Indiana open carry???

[jbmt2005]

My license says LICENSE TO CARRY A HANDGUN. Can I carry it open or do I have to conceal it? Its a 4 year personal protection license. Thanks for taking your time to read this.

[Ed Hurtley]

Per the State of Indiana Firearm FAQ:

Does Indiana statute require me to carry the handgun on my person concealed or exposed?
Indiana law is silent on this issue; however, carrying an exposed weapon in public may alarm some people. Also, the right to carry a firearm may be restricted on private property and businesses by the owners. Be attentive for signs warning of restricted areas when carrying firearms into public places. If approached by law enforcement for official business such as traffic stops or complaint related inquiries, it is recommended that you tell the officer in a non-threatening manner that you are carrying a weapon or have a weapon in the vehicle and that you have a valid permit. A law enforcement officer does have the right to inspect the permit.

By my reading (I am not a lawyer, for full confirmation, contact a lawyer local to Indiana that deals with firearms issues, etc, etc, etc,) this means you can open or concealed carry.

[Hammerhead]

Indiana is indeed an OC state, with an issued LTCH. The law does not say how you may carry, only that you can when issued your LTCH. You can tape it to your forehead if you'd like.

I OC 95% of the time. I've only been asked once by a LEO to cover up and when I told them I didn't feel the urge, they dropped the issue.

Carry on.

(You really should have opted for the lifetime. I'd recommend doing so in three years.)

[Sig1911]

Interesting that you have to have a license to carry a handgun for personal protection in Indiana. No particular offense intended towards Indiana or its citizens, but why did any American ever agree to such nonsense?

[RJ_Whitlock]

Interesting that you have to have a license to carry a handgun for personal protection in Indiana. No particular offense intended towards Indiana or its citizens, but why did any American ever agree to such nonsense?

You have to have one here as well in Minnesota, I don't really see the big deal with it. Take the class, shoot well, get your permit, and your good to go.

[NavyLCDR]

Interesting that you have to have a license to carry a handgun for personal protection in Indiana. No particular offense intended towards Indiana or its citizens, but why did any American ever agree to such nonsense?

You have to have one here as well in Minnesota, I don't really see the big deal with it. Take the class, shoot well, get your permit, and your good to go.

Did RJ_Whitlock answer your question, Sig1911? Because Americans believe the lies that politicians tell them... "This is not infringement.... this is just reasonable regulation." Just ask the government, they will tell you that's what it is.

[Sig1911]

No, Navy, RJ did not. I understand where he is coming from on this, and I am a huge proponent of training as a matter of common sense, but ever since AZ adopted constitutional carry, it has made me wonder why all states do not have it. When you step back for a moment and think about it, what right does the state have to determine whether you may defend yourself? It's nuts.

[RJ_Whitlock]

No, Navy, RJ did not. I understand where he is coming from on this, and I am a huge proponent of training as a matter of common sense, but ever since AZ adopted constitutional carry, it has made me wonder why all states do not have it. When you step back for a moment and think about it, what right does the state have to determine whether you may defend yourself? It's nuts.

It's so the wrong people don't end up with a gun, I find this reasonable. The state has the right to determine whether you can actually and intelligently defend yourself. I'm 21 and I did nothing that most kids my age are doing which will not allow them to defend themselves because they think a DWI or dealing drugs is cooler.

I stayed away from that life and those people so I could make sure I had the chance to be able to carry, if I have to have a permit to do so, so be it. Doesn't bother me any, I don't care if people or the Sheriff's department know I carry.

If it was a problem they would've denied my app, which they didn't, every chance I get I'm on the range training and shooting. To me a permit to carry is just like a driver's license, if you don't pass you don't get it. Seems fair to me.

[jbmt2005]

Thank u everyone for replying back to me. I called the police department and they said yes I can open carry. Wonder why they don't say that it can be OC tho in the paper work I received.

[NavyLCDR]

It's so the wrong people don't end up with a gun, I find this reasonable. The state has the right to determine whether you can actually and intelligently defend yourself. I'm 21 and I did nothing that most kids my age are doing which will not allow them to defend themselves because they think a DWI or dealing drugs is cooler.

I stayed away from that life and those people so I could make sure I had the chance to be able to carry, if I have to have a permit to do so, so be it. Doesn't bother me any, I don't care if people or the Sheriff's department know I carry.

If it was a problem they would've denied my app, which they didn't, every chance I get I'm on the range training and shooting. To me a permit to carry is just like a driver's license, if you don't pass you don't get it. Seems fair to me.

You mean like New York did when they started this whole "reasonable regulation" B.S.? Do you even know the roots behind pistol permits? In 1911 Big Tim Sullivan pushed through the nation's first pistol permit system. Why? Because he was a mob boss and all his mobster "constituates" were complaining that the immigrant would-be victims were shooting at them when they attempted to commit criminal acts against them. In order to solve the "problem", mob boss Tim Sullivan introduced New York's pistol permit system which is still in existence today. It gave New York state the authority to "reasonably regulate" who could carry a pistol or not. Problem solved. The criminals were already using guns to commit illegal acts, so the new law had no effect on them. What it did was increase the revenue that Big Tim received from his mobster coharts because they could be more effective in their criminal activities because Big Tim now could keep law abiding citizens from carrying guns to protect themselves with.

Gun control only results in the disarming of the law abiding citizen. It does nothing to disarm the criminal. You say it's to keep people from having guns who should not have them. I say, where exactly is the problem in states like Vermont, Alaska, Arizona, Wyoming, and the other states where open carry is allowed with no permit required? There isn't one, in reality. All gun control and "reasonable regulation" does is cause people like you to feel warm and fuzzy inside that your government is somehow protecting you by keeping guns out of law abiding citizens hands.

And I didn't even mention all the pistol/carry permit laws designed to disarm minorities in the '20s through the '60s.