Post questions here about open and concealed carry, as well as general law questions.
 #105473  by 2xTony
 
If im walking out to my car, maybe its not in my drive way, its across the street or something. If i have a gym bag or something inconspicuous looking with an unloaded hand gun in it, thats about to be locked in my trunk, with no ammo near it, does that count as a concealed firearm? Technically i dont think that would be any diffrent then say a female with a purse who has a gun in that walking across the street right?
 #105474  by astro_wanabe
 
2xTony wrote: Technically i dont think that would be any diffrent then say a female with a purse who has a gun in that walking across the street right?
I don't see where there would be any difference, and they both require a CCDW.
 #105495  by NormH3
 
People have firearms in range bags all the time. How are you supposed to get the bag to your vehicle and then to the range once arriving?
 #105496  by 2xTony
 
Thats what i mean. The way its worded, having a gun on you thats not visable sounds like a potential felony
 #105498  by astro_wanabe
 
The range bag issue has always been a bit of a quandary for me honestly, so I probably shouldn't have replied with such an definitive sounding post. From a practical perspective, yes most gun ranges (including the State-owned Ommelanden range) want you to have your guns case when entering the range, and of course you'd need to put them in your car before you drive to the range. From a technical perspective (as you asked), I don't see any exemptions. I wonder if a cop could sit inside the rifle range at Ommelanden for a weekend and rack up enough felony arrests to fill the department quota for a year, or would the courts carve out an exemption similar to the Superior Court ruling saying you could carry in your own house under certain conditions? Perhaps carrying your gun in a locked bag would make it inaccessible enough to be analogous to putting the gun in your trunk vs. having it concealed within arm's reach? I'm not sure if it's really been tested. Thankfully I have my government permission slip to CC now, but before getting the CCDW it was something I was slightly worried about.

I'd like to see us go to constitutional carry of course, but it would be nice to at least have a few exemptions codified for the CC law, like on your own property / with permission of property owner, on a gun range's property, moving directly to / from a parked car at home / a range, etc.
 #105503  by California_Exile
 
Insert standard lawyer disclaimer that this isn't advice, y'all aren't my clients and I don't do criminal defense anyway, and further standard lawyer disclaimer that the law is messed up in all kinds of unpredictable ways, and here are my two cents:

The Delaware Supreme Court has said (in the Griffin v. State case from 2012) that because there is an express constitutional right to bear arms (Article I, Section 20 of the Delaware Constitution), the statute criminalizing concealed carry of a deadly weapon without a license (Section 1442 of title 11) is subject to a three-part test in particular cases. The court will look at (1) the strength of the state's interest in public safety against the individual's interest in carrying the weapon, (2) whether the individual could have carried the weapon in some reasonable alternative manner that didn't violate the statute, and (3) whether the individual was carrying the weapon for a lawful purpose.

Taking your gun to the range in a case, or putting it in your car in a case to take it to the range, seems like it ought to be an easy call on all three points, which is why the State Police don't camp out at Ommelanden arresting everyone who shows up without a CCDW card. The statute could have clearer exceptions, but putting those in creates the risk that we wind up with something like Maryland's statute -- there's a list of things you're allowed to have a gun in your car on the way to or from doing, but if you're not doing one of those (or you're planning to stop in at the range on your way home from work, etc.), then you're (potentially) in a world of hurt. More exceptions in the statute create more room for micro-management by the cops, if their bosses so order.

Ultimately, the answer to this is cultural. Getting pulled over with a gun in your car ought to be like getting pulled over with a set of jumper cables in your car. Cops who are normal and are respectful of the right to keep and bear arms aren't going to hassle normal people over ticky-tack garbage, and if they do, prosecutors who are normal are going to drop the case like a hot potato. Compared to certain nearby states I could name, Delaware cops and prosecutors are pretty normal and respectful of RKBA. Long may they so remain, and long may they be justified in so remaining.