What to do if you get pulled over with your Concealed Carry Firearm:

We’ve all been there. You’re rocking out to Pink, having a good hair day, then suddenly a weird sound interrupts your music. Not to mention the red, white, and blue flashing lights that are now illuminating your rear-view mirror. Frantically you look at your speedometer and realize you’re going over “a little too fast”.

Now, normally this isn’t a huge deal. But, what if you’re carrying your concealed firearm. What’s the protocol for carrying concealed and dealing with law enforcement?

There have been many scary news stories about concealed carry permit holders that have been killed by law enforcement. Now, we are very pro-law enforcement. Let’s be clear about that. That being said there are some bad cops out there. Just like there are bad people intent on doing harm.

BUT! There are many MANY good cops out there who just want to do their job and go home to their family. These are moms, dads, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters. They are professionals who just want to do their job then go home and hug their baby’s.

On top of all that, they are trained to read situations very well. They are trained to use escalation of force meaning they don’t go straight to using their firearm without using other things first. They might try to talk it out, they might start talking louder or yelling, then using a taser, etc. All of those things happen FIRST before an officer goes to lethal force. However, you don’t see all those steps in the jumpy cell phone footage. It seems as though people wait until the officer draws his firearm to draw their cell phones and start recording.

So let’s dive into what you need to do when you get pulled over:

1. If you are completely legal in carrying your firearm, don’t freak out. Remain calm! If you’re not breaking the law (other than the traffic violation) then you have nothing to worry about.
2. Always carry your wallet handy. If you’re a female, keep your purse in the passenger seat.
3. Grab your concealed carry permit, military ID (If you have it), then driver’s license. IN THIS ORDER. If you’re driving your vehicle, then the officer already knows who you are. He’s not really interested in your driver’s license. This is why it’s so important to have your information handy so you’re not digging around in your vehicle as the officer walks up.
4. Stick your arm out the window with your Concealed Carry Permit and the other ID’s. We do this so the law enforcement officer can see it as he walks up. Most officers will be able to recognize their own state or county concealed carry permit. This tells them that you have had a background check, meaning that you’re not a criminal. It also means that you want to be open and honest. You are not required by law to disclose that you’re carrying concealed legally. However, it puts the law enforcement officer at ease when you are open and honest.
5. Keep your right hand on the wheel until the officer tells you otherwise. If the officer asks for your license and registration, tell the officer where it is and that you will need to get it.
6. The officer will probably ask where you’re carrying and ask you to leave it there. That will most likely be the extent of the conversation.
7. Don’t break traffic violations! Slow down, use your turn signal, don’t run very yellow lights. Just use common sense.
8. Don’t make it about race. It’s not about race. It’s media propaganda. It’s propaganda perpetuated by other groups out there. On one hand that’s the beauty of America. Freedom of speech, the first amendment. Now, we can’t control what others think or say. It’s not our problem and shouldn’t be worth our time. We can control what We think and what We say. We can CHOOSE not to believe what these folks have to say. We can choose to believe that the law enforcement officers ONLY want to do their job, make it to the end of their shift, then go home to their families. Do your due diligence as an American with a vote and as a human being and look into the statistics on your own. You’ll find that the media does not portray things accurately. At all.

Now, my hubby has been pulled over a few times. He has a wee bit of a lead foot. The most recent occurrence was in New Mexico. The speed limit was 75, he had the cruise set at 77. We crested a hill and missed the speed limit drop to 55! We got pulled over for going 23 mph OVER the limit! We had no idea! My hubby had his concealed carry permit, then military ID, then license hanging out the window so the officer could see that he was a permit holder AND that he was military. Both of those cards indicate that he MUST have a clear background.

Here is how the conversation went:

Officer: “Good morning Sir how are you?”

Hubby: “Fine Sir, How are you?”

Officer: “Good Good! I assume by your permit here that you’re armed?”

Hubby: “Yes sir.”

Officer: “Where is it located?”

Hubby: “on my right hip”

O: “right on, just leave it there.”

H: “yes sir.”

O: “do you know why I pulled you over today?”

H: “no sir.”

O: “you were going 23 over. It’s a little too far over. I debated, but that’s just a little too much.”

H: “mercy goodness, no that was my fault. I missed the sign! That’s way too fast. I’m sorry!”

The officer did give us a ticket but gave us a break on the fee. Just like that, it was over. He was a really nice, down to earth guy, who had kids and had been an officer for over 20 years already. He is a person with kids. He didn’t want to get into a confrontation. He was just doing his job; upholding the law.

The officers won’t arrest you if you aren’t breaking the law. The officers won’t draw their firearms on you if you don’t threaten them! Be respectful. Be courteous. Be a responsible adult, with common sense.

Cheers,

Nila