How to carry a handgun (legal issue)

[amk]

No one I ask seems to know the laws about this issue. Basically how is one supposed to carry (on person) his handgun? Sholuld it be concelead; can it be carried open; does it HAVE to be in a holster; if concealed and someone sees it what does the law say?

AMK

[mundaire]

No one I ask seems to know the laws about this issue. Basically how is one supposed to carry (on person) his handgun? Sholuld it be concelead; can it be carried open; does it HAVE to be in a holster; if concealed and someone sees it what does the law say?

AMK

There is no restriction on concealed carry in India. So long as you have a valid arms license and are within the area in which it is valid (tehsil/district/ state/ city/ all India) you are OK - so it's your choice whether you wish to carry it properly concealed or display it prominently. I would STRONGLY recommended the former....

HOWEVER, you need to be careful that you DO NOT inadvertently go into a restricted area with your firearms - this could be an army cantonment/ military base/ airport/ college or university campus/ school etc.

Also, AFAIK notwithstanding any of the above - the police can detain you for up to 24 hours if they "feel" that you were "moving about in suspicious circumstances with a weapon". This needn't be a firearm, could be a lathi/ knife/ replica/ toy etc... anything, the ONLY determinant is that the policeman on duty feels you are acting suspiciously.... civil rights be damned!

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[eljefe]

concur.if you carry, ensure you have a xerox of licence on you.

[hellfire_m16]

I thought that one always had to carry his original gun licence with the firearm.Thats the way i always carried mine.

[Hunter]

Hi AMK,

Abhijeets post sums it all! Carry your original licence along with your piece with you and ensure u have copies of the licence at home!

Happy Shooting!

[eljefe]

I should have said -ATLEAST a xerox! Even losing a licence involves a FIR, B report etc

[marksman]

The Arms License is generally issued for one of the three purposes or in rare cases, for all three namely Sports/Protection/Display. It is distinctly printed on all License books, at least on the ones issued by the M'bai Licensing authority. As Abhijeet mentioned earlier,and rightly so, there is no restriction within Indian Union for carrying a side arm concealed (with a valid License.) However a long arm if carried should be encased if being "transported". A side arm carried unconcealed on the waist belt or otherwise amounts to "display" which is an offense if one does not have "Display" specifically mentioned on one's book. Only the people from The forces are allowed to display the arms openly. The word "display" also includes deactivated fire arms for the purpose of wall hanging etc. This information was passed on to me by a very senior officer attached to the Arms & Ammunition Branch, Mumbai. Although not many are aware of this rule it's still a bad idea to display a fire arm in any manner IMO. I shall humbly request all our members to refrain from doing this for the sake of our dwindling community..
Marksman

[vjha55]

In my area, if you take your handgun inside a bank concealed, no body search and hence no problem. But same handgun when you take into the bank openly even with valid licence, bankers object. What is the true situation?
In fact when you are going to bank, suppose, to deposite 5 lacs, you do carry your handguns for protection. In this situation you can not leave your handgun outside the bankgate, like you do with your bags at shopping mall entrance, and then you enter into the bank with money only, with arms left outside.

[indian]

i have seen display boards in some banks in andhra pradesh which state that bringing any weapon into the bank is prohibited...the only exception is kirpans for sikhs.

[vjha55]

But then where will you keep your firearms?

[indian]

i hope they(the authorities)wish that we hang the firearms at their doorstep and go into their pious premises

[vjha55]

I can not really thank for this suggestion. Anyone with relevant idea on the matter?

[hellfire_m16]

vjha.........now when ever did the Indian babus have their brains where they were supposed to be.

[indian]

i agree with vinayaka.i dont know when the babus understand?a criminal never bothers about the rules and regulations the babus try to control people who know their limits ...i dont know how people feel about this but i have seen many cases in andhra pradesh where licenses have been issued to rowdy sheeters and factionists based on the reason that they have a life threat

[mundaire]

Well, to be entirely fair... I cannot think of many countries where carrying a firearm into a bank branch would be allowed. However, as rightly pointed out above, there should be a system to securely "check in" your arms while you transact business inside and then once done, "check out" the arms while leaving.

BUT don't you agree that there would need to be a sizeable number of people carrying legal guns on a daily basis for it to be of any interest to the bank to devise such a system...