ShootingClasses.com Blog

Flying With Firearms

Wed, 29 Jan 2025 16:14:55 -0500

In the previous two posts, I’ve shared some basics of traveling with firearms and traveling while armed. Now in this third and final installment, I’m going to address flying within the United States with firearms. As always, this blog post is not legal advice. If you have any questions, you should contact a qualified lawyer for your specific situation.

Rules of Flying With Firearms

To be clear, without the appropriate law enforcement badge and clearance, you cannot fly armed. You can only fly with firearms in checked luggage, UNDERNEATH THE PLANE.

This post is about domestic flights only; traveling internationally with firearms becomes immensely more complicated and can change with every nation you may choose to fly to. While the basics of flying with a firearm are relatively simple, it’s something that must be done carefully with thoughtful planning.

The following are some basics to help you prepare, but you should also review the TSA website (https://www.tsa.gov/travel/transporting-firearms-and-ammunition) and your particular airline for the most current regulations before you leave for the airport:

The firearm must be in your checked baggage, unloaded in a hard-sided container, and locked securely. You absolutely cannot carry a firearm, ammunition, or any firearm parts, such as firing pins, bolts, and magazines into the cabin. (Optics such as a rifle scope can be carried on, though.)
You must use a hard case with at least one lock that only you have the ability to unlock. While a TSA-approved lock is acceptable under TSA regulations, I’d suggest a lock that you must be present to unlock. If the case has a spot for two locks on both sides, you must do that. The box must be locked in a way that ensures it can’t be pried open from any side. If you use a pistol case that fits inside your suitcase, securing it to the rest of the suitcase with a bicycle chain or something similar is a wise extra precaution. I also suggest that you put an Airtag, Tile, Chipolo, or other electronic tracking device inside your locked gun case.
Your gun must be unloaded, and the ammunition should be removed from the magazine and placed in a separate box designed to carry ammo. I usually suggest that it be carried in the factory box or something like an MTM plastic box. (https://mtmcase-gard.com/products/ammo-box-50-round-flip-top-9mm-380-acp) (It’s worth noting that most airlines limit the total amount of ammunition you can carry in your luggage to 11 pounds.)
Once you arrive at the airport, you will need to go to your airline’s counter to check your firearm with the rest of your luggage. At the counter, calmly tell the agent that you have a firearm you need to check. (I’d advise you to word it more carefully than just, “I have a gun!”) The clerk will ask you to fill out a declaration form; politely follow all of the counter clerk’s directions. It would be smart to carry printed TSA regulations and your airline’s regulations on traveling with a firearm to have handy in case the clerk is unsure what to do. Before it is checked and your baggage is on its way, be sure the key to access your gun case is on your person. Do not make the mistake of leaving the keys inside your checked luggage!
When you arrive at your destination, follow the airline’s policy on retrieving your luggage with your firearm. Some airlines will just put your luggage on the carousel like usual while others will require you to go to an office to show your ID and retrieve your luggage. Be sure to ask the clerk when you check your luggage what the policy is for your airline.

The firearm that you take with you must be legal to possess at your destination. As I say repeatedly, ignorance of the law is no excuse. Choose wisely when deciding what to carry on your travels. I recently heard famed trainer Darryl Bolke say in a podcast interview, “It’s like traveling with golf clubs,” when it comes to traveling with a small revolver that may garner less attention than a large semi-automatic pistol. His point was simple: travel with something more commonly accepted under city or state laws (and possibly a jury) whenever possible.

If you end up diverted or stuck in an airport where you didn’t intend, DO NOT take possession of your luggage if it has a firearm in it that is not legal in that locale. Make sure it goes on to your final destination, though. This means you need to be aware of the laws of where your layover is. Personally, I’ve always been careful to choose layovers that are not as “dangerous” if I am traveling with a gun. For instance, I’m hesitant to fly through Chicago Midway or O’Hare in the dead of winter when I may get stuck if the weather isn’t cooperative. A layover in Atlanta or Charlotte may be wiser. I realize this may sound extreme, but I’d rather be considered overly cautious than a convicted felon. My position on this was reinforced by hearing Bolke, in the same interview, say, “You have no idea where that plane is going to land...You might be going from one gun-friendly state to another gun-friendly state, and something happens, and you land…in a place that hates semi-automatic anything, that has magazine bans, that has ammunition restrictions…” He’s 100% right!

