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Duty to notify officer that you're carrying when stopped by an officer of the law.

daekken said:
I thought the recommended NES procedure was to shout, "I have a gun and I know how to use it!" to put the officer at ease that you have training.
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Close. You're supposed to declare yourself a 'sovereign citizen' and your car is a 'sovereign country' therefore he has no right to stop you or question you. THEN say "I have a gun and I know how to use it!.
 
Roof gunner said:
Seriously. Can a cop make that request?
Click to expand...

Who cares? He can do whatever he wants. It's up to you to decide whether you wish to comply.

If he does request it, and you sass him back, and he blows you away, you lose. I'd just comply and, perhaps, record. A lot of it depends on the tone and tenor of the stop, but I've been stopped many times and it's never really been anything on either side but professional. I can see many scenarios where a cop politely asks me to disarm and I politely agree to do so, but I usually take care to conduct myself in a way that makes him less likely to make that kind of request.
 
You don't have to but just fyi: the second they type in your plate it'll show them every single gun registered under the car owners name. Which is illegal in several ways, from privacy violations to the database issue, etc. But nobody wants to do anything about it so we'll complain on an internet forum when they start dragging people out of their cars and taking their guns.
 
Last edited:
I had asked the question because recently I had heard some conflicting information. Unfortunately when you live in a state like this they tend to make laws, rules and regulations up as they go to screw gun owners over. Thanks to all that answered.
 
Woodsy said:
In mass if you are asked you must inform them.
Click to expand...
Asked what?

Be sure to include what is Mass-specific about whatever rule you cite.

"Some police get pissy when they only learn that someone is armed late in an encounter"
is a law of nature - not a law of Massachusetts.


Woodsy said:
I believe it’s always good to keep hands on the wheel, inform the officer you are license d to carry and have a firearm on you , in the glove compartment etc. it drops the tension and if for some reason if you’re asked to get out of the car they won’t be surprised if it is noticed. My opinion only on that part.
Click to expand...
Which discounts anecdotes about traffic cops:
  • Panicking.
  • Immediately drawing on the driver.
  • Sweeping the driver and themselves with the gun after it is handed to them.
  • Attempting to clear the weapon instead of just putting it someplace safe.
  • Struggling to clear the weapon with great difficulty (and sweeping everything in heaven and earth in the process).
  • Dumping all of the ammo out and returning it in a big pile.
  • Field stripping the gun and returning it as a pile of parts. (Not sure about that one).
  • Not to mention quite possibly jerking the driver out of the car like a bad molar...
I totally agree that you never exit the car before informing the officer
about any guns that are in your control.

ISOTOX said:
They know you as soon as they run your plate or drivers licenses you hold a LTC prompting them to ask or not to ask...what you do beyond that is up to you.
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That hasn't been true everywhere as recently as seven years ago.
(I asked my town's police chief in a sidebar
during the intermission of a Q&A on guns).

Police can always get the info if they try,
but some jurisdictions may still use systems that don't display the info by default.

Ron Jablonski said:
The paranoid side of me says that volunteering that information only gives them an excuse to tell you to step out of the vehicle so they can attempt to go on a search/fishing expedition in your car.
Click to expand...
If there is no probable cause that the car contains contraband,
lock it upon exit.

It's a lot easier to establish the lack of consent to a "voluntary" search
when they're locked out and can't just open the door.

Ron Jablonski said:
I knew a cop that once said to me that if he ever found out the driver of a car was concealing a handgun they were probably up to no good, their LTC was irrelevant.
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Q.E.D.
 
I've been pulled over several times since 2008 and always declared my license and whether carrying.

First I was issued a license in Tennessee, where you don't have to declare but the LTC class instructor (Tom Givens @ Rangemaster) recommended it. After all, the cop will run your driver's license and know anyway when he's walking back to your car. Just say, "I have a state-issued LTC and have it on me." Don't say gun. They might even appreciate not having to discover it themselves, he advised.

So I got pulled over for speeding in Arkansas and did the declaration thing. Turns out it's required there but very few do it upon getting pulled over. The cop specifically told me he appreciated me abiding by that reg and said that was why he was letting me off with a warning.

First time I got pulled over for speeding in Mass, I was on the way to the range. Declared carrying. Cop didn't seem to care. Asked where I was headed. I nodded to the range bag on the passenger seat and said the range. Funny, he asked, "Why?" I replied, "To keep up skills." He nodded approvingly and let me off with a warning.

Second time in Mass the cop just looked at me as if to say, "Why are you telling me this?" and then let me off with a warning.

Third time...
Brewer: "By the way, I have a state-issued LTC and have it on me."
Cop: "Oh? Where?"
Brewer: "Front pocket."
Cop: "Which one?"
Brewer: "Both. Dual-carry."
Cop: *moment of delay then slow nod of approval* "Nice. Please just keep your hands on the wheel. I'm giving you a warning."

