Ohioans For Concealed Carry Discussion Forums

I spent the weekend helping some friends move in the Columbus area. Anyone who has owned a truck for any length of time probably knows the drill. Have truck, will help move. Anyway, I have a soft fold able tonneau cover that we had been opening and closing a lot because of the rain yesterday and it turns out that one of the clamps at the cabin side of the bed had come loose. I didn't find this out until I'm on my way to work this morning and the corner is being pushed up by the wind at 65mph.

I noticed it while on the north side 270, heading west at about the 23 exit. I move over to the far right lane and kind of watch it for a few minutes finally deciding that I should pull over and fix it or risk it flying off and causing someone to get hurt. I managed to pull over in the space where 23 traffic merges on to 270 west bound, flip on my hazards and get out to start buckling it down. This is about 6:30am and sometimes OSHP is sitting here about this time and sure enough as I'm getting out one rolls up behind me and parks to get out and see what's up.

I gave him a casual wave while he was still in the car while I worked on opening the tailgate, loosening the tail side clamps so I could get to the front of the bed to work on the loose clamp and he gets out and walks up to me to see if everything was cool. I mentioned what I was doing, why I was doing it and said, "By the way, I have a concealed carry license and I'm currently carrying". He responded that the computer had already informed him and he just wanted to make sure things were OK. I thanked him for stopping, got things tightened down in about three minutes and luckily was able to pull back into traffic with little effort.

Very nice officer, no problems at all and I was actually glad he stopped to help with traffic visibility. It was an absolute non-issue from a gun point of view, as it should be.

Glad things came out alright. But the notification should have been the first words out of your mouth. That poison pill in our law was crafted by the OSHP to begin with.

Sounds like a good encounter. Since you weren't stopped the duty to inform gets moved back a little to the gray area. Is it a stop that you must inform promptly or is it just an encounter in which you have no need to inform? Prudence says to cover all bases and inform anyway until the law gets changed and in this current environment, that's not going to happen.

Brian D. wrote:Glad things came out alright. But the notification should have been the first words out of your mouth. That poison pill in our law was crafted by the OSHP to begin with.

My notification was within the second or third sentence. It wasn't the first words out of my mouth, but it was the first thing I said after answering his initial question. I felt it was prompt, and he seemed more concerned with my predicament than the fact I was carrying. As Javelin Man said, was this even a "stop" for a law enforcement purpose? I'm not sure I would have done anything differently here. I tried to assure him by giving him a wave as he stopped, answering his first question quickly and then promptly informing him.

Javelin Man wrote:Sounds like a good encounter. Since you weren't stopped the duty to inform gets moved back a little to the gray area. Is it a stop that you must inform promptly or is it just an encounter in which you have no need to inform? Prudence says to cover all bases and inform anyway until the law gets changed and in this current environment, that's not going to happen.

Wasn't there a court case I recall hearing about on this very subject? (I think it went up to the Ohio Supreme court didn't it ? )

Ask a OSHP officer if they are in favor of getting rid of notification and see if they will go on record as stating they are for getting rid of notification

You just might find out how "un"friendly they are towards your carry rights.

They are one of the biggest problems standing in our way when we try to get rid of the crap in our carry laws.

Brian D. wrote:Glad things came out alright. But the notification should have been the first words out of your mouth. That poison pill in our law was crafted by the OSHP to begin with.

While I totally agree this is the best course of action. I am not sure the OP was actually stopped for an actual law enforcement purposes. An Officer just saying hi or asking if everything Is ok does not sound like a stop.

Find me a clear cut, definitive court ruling on "stopped for a law enforcement purpose". Gray area of law = green money for lawyers. And a whole lot of leeway shown to the police.

Brian D. wrote:Find me a clear cut, definitive court ruling on "stopped for a law enforcement purpose". Gray area of law = green money for lawyers. And a whole lot of leeway shown to the police.

In my humble - non Lawer - opinion Stopped for law enforcement purposes would mean detained, as you are with any traffic stop.

(E) No person who has been issued a concealed handgun license or who is an active duty member of the armed forces of the United States and is carrying a valid military identification card and documentation of successful completion of firearms training that meets or exceeds the training requirements described in division (G)(1) of section 2923.125 of the Revised Code, who is the driver or an occupant of a motor vehicle that is stopped as a result of a traffic stop or a stop for another law enforcement purpose or is the driver or an occupant of a commercial motor vehicle that is stopped by an employee of the motor carrier enforcement unit for the purposes defined in section 5503.34 of the Revised Code, and who is transporting or has a loaded handgun in the motor vehicle or commercial motor vehicle in any manner, shall do any of the following:

3FULLMAGS+1 wrote:Ask a OSHP officer if they are in favor of getting rid of notification and see if they will go on record as stating they are for getting rid of notification

You just might find out how "un"friendly they are towards your carry rights.

They are one of the biggest problems standing in our way when we try to get rid of the crap in our carry laws.

Why don't we clarify the VAST DIFFERENCE between cops, officers, troopers, deputies or whatever you'd term them and the "official word" from their organization?

Night and day 3 weeks later (in Ohio weather)