When looking at your choices for travel, pay attention to your method of travel to your final destination. Gun writer and pro-shooter Kenzie Fitzpatrick recounted a story to me that she once thought she had a connecting flight, and once she arrived at her layover, her next “flight” ended up being a connecting bus that forbade firearms even in checked luggage. The “connecting bus” is more common than many of us would think, especially when transiting from larger airports to smaller airports in close proximity (an hour or so drive). Instead of her connection, she ended up having to scramble for a rental car to avoid a nightmare of more delays.

Lastly, when traveling, it is imperative that you be sure of what is in your luggage and on your person at all times. A client of mine accidentally left her carry gun in her purse as she attempted to get through a TSA checkpoint to her flight. Not only did she miss her flight, but she ended up spending the remainder of the evening in jail and authorities ceased her firearm permanently as a part of the penalty. An empty brass casing left in a coat pocket, in the bottom of a duffel bag, or worse yet, live rounds, magazines, or a gun in a bag could lead to significant legal trouble before departure. For this reason, I suggest keeping range attire and a range bag separate from what you would usually travel with. Range bags are cheap, separate carry-on luggage is cheap; forfeiting your gun permanently, attorneys, fines, and TSA civil penalties are not cheap.

Conclusion

I realize some of my advice may sound extreme to seasoned travelers, and I’m okay with that judgment. Traveling with firearms is simple but, as with anything firearm-related, there is little room for error. Your error here may not take a life or limb; it could destroy your life with a felony at worst or be an expensive and annoying consequence of losing or having your firearm stolen at best. An ounce of educated prevention here is worth a pound of cure!

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Part 2: Traveling Across, Through, and in "Anti-Gun States"

Thu, 10 Oct 2024 09:36:18 -0400

This is the second part of a multi-part series that examines the ins and outs of traveling with a concealed firearm for self-protection. The first part covered travel in states that are not your residence and are gun-friendly. This post will cover travel in anti-gun states; the third part will cover travel via commercial airlines. As always, I begin with my disclaimer that if you have any specific questions, you should consult competent legal counsel licensed in the appropriate state and that this blog entry is not legal advice. I recently heard an incredibly wise firearms trainer and attorney say, "I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney."

I write this avoiding the temptation to rant about the unconstitutionality of firearms laws or the clear lack of Full Faith and Credit for out-of-state concealed carry permits in unfriendly states. (Note: Gun Owners of America filed a suit in February 2024 against the State of New York for failing to honor other states' permits in the same manner that they honor other out-of-state licenses, such as driver's licenses. Constitutional rights don't stop at state lines, but I digress.)

The examples I am using for the purpose of this blog assume you have an Ohio Concealed Handgun License, but the same would be true for your home state's permit and the states that would honor or not honor your state's permit.

The states in red in Fig 1 are the usual anti-gun states that don't recognize an Ohio permit and likely few, or no, other states' permits. Nor do they recognize permitless carry, so it is not legal to carry a firearm in those states without that state's permit.

Before you prepare to travel, it is worth researching the laws of every state that you plan on traveling through. Websites such as www.handgunlaw.us or the most current edition of attorney J. Scott Kappas' book, The Traveler's Guide to the Firearms Laws of the Fifty States, are comprehensive and trustworthy. I suggest reading both sources prior to leaving your home state for a thorough and current examination of the laws ahead of you.

Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986 ("FOPA")

Federal law, via the Firearms Owners Protection Act of 1986 ("FOPA"), allows you to transport a firearm across state lines through any state, including an anti-gun state, so long as that firearm is legal in both your home state and your destination state.

