You are correct about certain laws, however, there are many that I would consider a hinderance to the free state and to society.
You may whole heartedly disagree with me on this, but this one has a profound impact.
*** Most states require a permit to carry a concealed firearm.
I will state that Alaska used to have this law, but it was removed because it was deemed unconstitutional to our State Constitution (and is, according to the words of the 2nd amenment, unconstitutional to the U.S. Constitution). There is more, however. In Alaska, if I had a permit to carry a concealed firearm, and I got pulled over, when the Officer gets information via the license plate, it will read "Known to be armed." Now, this may seem O.K. to most people, but now the Officer is going to be/do one or more of the following:
1. A little nervous.
I don't want to be around any Officer who has a firearm and is nervous, it makes me afraid to go for my license and registration. (Happened to me already, even though I had no permit, and I did not have a firearm with me) I know this is mostly poor training, but it is also the nature of the job I guess.
2. Ask for the firearm during conversations with the Officer.
If the Officer does not trust me with my firearm, I do not trust him. If he askes me to hand my firearm to him, I will ask for his. He does not have the privilage to take my firearm unless he has reasonable cause. I will not tell him I have it unless he askes me directly.
3. Call for backup.
Even though nothing more than a tail light out, or 7 mph over the speed limit happened here, the Officer has already made the decision that you are guilty for some crime other than the one he witnessed due to the "Known to be armed" phrase on the computer. This has happend to a friend I know because there was a robbery reported a few miles away within the last 5 minutes of the incident.
I'll stop here, I could go on for hours, but I want to sleep sometime tonight.
Deputy, please let me know your views on this subject, I'm curious to hear them from an Officer's point of view.
#1. A little nervous? I'll tell you right now - we don't like reading "CWP" - (or Concealed Weapons Permit) on the MDT (Mobile Data Terminal - Basically an ultra-secure trunked radio system that allows us to communicate by both voice and text, over computers in our vehicles - Many jurisdictions only have text based MDT's as they are very expensive). A lot of times we don't get a list of warrants until well after the stop is underway - I.E. we are right next to the drivers window.
#2. Euh this one is touchy. A lot of departments, its not only a good idea, but its policy to unarm the person being questioned. By refusing to hand over you weapon, everything escalates. Yes, we're going to get backup - as this is considered an act of uncooperation. Normally, if you aren't cooperating, we would deal with you on our own - however you are armed, and, as you might be able to tell - we really don't like that. We don't like putting ourselves in any more danger than what we have to - Obviously, this is a dangerous profession as it is, adding a gun to the mix can sometimes make it not pretty. Unfourtionatly, a lot of times, we'll do a felony stop if we know you are armed - A felony stop means that we will be behind cover, guns out, and you will get out of your car, lay down on the ground, arms out to your side, and palms up. The reason we do this is not only for our safety, but also yours. Its basically done for the off chance, that for some reason, you decide to have a shooting match, we don't want any stray rounds flying around, hitting innocent civilians.
As for reasonable cause, no department will ever punish a peace officer for taking a weapon away until he or she is confident and sure the situation is safe.
3#. Read above.
Basically, what I'm saying is, don't try to argue with us - or hinder what we are trying to do. If you do, you will only make things worse for yourself. If you argue, you're almost gauranteed a ticket. If you are armed, tell the officer. Its a lot better than him or her finding out, pulling his/her gun out and having an accidental shooting. Just tell us where it is, LET US TAKE IT OFF YOU, and relax. We're not here to hurt you, we are here to keep you and everyone else safe.