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I received this question in my post The debate rages on

Hypothetically I am pulled over for something and I am carrying my unloaded gun in a lock case which is in the trunk. Does the officer who stops me need to know that? I figure I wouldn't volunteer the information unless he asked, but is it better for me to say I have it up front?

The gun isn't a danger to us so I wouldn't mention it. I hate to say it but I wouldn't tell the officer about it even if he asks if there are any weapons in the car. After all, you are in compliance with the law and the gun is absolutely no threat. I only say this because there is always the chance you will encounter an over-zealous officer who wants to seize it for "public safety" reasons and you have no legal obligation to tell him about an unloaded gun in a locked box in your trunk.

Speaking of over-zealous cops, I remember a traffic stop I was on when I was a shiny new officer. I was a rookie and showed up on a stop as a back-up for a more experienced but less intelligent veteran officer.

The cop had pulled over a guy in his mid-60s. The driver was a good old country boy who lived a couple of counties away. He said he was coming into the city to finalize the purchase of a boat or something like. He was very polite and had only been stopped for going a little over the speed limit. You could tell by talking to him that he was a good solid citizen and what I consider one of the "good guys".

Well the stop was pretty much over and the veteran officer just gave him a warning. Almost as an afterthought, the officer asked the driver if he had any drugs or weapons in the car. The driver seemed surprised and said that he had a pistol in a case in the backseat. He explained that he didn't have a carry permit but he was a little nervous coming into the big city and liked to have it in case something happened.

Now this was technically illegal since he didn't have a permit but there was also a clause about "traveling" with a weapon. It is legal if the person is moving or traveling to and from a gun range. If this guy had said he was going to the range or something like that, he would have been okay.

Instead, the officer conducting the stop took him out of the car (at gunpoint) and put him in cuffs. Keep in mind that this stop had been completely friendly and was practically over at this point. The officer arrested the guy for carrying a weapon without a permit and seized the gun.

The poor guy was speechless. He kept apologizing and saying how he was going to lose his job if we arrested him. I know the law is the law but I felt disgusted about this arrest. Here was a good citizen who was only trying to maintain some bit of protection in an admittedly dangerous city, was honest about it, and got arrested for his troubles.

As a rookie officer, all I could do was help impound his vehicle. Out of all the arrests I have done over the years, this is one of the few that I lost sleep about. Heck, I still feel guilty about it and if it had gone to trial I would have tried to sabotage it on the stand. Unfortunately, this guy pled guilty and now has a criminal record. Any real crook would have fought it and probably got off.

I know that if it was my stop, I would have let the guy go. If it happened today, I would pull that other officer aside and try to change his mind about things.