To be clear, FOPA does not allow concealed or open carry; all it does is give some right to "safe passage," meaning that you’re traveling through a state with no intent to stay for any period of time. To further ensure your safe passage, you MUST unload the firearm, secure it (locked) where it cannot be reached from the passenger compartment, and secure the ammunition in a separate location from the firearm.

The interesting question here is: what exactly qualifies as "passing through a state" under FOPA?

This grows complicated in unfriendly states because the definition of "what is considered traveling through the state" can be interpreted in many different ways. Stopping for food, gas, or a restroom is likely safe. If stopped or involved in any incident where law enforcement may find out that you have a firearm in your vehicle, all bets may be off. An aggressive prosecutor or law enforcement officer may take something legal under FOPA and make your life incredibly miserable. To me, staying overnight at a hotel or a family member's house while passing through is questionably on the line of FOPA protections.

Before Crossing State Lines into Anti-Gun States

My advice to clients and students when driving across an unfriendly state may seem excessive, I know, but hear me out. It's easier to be proactive and avoid the massive problems you may face if you run into an unfriendly law enforcement official. My suggestions are simple: plan ahead before you hit the state line by fueling up, using the restroom, obtaining any food/beverage desired, unloading, separating your firearm and ammo, making both inaccessible from the passenger compartment, and considering making the gun inoperable by disassembling the slide. All should be done before you hit the state line. Do that with the intent of passing through as quickly as possible, with as few stops as possible.

Again, I know I sound paranoid, but I would rather take every step possible to avoid trouble. Several years ago, my wife and I traveled through Pennsylvania to Virginia, requiring a 2-mile jaunt through Maryland. The temptation to just keep traveling with my "friend" on my side was considerable, knowing we'd be in enemy territory for under three minutes but knowing that all it would take would be a traffic accident or a blown tire to end up with a very uncomfortable interaction with the Maryland State Police. Rather than risking fumbling to lock up a gun under time constraints and stress, or worse yet, answering questions about what was on my person, it was just easier to separate and lock it up at a truck stop well north of Maryland.

When traveling across anti-gun states, you must also know those states' laws regarding magazine capacity limits, ammunition restrictions, restrictions on suppressors, and more. For example, when driving through New Jersey, you should beware that the state limits magazines to a maximum 10-round limit. So unless you are transporting hollow point bullets while traveling to or from the range or a hunting trip with a valid permit, it is illegal to possess them. In other words, what may have been legal 50 feet ago in Pennsylvania became a crime the moment you crossed into New Jersey.

Again, my suggestions may sound extreme. I would rather err on the side of taking a few extra minutes, despite my constitutional bullheadedness, to be a law-abiding citizen and not end up in handcuffs. Intent matters, as does perception, and doing everything you can to honor the state's laws while passing through, with FOPA's protections, may go a long way.

Fig. 2 – Photo credit to handgunlaw.us

Firearms for Self-Protection While Traveling Outside Your State: Part 1

Thu, 12 Sep 2024 15:19:15 -0400

This multi-part series looks at the ins and outs of traveling with a concealed firearm for self-protection. The first part will cover travel in states that are not your residence that are gun-friendly. The second part will cover travel in states that are anti-gun, and the third part will cover travel via commercial airlines. As always, I begin with my disclaimer: if you have any specific questions, you should consult competent legal counsel licensed in the appropriate state. This blog entry is not legal advice. I recently heard an incredibly wise firearms trainer and attorney say, "I am an attorney, but I am not your attorney."

Before you travel, you need to know that you may only carry a loaded firearm in another state if you do so in full compliance with that state’s laws. Some states will require a concealed weapons permit, while others allow for permitless ("Constitutional") carry. Some states may also grant additional rights, including a wider array of places where you can carry with a permit versus those that do not.

Traveling across, through, and to “Gun-Friendly States”

Reminder: even a gun-friendly state’s laws are likely very different than the laws you know well in your home state!

In a state that recognizes permitless carry, you may carry there without any issue if you follow those state’s specific laws. (For a map of states with permitless carry, see Fig. 1.)