So between professionalism and declaring I've gotten a lot of warnings and a couple affirmations for carrying. Each was Rutland or Worcester, so maybe there's a bigger statist hard-on as you go east.
 
Keep in mind, probably a high percentage of traffic stops has the motorist pleading their case as the officer is getting to their window; "Officer, I'm running really late to get to see my dying cat at the vet/do you know officer so and so/do you know who I am?!" etc, the majority if which they probably tune out. So when they approach and you're stating "Officer, I just want to let you know I have my LTC and have a gun on me/in the vehicle" the only word they may hear is "gun". Could go south quick. Just something to think about.
 
Roof gunner said:
What if the cop asks you to surrender it during a traffic stop
Click to expand...
It implies that he's determined that you are both armed and dangerous,
and it's his legal right under Terry v. Ohio.

And OBTW, if he hasn't determined that you're dangerous
(we all agree that you're armed),
that's still his story, he'll be sticking to it,
and you might as well just take that pile of money
that you were going to pay your lawyer for a fruitless civil rights suit
and set it on fire; because that suit's going nowhere.

jpm said:
Close. You're supposed to declare yourself a 'sovereign citizen' and your car is a 'sovereign country' therefore he has no right to stop you or question you.
Click to expand...
Bonus points for giving grief if an embroidered flag patch on his uniform has gold fringe.

Ron Jablonski said:
If we're taking this hypothetical scenario from the initial stop towards this direction then in all seriousness I would comply with all orders. If you can record, record. Get business cards from the officers and call a lawyer.
Click to expand...
"
This is the Law Office of Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe.
If you have a valid legal complaint, please press '1'.
If you have a hair across your grommet over a cop disarming you during a traffic stop,
hang up, set my retainer on fire, and please follow all Mass. fire codes.
...
"

dgrantdoherty said:
I would just open the door and tactical roll away
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Never go up against a cop in a tactical roll contest.
They have to recertify annually, and it shows.
mckinney911.gif


Fixxah said:
Doesn't the LTC show up on the movie screen when they run your DL?
Click to expand...
"SCMODS", dammit.
"SCMODS".
 
kerryman71 said:
Keep in mind, probably a high percentage of traffic stops has the motorist pleading their case as the officer is getting to their window; "Officer, I'm running really late to get to see my dying cat at the vet/do you know officer so and so/do you know who I am?!" etc, the majority if which they probably tune out. So when they approach and you're stating "Officer, I just want to let you know I have my LTC and have a gun on me/in the vehicle" the only word they may hear is "gun". Could go south quick. Just something to think about.
Click to expand...
I somewhat agree. Never use the word gun. If you feel the need to advise the officer maybe say you are licensed and are carrying. Sounds better to me anyway. Either way play it by ear and be a decent person
 
wahsben said:
I tried the search and was unsuccesful in finding the answer. It was my understanding that there was no duty to notify in MA. but I've seen some other things elsewhere that has me questioning whether or not there is a duty to notify. So what is the correct answer and what is the MGL etc. Thank you.
Click to expand...

I remember somebody asking Mac this question in Concealed Carry I at MFS. Mac is a cop. He went down the list of possibilities, including, IIRC, the fact that it has to be the first words out of your mouth in Alaska. In Massachusetts you don't have to. Should you? He wasn't categorical about it, but in his personal opinion, IIRC, if you're stopped for some traffic violation and the cop comes to your window and starts talking about your traffic violation, then respond normally to the subject at hand. Don't change the subject to firearms.
 
AHM said:
It implies that he's determined that you are both armed and dangerous,
and it's his legal right under Terry v. Ohio.

And OBTW, if he hasn't determined that you're dangerous
(we all agree that you're armed),
that's still his story, he'll be sticking to it,
and you might as well just take that pile of money
that you were going to pay your lawyer for a fruitless civil rights suit
and set it on fire; because that suit's going nowhere.


Bonus points for giving grief if an embroidered flag patch on his uniform has gold fringe.


"
This is the Law Office of Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe.
If you have a valid legal complaint, please press '1'.
If you have a hair across your grommet over a cop disarming you during a traffic stop,
hang up, set my retainer on fire, and please follow all Mass. fire codes.
...
"


Never go up against a cop in a tactical roll contest.
They have to recertify annually, and it shows.
mckinney911.gif



"SCMODS", dammit.
"SCMODS".
Click to expand...
You come at me with a single tactical roll? I can roll for miles
 
meh said:
I remember somebody asking Mac this question in Concealed Carry I at MFS. Mac is a cop. He went down the list of possibilities, including, IIRC, the fact that it has to be the first words out of your mouth in Alaska. In Massachusetts you don't have to. Should you? He wasn't categorical about it, but in his personal opinion, IIRC, if you're stopped for some traffic violation and the cop comes to your window and starts talking about your traffic violation, then respond normally to the subject at hand. Don't change the subject to firearms.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. Let them steer the conversation. Kind of "Don't ask, don't tell", but different 😁
 

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