Post questions here about open and concealed carry, as well as general law questions.
 #100942  by bwelsh
 
I will try to keep this brief and to the point. I called the Attorney General's office today(NCC branch) to get a run down of the open carry legality in Delaware since I live here and it is of interest to me. So the person who answered put me on hold and redirected me to someone else. I wish I had written down the gentleman's name who I spoke with because the conversation sure was bizarre and I have to wonder if I was even speaking to someone that is a lawyer or believes in the rule of law. I started by asking 'is open carry of a firearm in Delaware legal and where is it not legal'. He basically replied that it is not illegal but Newark, Elsmere other towns have local laws against it. And at schools it is illegal. He then quickly proceeded to ask why I would want to open carry when I could just get a CCW permit? I told him that it seems like a very time and money consuming process. In my head I thought it was kind of like a poll tax. He told me that although it is legal to do I 'can expect to be thrown on the ground and searched by police while out and about with my family' and 'I can expect to maybe be prosecuted for carrying a deadly weapon and then I would see how I faired in the court system'. He ended the conversation by saying it was 'up to me depending on how much I can afford.' I guess my question is... what this gentleman told me true? Or am I just being threatened with assault and a civil rights violation by the AG's office because although the law says one thing the AG's office really hates it and wants to discourage people from legal activity that they don't agree with? One has to also wonder what I would be searched for if the firearm was exposed? I am interested in hearing peoples experience of this tossed to the ground by police type of thing as well as peoples understanding of the law. Thanks
 #100946  by bwelsh
 
The whole idea of being roughed up by the police seemed out there. In my few dealings with county police over the 6 years I have lived in Delaware I saw nothing but politeness and professionalism. The civil rights suggestion was not in reference to the phone call that was not recorded(I don't know if that is legal) but more in reference to being thrown to the ground and roughed up in the event that ever happened.
 #100947  by David
 
I would venture to say that just about anyone who's been on this board for a while could have quoted the AG's response verbatim. You have to remember that the AG's office is as political as any other elected office, with similar agendas, etc. Obviously constitutional law was not offered at the college he attended.

I would suggest to the AG that detainment, arrest and prosecution for a legal act is in itself illegal and generally results in a tidy settlement which, unfortunately is usually funded by the taxpayers rather than the negligent officer and uneducated prosecutor.
 #100951  by dean
 
You can never predict how interaction with LE is going to go. I've been illegally detained and disarmed before but I wasn't thrown on the ground or cuffed.

Be mentally prepared and practice handling these encounters in your mind before they possibly happen.

It also helps to carry an audio recorder around. I carry one around anyway for making reminders to myself and recording lectures.
 #100954  by pick_six
 
it would be interesting if you called back, got the name, and asked the same question.

i am not a lawyer, and don't know the law about recording calls in delaware, but if it is legal, recording the conversation would be great!!! especially if the same answer were given.

having the office responsible for enforcing laws proven to be clueless about the details of the law would be one of those "priceless" moments.

kinda like a lawyer in the ag's office being arrested for attempting to hookup with an minor. (read the posts back a few month)

the part that always gets me is that when police mess up, not knowing the law, it gets whitewashed. speed through certain locations and get a ticket and claim not to have seen the sign, you get shuddup and pay.

even if tax payers foot the bill, the lawsuits and their settlements need to increase exponentially until these places can no longer afford to have their police forces ignorant of the laws.
bwelsh wrote:I will try to keep this brief and to the point. I called the Attorney General's office today(NCC branch) to get a run down of the open carry legality in Delaware since I live here and it is of interest to me. So the person who answered put me on hold and redirected me to someone else. I wish I had written down the gentleman's name who I spoke with because the conversation sure was bizarre and I have to wonder if I was even speaking to someone that is a lawyer or believes in the rule of law. I started by asking 'is open carry of a firearm in Delaware legal and where is it not legal'. He basically replied that it is not illegal but Newark, Elsmere other towns have local laws against it. And at schools it is illegal. He then quickly proceeded to ask why I would want to open carry when I could just get a CCW permit? I told him that it seems like a very time and money consuming process. In my head I thought it was kind of like a poll tax. He told me that although it is legal to do I 'can expect to be thrown on the ground and searched by police while out and about with my family' and 'I can expect to maybe be prosecuted for carrying a deadly weapon and then I would see how I faired in the court system'. He ended the conversation by saying it was 'up to me depending on how much I can afford.' I guess my question is... what this gentleman told me true? Or am I just being threatened with assault and a civil rights violation by the AG's office because although the law says one thing the AG's office really hates it and wants to discourage people from legal activity that they don't agree with? One has to also wonder what I would be searched for if the firearm was exposed? I am interested in hearing peoples experience of this tossed to the ground by police type of thing as well as peoples understanding of the law. Thanks
 #100969  by dean
 
pick_six wrote:i am not a lawyer, and don't know the law about recording calls in delaware, but if it is legal, recording the conversation would be great!!! especially if the same answer were given.
DE is a single-party consent state so it's fine.
 #100971  by astro_wanabe
 
dean wrote:
pick_six wrote:i am not a lawyer, and don't know the law about recording calls in delaware, but if it is legal, recording the conversation would be great!!! especially if the same answer were given.
DE is a single-party consent state so it's fine.
No we are not (maybe? see edit). See 11 Del. C. §1335 :
(a) A person is guilty of violation of privacy when, except as authorized by law, the person:
...
(4) Intercepts without the consent of all parties thereto a message by telephone, telegraph, letter or other means of communicating privately, including private conversation; or
...
(c) Any violation of paragraph (a)(1), (a)(2), (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(5) or (a)(8) of this section shall be a class A misdemeanor. Any violation of paragraph (a)(6) or (a)(7) of this section shall be a class G felony.
Edit - wait, did I just go off half-cocked? This only says "intercepts", but they'd already know you're a party to the conversation, it's not like you're tapping the line to listen?