In any state that does not recognize permitless carry, you may carry there as long as you either 1) have a permit issued by that state or 2) are traveling in a state that recognizes the permit that you have from your home state or another state. When another state recognizes your permit, that is referred to as reciprocity.

Reciprocity is one of the best reasons to get a permit, even if you live in a permitless carry state. As an Ohio permit holder, even though our state is permitless, I have access to an additional ten states where my permit is recognized versus permitless carry. Take a look at the map below (Fig 2.). My Ohio concealed carry permit is also accepted by any state in purple or beige, regardless of that state allowing permitless carry. This means I can drive to Florida from Ohio, passing through West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia without running afoul of the law regardless of permitted or permitless carry. On the other hand, if I were to drive to Missouri through Illinois, that would present some issues.

If you’re preparing to travel to another state, it is your total and complete responsibility to know the laws of that state. As I tell my students frequently, “Officer, I didn’t know the law” won’t help you. Looking at a judge and a jury and saying that you didn’t know the law will not help you.

In some states, you can carry in a restaurant that serves alcohol (like Chili’s); in other states, you cannot. In some states, you can carry into a state park; in others, you cannot. In some states, the “no weapons allowed” signs have the force of law, and you can be charged with a crime if you ignore them. In other states, the signs are a mere suggestion where you may be asked to leave if you ignore them. In some states, you must disclose that you’re carrying immediately upon coming in contact with a law enforcement officer; in other states, you only need to disclose if asked. (However, I always tell my students it is common courtesy to tell an officer as soon as possible, regardless of what the law requires, but that’s just my personal opinion.)

State-by-State Firearm Carry Guides & Resources

The Traveler's Guide to the Firearms Laws of the Fifty States, a book by attorney J. Scott Kappas¹, is my first purchase every calendar year. This book is a concise and easy-to-understand guide in plain English to familiarize you with the laws of individual states. The website handgunlaw.us² is the most up-to-date resource that I also find myself looking at before every trip out of state. This website produces a PDF booklet for each state with a comprehensive explanation of every facet of firearms and self-defense law.

Other helpful guides, such as the NRA-ILA's website or concealedcarry.com’s book, Legal Boundaries by State, are available in print and in a continually updated PDF format.

Regardless of the resources you use, you need to remember that laws change frequently and can change without your chosen publication being updated fast enough to help you. Also, some questions are just too complex for books to answer. In that event, I highly suggest that you seek out the counsel of a 2A-friendly lawyer in your destination state to guide you before you get into trouble.

Don’t let this pre-travel research scare you out of carrying when you travel. Honestly, traveling armed to a gun-friendly state is easy as long as you pay attention to the laws and continue to use good judgment. By spending a few minutes familiarizing yourself with the laws of the states you’ll travel to or through, you can easily add this layer of protection for your family so you can still enjoy the ride.

Graphics:

Fig. 1 – Photo credit to USCCA.com

Fig. 2 – Photo credit to handgunlaw.us

Ohio “Slashes” Gun Training Requirement for Teachers?: An Honest Look at Ohio’s Armed Teacher Laws - Part 2

Mon, 08 Aug 2022 14:51:39 -0400

Part II

Ohio’s House Bill 99 signed into law by Governor Mike DeWine allows teachers and staff members to again go armed into their schools as long as they fulfill the training requirements and are authorized by their school board.

As I previously discussed in Part I of this series, HB 99 corrected a terrible and incorrect interpretation of the law by the Ohio Supreme Court that set an unrealistic requirement: any school employee wishing to carry into the school had to complete the Ohio Peace Officer Training Academy (OPOTA) or a similar training totaling over 700 hours. Many of those hours were spent in irrelevant courses such as a tactical driving course or search and seizure law, which are relevant to law enforcement officers, not armed teachers. This bill did not reduce training hours, it instead created a training structure that was much more reasonable and relevant.

