Truckers with CCW

[CES]

Would love to get a little insight as to what OTR Truckers do to keep their weapons legal/handy. I will be driving again soon and was wondering what you guys/gals do when on the road.

[72cinjin]

Good Q. My husband is a driver. Depending on which state he is in and what its reciprocity laws are is what dictates how accessible his firearm is. Illinois, for example (which he often drives to or through) is tricky. If his destination stop is in Illinois, it is illegal for him to carry in his truck at all. Period. If he is passing through Illinois on his way to Nebraska, for example, then all he needs to do is respect the Illinois transportation of firearms' laws. This means he has to unload, lock away the gun and store the ammo separately, keeping all related items out of arm's reach. Of course, in this day and age, I am not at liberty to say whether or not he abides by Illinois' law or not, but I will say he is a man of integrity, wisdom and ingenuity. Federal law states that you must notify an officer immediately when engaging in a police business stop, questioning, or whatever other stupid rules they've come up with, but this applies ONLY if you are in possession of your firearm. So, if he gets pulled over in Illinois and his destination is Rockford, for example, what should he do? I think it's a personal choice to abide by or to disobey the law. Is your life's safety worth the risk to leave your firearm at home when trucking to Chicago? It's something all carrying drivers need to weigh before making that delivery inside Illinois' state borders. Anyway, hope that helps. BTW, any other states that share reciprocity with your CPL issuing state, same rules apply.

[truckingman79]

STAY OUT of Illinois. You will go to jail.

[Axeanda45]

Got a warrant officer? That sleeper is your home.

[72cinjin]

STAY OUT of Illinois. You will go to jail.

Only if you are headed somewhere INSIDE of Illinois as your final destination. Federal law allows firearms to pass through Illinois if the vehicle is not destined for IL. No FOID is required, either. But the firearm had better be following IL transport rules, i.e. unloaded, out of arm's reach and locked. They do NOT have the authority to arrest you if you are OTR, just passing THROUGH the state, so long as you follow state procedure.

[mrjam2jab]

Only if you are headed somewhere INSIDE of Illinois as your final destination. Federal law allows firearms to pass through Illinois if the vehicle is not destined for IL. No FOID is required, either. But the firearm had better be following IL transport rules, i.e. unloaded, out of arm's reach and locked. They do NOT have the authority to arrest you if you are OTR, just passing THROUGH the state, so long as you follow state procedure.

Not IL transport rules...but

TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 44 > § 926A

§ 926A. Interstate transportation of firearms

Notwithstanding any other provision of any law or any rule or regulation of a State or any political subdivision thereof, any person who is not otherwise prohibited by this chapter from transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm shall be entitled to transport a firearm for any lawful purpose from any place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm to any other place where he may lawfully possess and carry such firearm if, during such transportation the firearm is unloaded, and neither the firearm nor any ammunition being transported is readily accessible or is directly accessible from the passenger compartment of such transporting vehicle: Provided, That in the case of a vehicle without a compartment separate from the driver’s compartment the firearm or ammunition shall be contained in a locked container other than the glove compartment or console.

[tuts40]

Would love to get a little insight as to what OTR Truckers do to keep their weapons legal/handy. I will be driving again soon and was wondering what you guys/gals do when on the road.

"Legal/Handy" is an oxymoron as far as the government, by in large, is concerned. I happen to drive a truck and I think I'll keep my mouth, er, keyboard shut, er, untyped.

[Treo]

Got a warrant officer? That sleeper is your home.

That's what I would think. I knew a guy once who was single and an OTR trucker and he literally lived in his truck

[mrjam2jab]

Federal law states that you must notify an officer immediately when engaging in a police business stop, questioning, or whatever other stupid rules they've come up with, but this applies ONLY if you are in possession of your firearm.

Missed this the first time thru....what "Federal Law" are you referring to here???

[72cinjin]

After researching this further, I see that only certain states carry a "required notification of CPL" law, so it is not "federal" after all. My apologies. My state, Michigan, is one of them, and a fellow in the Navy I met during an advanced class I was taking mentioned to me that it wasn't just Michigan, but a nationwide requirement. I shouldn't have assumed this to be fact until I had verified it. I am glad you mentioned something about it, though, because we're planning a cross-country trip in a few months, and I am going to contact every state we'll be passing through to find if theirs is a "require of notification" state or not. I'd feel like a real idiot just throwing that information at them when it isn't even required. Michigan, Texas, Kentucky, Oregon, Colorado and Ohio require that you notify, while Virginia, Arizona, New Hampshire and Wyoming do NOT require. Had I more time to look up the other 40 states, I'd complete the list, but I can't this evening. Thanks for pointing this out.