How to carry a handgun (legal issue)

[BJL]

Good to know.

It'd still be interesting to know whether or not public spaces managed privately can have their own rules regarding carried weapons.

[nagarifle]

well i believe that unless your firearms license say that the arm is for protection, then one should carry an arm in public but not in schools/colleges and religious places. wither they be private or otherwise. The arms should be carried secure so that it does not drop out in the hustle or bustle of daily life.

if the arms license does not state for protection then the arms should be carried unloaded, packed safe. also not in school/college and religious places. wither they be private or otherwise.

[BJL]

Aah- so there is a distinction then? If the license wasn't issued for self defense then a loaded pistol can't be carried concealed? Would there be a blurred legal line if a weapon on a sports license was used for self defense?

[nagarifle]

Aah- so there is a distinction then? If the license wasn't issued for self defense then a loaded pistol can't be carried concealed? Would there be a blurred legal line if a weapon on a sports license was used for self defense?

i don't know about distinction but am trying to think logically(darn impossible when it comes to arms act) that if the license is for protection then one can carry on day to day for the reason of protection.

in India concealed or other wise in not an legal issue. As long as one has a license. it is wise to carry out of sight to avoid the public from having a heart break down, unless you are an old gent from the village and have a handle bar mush then in acceptable to carry a arm on display.

if the license is for sports etc, then why would one want to carry it loaded in public?(not for transporting form home to range etc) as for self defense then it would be wiser to have a loaded arm at home rather then in public place.
the law might take it differently if one carries an arm in school etc, as the argument would be who is trying to throw paper at you

i used to carry arms to and fro from the range to home and i always used to break down the arms, they were packed in different case and ammo went separate.(in the UK)

my reason being that if while traveling if i was stopped and searched then no way i could be accused of doing wrong as i had a license and arms were in bits in different case.

my best advice would be to get a copy of the arms act and check it out.
take advice from local office of the SP.

no harm in playing safe. if in doubt leave the arms home.

[BJL]

Indeed. Going through the arms act now. High time we had one titled Arms Act 2009, instead of 1959. Thanks for the input Nagarifle.

[ajayplahane]

Hi friends,
We need not bother about the rules of the banks. It is the licencing authorities' rules, which r going to affect us.As per condition no.5 of the form III licence, a licence holder is not permitted to take his arm to any fair,religious procession , a public assemblage or an educational institute, unless he has a specific permit from DM for that. This simply means u r not allowed to take your weapon there at all. At any other place, it is a matter of relative environment there, that will decide the extent of liberty. And the fact is, though u r allowed to take your weapon either conceled or open, it is advised that u keep your weapon conceled at all the times. This is because, it is not the arms act alone, but the other act's provisions, that will bring u in trouble on this issue. For example, hanging an arm on the side of your waist may be allowed to you under arms act, but it can attract section 506 of CrPC for criminally intimidating somebody...!!There r so many other provisions under CrPC or IPC that will bring u in trouble.The guiding principle is, as long as nobody is taking cognizence of your weapon or is complaining about its display, or even use, everything is allowed. The moment somebody has an objection to it, the law starts finding sections of different enactments to tie u up.. And when such cases go to court, the view of the court is always in the larger interest.....( that means against your individual interest...)

.........Ajay

[amk]

Very enlightening and well said Ajay.

AMK

[Bruno22]

There are some nice handgun safes available in Mumbai. I would suggest fitting one into you car so that you could leave the fire arm in the car on your visit to the bank,mall or where ever it's not permitted. Unless you want to play 'hero' while the bank gets robbed..and then you will be in more of a soup than the damn robber thanks to our fine judicial system. Any way the way you carry also depends on your line of work and how you dress. That's my one cent worth.
Cheers
Bruno

[BJL]

Thanks for that Ajay. That clarifies a lot. Never ever considered that criminal intimidation bit.

[mundaire]

I just thought I'd pipe in and mention that I recall reading about a judgement by the Hon'able Supreme Court of India, which in effect stated that even if the arms license was issued for "sports" use the licensee was free to use it for self defence, the logic given by the court was that if your life/ the life of others is under threat, you are free to use all available means to best protect yourself and others from harm.

As Naga has alluded, you cannot do so in the UK - there being more than one high profile case reported (in that country) in which firearm owners have used their guns to defend themselves and landed up in jail as a result. Self-defence/ protection is no longer considered as a valid reason for owning a firearm in the UK... you can now only own guns for sport or hunting in that country

Cheers!
Abhijeet

[BJL]

Yeah. Insane how a government can get away with taking away the right of people to defend themselves, even after what history has taught us.

[Anand]

Hello,
While I do not advocate carrying openly for tactical reasons, the law itself does not prohibit such carrying. As mentioned earlier, there is always the chance that someone could call the cops citing criminal intimidation. How ever, in my experience, most people, even those that are totally anti-firearms generally assume that you are a security/police/military person and dont really pay attention.

For instance due to my own carelessness, I have accidentally exposed my firearm while sitting down (in a chair with armrests) in a public place. The one person who did notice did'nt seem too worried, and even smiled at me. I have carried firearms while I lived in the USA and I was far more apprehensive there than I am here in India. In the USA, a lot of states say that to expose the firearm is illegal, unless a life thereatning situation occurs.

I was told of a situation where an ex-licensee was carrying openly, a police officer told him to conceal it. This person later lost his license because of involvement in some criminal cases. He is now contesting elections.

Anand

[BJL]

I lived in Maine for a while- it's an open carry state (with limits like not near schools, etc)- no license required. The only permits required for gun owning are for concealed carry and loaded carry in a vehicle. Otherwise, no restrictions. Moving back to NYC certainly impacted how often I can shoot.

Open carry in India seems to invite trouble, or is connected with a certain negative image. Was reading an interesting series of posts on that by a now banned - Mr. Jha. (kadak/cheeku- hilarious discussion).

But it is good to know that when someone does see an otherwise concealed firearm, the reaction isn't over the top.

[Vineet]

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.

When I go to bank I handover my revovlver to the guard.I think that's the rule and also the best way because if you leave your weapon, outside the bank, in the car there are chances that it might get robbed and inside the bank it is not allowed so guard is the best option.

-- Tue Jul 07, 2009 23:28 --

***Deleted - Dodgy advice.***
....

Now what was wrong with this view point.... ??? When you carry large amounts of money to / from the bank... where else can one carry his handgun, except tucked neatly inside the waist band... I seriously need more advice on this... MODS ???

Taking a handgun in bank is illegal so do not suggest illegal ways to people.I
may also remind you that this Board (IFG) does not promote breaking of law or rules in any way.

[BJL]

When I go to bank I handover my revovlver to the guard.I think that's the rule and also the best way because if you leave your weapon, outside the bank, in the car there are chances that it might get robbed and inside the bank it is not allowed so guard is the best option.

And where does the guard put it?