Before the Ohio Supreme Court’s ruling, many school personnel attended the FASTER Saves Lives training program. Joe Eaton, Program Director for FASTER told me via e-mail, “Parents, students and communities across Ohio thank Governor Dewine and the legislature for passing HB 99 and allowing them to return to the enhanced safety and security plans they had in place for the previous decade. Several hundred Ohio schools are again safer today and hundreds more will be in the future. Additionally, HB 99 improves on the previous law by providing access to many more resources to any school where student safety is truly a priority.”

HB 99 created a new state agency, the Ohio Mobile Training Unit (Training Unit), to oversee the training of the armed school personnel and assist schools with emergency management plans, security protocols, and other similar duties to help schools become safer for students.

The new Training Unit created will evaluate schools for safety gaps. “This is something we’ve done in our embassies for years. Ohio is investing $100 million for school improvements similar to what the fire service or airline industry has done in safety redundancies and overlapping layers of protection,” said Jim Irvine, co-Director of FASTER. (In contrast, the federal government’s latest “gun safety bill” after the Uvalde, Texas shooting only allocated $300 million nationwide for similar uses.)

Again, contrary to the anti-gun media’s narrative, this bill did not “slash” training for armed teachers. It addressed the training issue created by the Supreme Court ruling by clarifying that OPOTA training is not required and mandating 24 hours of relevant training. OPOTA training was a step too far, with too much irrelevant training for any school personnel. The Ohio Legislature never intended to require that level of training for any school official.

HB 99 requires the following to have armed personnel in the school:

A school board must authorize the person or persons that will be armed in the school.
A school board must notify the public that they have authorized a person to go armed within the school.
The Ohio Mobile Training Unit must be notified of the names of the individuals authorized but this list is not a public record and must be kept confidential.
The person authorized must complete the 24-hour training program set up by the new Training Unit or some other equivalent training authorized by the school board and approved by the Ohio Training Unit. This training may be more than 24 hours if a school board so chooses to require more training.
This new curriculum must include the following instruction:
- Mitigation techniques
- Communications capabilities and coordination and collaboration techniques
- Neutralization of potential threats and active shooters;
- Accountability
- Reunifications
- Psychology of critical incidents
- De-escalation techniques
- Crisis intervention
- Trauma and first aid care
- The history and pattern of school shootings
- Tactics of responding to critical incidents in schools
- At least four hours of training in scenario-based or simulated training exercises
- Completion of tactical live firearms training
- Realistic urban training
The person authorized must submit to an annual criminal records background check.
The person authorized must complete 8 hours of continuing education annually.

As you can see, this is a significant amount of training relevant to the duties and responsibilities of any person elected to be armed in a school. There is now a clear outline and requirement for training along with a state agency charged with the sole duty of protecting our schools and school children.

If I had to make an educated guess, the State of Ohio will set up a top-notch training program but will also authorize some other training programs. The FASTER program has been a leader in training school personnel, and I believe it will be the first non-governmental training program permitted under this new plan.

According to FASTER’s Jim Irvine, with the passage of HB 99, “We will lead the nation in school safety and security. There is no better model than Ohio, and the nation will follow in our footsteps.”

Ohio “Slashes” Gun Training Requirement for Teachers?: An Honest Look at Ohio’s Armed Teacher Laws - Part 1

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 13:38:19 -0400

Part I

If you’ve been following the media hysterics of the recent legislation in Ohio that allows for armed teachers, you’ve probably noticed nearly identical talking points from mainstream media outlets. Headlines like “Ohio Slashes Gun Training Requirements for Teachers” or “New Ohio Law Dramatically Reduces the Amount of Training for Armed Teachers” might make you think you’re hearing the prologue of a Shakespearian tragedy rather than a local news story. The sheer number of headlines, bylines, and teasers on this “shocking new legislation” and its alleged effect on the safety of our school children is almost comical if you understand the history behind armed teachers in Ohio.

Part I of this series discusses Ohio’s prior law and the court ruling that stopped armed teacher programs in schools.

