Here in Va. it is permissible to carry openly, i.e. on the hip, or in plain view on the seat of the car. You better make sure you dont let your shirt tail slip over it though, and open carry in public really is a bad idea anyway. I have not had any real bad experiences with cops as a result of my informing them of being armed. My usual way of handling it goes: When the cop approaches my vehicle I have my hands on the steering wheel or otherwise in plain sight, when asked for my license and so forth I inform him of the presence of a firearm in my vehicle, before moving my hands from view. At this point, as I said, the cops usual reaction is "ok, thanks for telling me" or something like that. I feel that it is a good idea to inform the officer, so nothing unexpected happens later. I just have on occasion got the vibe that it kinda put the cops nose out of joint that he was not the only one with a gun in the equation. Now understand, I have no problem with police, I dont envy them their jobs. I have two family members who are cops. It does frost me somewhat though when I encounter one who seems to be on a power trip, and kind of gets snippy at the fact that I am exercising my right to be armed.
|