/17379/ findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3799/is_200306/ai_n9243805 www2.vcdl.org/cgi-bin/wspd_cgi.sh/vcdl/vadetail.html?RECID=969696&FILTER= As stated above, banks are private property, and it is LEGAL to carry inside of a bank with a carry permit. It may be against bank rules, but it's NOT illegal. ETA the bank may have you removed for tresspassing if they post a sign stating firearms are not allowed, but you can't be charged with illegal carry of a firearm. |
It must be next to the 'federal law' that ban's them from commercial vehicles, just above the fairy tail section. |
 I've heard that one too. In fact, the last time I was in Ed's I was told I should get rid of my CDL because it nullified my firearms permit.
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Uh-oh, I'm in real trouble then, if my CDL nullifies my permit, there is no telling what it does to my FFL.  Let's see now, checked out by the GBI for my GFL, the TSA for my Haz-Mat on my CDL, the ATF/FBI for my FFL, and who the F knows for my bonding, I don't even need to go to the doctor anymore after all of these exams................wait a minute, I do, every couple of years for my CDL.  , and now I gotta worry about carrying in a bank. 
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Bill, the worst part is two of the employees told me that they dropped their CDLs because of the law. I told them they were crazy, but alas, gun store employees are all "experts" when it comes to gun laws. 
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When I got my carry permit a few years back I read the list of carry laws that was given to me and I couldn't find anywhere it said I couldn't open carry. I told my friend that you could open carry and I had read the laws (4 Times) and he said I needed to read them again because it was there. I knew it was legal to open carry before I did it. I was told before I got my permit that it was legal. I even got into an argument with a guy (a customer) in a gun store about it when I was open carrying at the time, he said it was illegal because a cop told him so. He said he was in Walmart one day and his jacket came up over his pistol and a cop had seen it, but didn't say anything to him until he got out of the store. The cop told him he could arrest him for brandishing a firearm. I told him if it was in shoulder or belt holster it wasn't brandishing and if he could have arrested you he would have he was just giving you a hard time because the cop was an asshole. |
You are doing the right thing. You heard something that didn't sound right and now you are trying find the truth. It is highly possible that the mis-information did originate from a police officer. Not cop-bashing, but they, along with gun store employees, are not always the best source of info when it comes to firearms laws. My step-dad is a state police officer of around 15 years, and him and another seargent called me about two weeks ago because they had pulled over a truck driver and he had a handgun in a holster, inside of his tool box. They wanted to know if that was legal or not.  I have also been stopped twice in Florida and told by two FHP officers the first time, and 1 local (Tampa) police officer the second time, that my GA Firearms Permit was useless in FL. After all, it said GEORGIA on it!  I learned to keep a copy of the reciprocity list in my vehicle when travelling out of state.
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I realize that, but when you tell someone you can take them to jail, you should atleast know the law you are accusing them of breaking. |
Sorry Philly, you are incorrect. |
Some do, some don't. Some don't care and will let the judge decide. There are enough ambiguitities in the laws regarding firearms I wouldn't assume anything. I certainly don't expect every cop to know the law. When in doubt, keep it concealed. Just my $.02. Feel free to test it and let us know. |
I do keep my handgun concealed, but as a courtesy I usually notify the police officer that I have it. That is not a requirement, just a courtesy that most officers appreciate. And the times in Florida when I "tested it" were times I was asked by the officers if I had any firearms on me, and was simply honest with them. As far as expecting every cop to know the law, I certainly expect them to know the laws they plan on enforcing.
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I read this several times and debated on if I should even post a reply. Even knowing better I am going to go ahead and do it and ask the magical question at the end. As stated earlier you can carry openly in Georgia with a Georgia Firearms License (or a state that has reciprocity), banks are legal too Georgia is a pre-emptive state and state laws supersede city, county and other municipal ordnances. If seen with a gun a business or property owner can ask you to leave the premises, if you fail to do that it is criminal trespassing, and then you can go to jail. I guess my question is why would you want to carry open? It invites attention, possibly tells the bad guy go ahead and shoot me in the back of the head, I have a gun. If you are ever involved in a struggle that would probably other wise remained a physical confrontation if the bad guy had not seen the gun and grabbed for it. What advantage does open carry offer? |
I personally never open carry, and think in most cases it is a bad idea. |
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I rarely open carry. I open carry to the range or a quick trip to the store or to pick up something to eat. I mainly do it when i am making a quick trip somewhere and don't feel like "dressing around the gun". I just strap it on and go. No one ever seems to give me a second look. I would never wear it open in a place where i would have to walk close to lots of people. |
| I only open carry going to the mailbox at night or taking out the trash, so if somebody or something jumps me, I don't have to fight with a jacket, shirt, or the top of my pants to get the gun out. Open carrying in anywhere else around here would get the soccer moms in an uproar, I'm sure. |
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The reason I ask is that open carry is just not a good idea any where. According to Department of Justice statistics on Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted (LEOKA), 53 officers were killed with their own firearms between 1995-2004. The question is; how can we best prepare ourselves to prevent being disarmed? (no one keeps statistics on civilians) http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/killed/2004/table15.htm Now this is LE and most LE carry a retention type holster at least a level II and most a level III. So as if you carry a gun, every fight is a gun fight because at least one person (you) have a gun. Now ask yourself how many fist fights have I been in compared to gun fights? The answer for most is a no-brainer, a lot more fist fights. A good concealed carried pistol offers you a lot more advantage in surprise and retention. I also stay away from the outside the waistband plastic holsters for the very same reason, they break off. Kydex is fast, and it doesn’t matter who is tugging on it. In the SouthNarc Class this is exactly what is taught and tried with Simunitions. I cannot tell you how many people have their gun taken (and do not realize it until they are shot with it), shoot themselves, have the gun fouled, or shoot a innocent bystander. The force on force with two or three grown men engaged in realistic scenarios tells us a lot more than what we sit on the couch and imagine. |