Ohio had, for many years, permitted K-12 teachers and other staff members to be armed for the protection of students if they so chose, as long as they were approved by the school board. Usually, this approval was predicated on some sort of training. Some schools only required a basic concealed carry class while others required a more rigorous training program tailored for school employees. An example of such a training program is F.A.S.T.E.R. (Faculty & Staff Training & Emergency Response). This program is run by the Buckeye Firearms Foundation which is a non-profit educational organization. Through the program, school faculty and staff are trained to stop a violent encounter and render first-aid immediately. The F.A.S.T.E.R. training requires its students to shoot to a higher standard than that of Ohio police officer trainees.

One of Ohio’s most well-known public schools to allow armed teachers and staff was the Madison Local School District in Butler County. Following a shooting at a Madison Local school in 2016, the school board voted in 2018 to allow armed staff.

Michael Bloomberg backed Everytown for Gun Safety, an anti-gun activist organization, subsidized a lawsuit and the subsequent appeals of several parents against the Madison Local Schools. The parents alleged that the teachers were not trained to the standard required by the Ohio Revised Code and therefore not permitted to be armed.

In a deeply flawed ruling, the Ohio Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, held that teachers and other school staff members must not only have firearms training to be armed in the school but they must also complete the 737-hour Ohio Peace Officers Training Academy (“OPOTA”) or similar training. The majority opinion was full of far-reaching grasps, looking for ways to ban legal means for arming teachings despite the clear intent of the Ohio legislature.

Nowhere in Ohio law did a training requirement exist beyond requiring the 8- hour concealed handgun license training necessary to get an Ohio concealed handgun permit.

The majority of the Court agreed with the Bloomberg camp that the statute required teachers to complete OPOTA.[1] Included in the 737 hours of OPOTA curriculum are 60 hours of firearms training, including shotgun courses that are almost wholly irrelevant to an armed teacher. Also, this training requires 125 hours in traffic enforcement and accident investigations, 24 hours of driving, 36 hours of arrest, search, and seizure training, and the list could go on.[2] Clearly, little of this training is relevant to an armed teacher and even more so, the irony to this ruling is that it’s obvious that Bloomberg and Co. had little interest in well-trained and armed teachers; they sought only to cripple the armed teacher programs in Ohio.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruling did just that; it gutted every single armed teacher program in Ohio because in no universe was it possible to send a teacher through the 737 hours of training required to get an OPOTA certificate while maintaining a full-time job as a teacher, school administrator, or other school employees.

Following this ruling, schools across Ohio were forced to disband the programs. The Ohio Legislature corrected this ruling by enacting a new law that explicitly set out new training requirements for armed personnel in K-12 schools. House Bill 99 as signed into law by Ohio’s governor Mike DeWine not only allows teachers and staff members to once again go armed into their schools, but it enacted the first established training program and standards for those individuals.

To be continued in Part II will be a discussion about the new legislation just signed into law in Ohio and its training requirements, along with training opportunities as Ohio moves forward to safer schools.

[1] Gabbard v. Madison Local School Dist. Bd. of Edn., 165 Ohio St.3d 390, 2021-Ohio-2067.

[2] https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Law-Enforcement/Ohio-Peace-Officer-Training-Academy/OPOTA-news/POBT-Curriculum-Hours-Eff-7-1-19

Constitutional Carry - What Is It and Should It Be Legal?

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 11:36:47 -0400

What Is Constitutional Carry and Why Is It Making Headlines?

One of the forefront issues dominating the Second Amendment headlines this year is Constitutional Carry, otherwise known as “permitless carry.” Permitless carry is rooted in the idea that we have the constitutional right to carry a firearm for our protection and, therefore, no concealed weapons permit is needed to exercise that right.

You’ve probably seen these terms making headlines because multiple states have passed this in 2021. By the end of this calendar year, the United States will have at least 21 states allowing some form of permitless carry.

Debunking Common Concerns About Constitutional Carry

Will Society Become Less Safe?

It is worth noting that anti-gun activists falsely complain that every new law expanding the rights of a law-abiding citizen to carry a firearm legally makes our society less safe.

The Michael Bloomburg-run Everytown for Gun Safety organization touts that permitless carry makes society less safe because violent criminals can carry guns without permits.

Their logic is flawed because a violent criminal, in most cases, would be legally barred from owning or carrying a firearm. It’s also humorous to assume a violent criminal would concern themselves with training and proper permits before carjacking someone.

Will More Conflicts Be Resolved with Gun Violence?

A 2019 NPR article quoted an anti-gun politician as saying that more conflicts will be resolved via gun fights in a Wild West fashion. This statement was released after Oklahoma enacted permitless carry, and it proved to be inaccurate. Between 2019 and 2020, violent crime dropped slightly in Oklahoma. This timeframe reflected the first full calendar year that permitless carry was in place.

Even the very anti-gun USA Today fact checkers admitted that, while permitless carry in West Virginia may or may not have substantially lowered violent crimes, it certainly has not increased them since the law was enacted in 2016.

Do Permits Impact Individuals in Lesser Economic Positions?

Even if we ignore the faulty logic that a constitutionally protected right should only come with a permit from the government, we cannot ignore the harm this does to people in lesser economic positions.

Here’s a hypothetical situation: A woman in Ohio is experiencing a domestic abuse situation and is fearful for her life. This woman will be required to spend an average of $200 for the necessary training and application fees that come with a concealed handgun license. If she needs an emergency permit before getting training, she will spend about $50 more for the temporary license. This is an unacceptable financial burden for this woman who is merely trying to protect herself; really, an unacceptable burden on anybody in a lesser economic position who is trying to protect their loved ones.

Know the Laws in Each State

Regardless of whether a state requires a permit to carry a concealed firearm, it is imperative that you know that state’s laws regarding the carrying of a firearm on your person. Every state is different.

For example, the following states allow some form of permitless carry but the rules differ greatly. In Kentucky, you must be 21 years old to carry a concealed firearm without a permit, but in Idaho, you may do so at the age of 18. In Tennessee, you must have a concealed carry permit to carry in a state park, and in Arizona you must have a concealed carry permit to carry in any establishment that serves alcohol.

Why You Should Still Obtain Your CCW permit

Despite all of the benefits of permitless carry, I suggest getting a concealed carry permit in your home state in order to take advantage of the reciprocity granted by other states when you are traveling. If I did not have a CCW permit, there are 21 other states where I would be able to carry a firearm, however, with my Ohio permit, I can lawfully carry in 28 states.

You must also consider some of the restrictions to those without permits, such as the Tennessee park exception already mentioned. There is no downside to having a CCW permit, but mandating a permit is a meritless restriction on a law- abiding citizen.

Essential Training for Carrying a Weapon

Regardless of whether you choose to carry with a CCW permit, or to exercise your constitutional right to carry a firearm without a permit in a jurisdiction that allows for it, training is still essential. Consistent training from certified instructors will keep your skills sharp and will allow you will exercise the critical rules of firearm safety. These safety rules apply at the range and in a self-defense situation.

Learning when and how to pull the trigger is only part of good training. Learning how to diffuse a situation or to recognize and get out of a situation without ever exposing your firearm or pulling the trigger is just as important, if not more important. Competent trainers will not only teach you skills to keep you safe but will likely keep you out of prison by helping you to learn how to react under duress and discern the justifiable use of force.

Find local CCW training classes in your state.

Should Constitutional Carry Be Legal?

Here’s my take. The first amendment allows us rights to speak freely and to express our faith without obtaining a permit in advance. Similarly, the issue of responsible carry of a firearm without a license should be permissible as well. Constitutional carry is not a threat to society.

Understanding “Stand Your Ground” Law

Thu, 24 Jun 2021 12:41:20 -0400

“Stand your ground” is a polarizing phrase that we have been hearing in the news for more than 15 years. The term is largely journalese, created by the media then proliferated by politicians and civilians who either intentionally or even unintentionally misrepresent what the law stands for or accomplishes.

The phrase, “Stand your ground” is deceptive and misleading. More accurate terminology is “duty to retreat”, or better said, “the removal of the duty to retreat.” People who misunderstand this phrase also fail to understand that “stand your ground” provides protections for the individual caught in an impossible situation.

Stand-your-ground vs. duty-to-retreat

When a state chooses to enact a stand-your-ground law, it removes duty-to-retreat from the list of requirements necessary to prove that an individual was acting in self-defense. This means a person in a state that has not enacted this legislation is required to exhaust every option of retreat prior to utilizing force to in self-defense.

As the number of states choosing to remove the duty-to-retreat grows, so does the opposition’s clamor against it. The media cultivates confusion and omits important facts while anti-gun organizations claim that such legislation only escalates unnecessary violence. While perhaps well-intended by some, and used only for political gain by others, this is one of the most misunderstood and misrepresented legal principles of the whole argument.

When I discuss this issue with students or clients, I plainly tell them to ignore the chatter that they have heard for either argument. Instead, understand that, at no time, is the right to legally carry a firearm a deputization or a 007 license to kill, with or without the duty-to-retreat. Legally, carrying a firearm is only a means to defend yourself or your loved ones from a lethal threat.

What defines an act of self-defense?

So, what are the legal elements necessary to demonstrate that an individual was acting in self-defense? These must be demonstrated to prove that one was acting within the confines of the law.

Clean hands

You must be the “good guy,” the one who didn’t start or escalate the fight. You cannot be the one that took a fight from non-lethal force to lethal force. In other words, your response to the perceived (reasonable) threat must be proportional.

You also cannot be the one who prolonged a fight when it was over. You cannot chase the person down that stuck a gun in your face after they’ve clearly communicated or shown you that the fight was over and they’re running away.

Honest and reasonable belief of imminent danger

Despite what we have all heard, it is not enough to say to law enforcement after a self-defense encounter that “I was in fear for my life.” Just speaking it does not bring that fact into existence.

Once the incident is over, law enforcement will investigate whether your fear was reasonable based on the circumstances surrounding what occurred. A jury will judge you based on the reasonableness of belief.

Your fear must be for imminent danger: that means right now, not in five minutes, not an hour from now, not tomorrow. You must be faced with the reasonable possibility that if you do not act immediately you will suffer grave bodily harm or death.

Duty to retreat

In a state that requires the duty-to-retreat, not only must you have clean hands and reasonably believe that you were in imminent fear of serious bodily harm or death, you must also have no means of escaping the harm or threat of harm prior to using force to defend yourself.

When a state requires the duty-to-retreat, a jury can second guess whether an individual could have escaped harm. The prosecution may paint a picture that, even if the individual was in reasonable fear of imminent death, they could have escaped. This leaves the jury to weigh the defendant’s split-second decision, often based on a balance of limited information and adrenaline, when they were likely unaware of a particular means of escape.

The importance of more training

Critics of “stand your ground” believe that removing the duty-to-retreat creates a “shoot first, ask questions later” situation, but that is not the case. The person defending themselves must be the innocent party and reasonably believe that they are facing a threat of lethal force in order to use a lethal force.

Proper training is important to learn how to recognize whether a situation requires lethal force or not. More importantly additional training beyond your basic CCW course will teach techniques to avoid the situation where lethal force would be needed.

Regardless of whether a state requires duty-to-retreat, the use of lethal force should be an individual’s last resort and only a last resort. You should be able to truthfully tell law enforcement, a jury, or a judge, that you tried to de-escalate the situation. You want to present evidence that you attempted to dissuade the conflict and that the use of force was your final option. When individuals have a clear understanding of what it means to act in self-defense, “stand your ground” can serve as the safeguard for which it was intended.

Make sure you’re never in a situation where you must prove your decision to use a weapon. Enroll in a local self defense and use of force class and learn more about concealed carry and stand-your-ground legislation in your state!