The dreaded ENCOUNTER... dum dum dum. 
I got popped by a hi-po for speeding on the Turner Turnpike yesterday. I had my M&P sitting in the passenger's seat unloaded with the slide locked back and a loaded mag and loose round next to it. First he asked for my license, and I gave it to him. He asked if I had a concealed carry license and I said no. He picked the gun up and looked at it, making sure it was unloaded, and set it back down. He said that I can't carry it that way, and that the ammo has to be stored out of reach of the gun. I told him that there is no requirement for that in Oklahoma law, and that there is actually a law that specifically allows a gun to be transported that way. I told him I could show it to him if he had a code book. He had me get in the passenger side in his car, handed me a code book, and said "show me." I turned to 21 O.S. Section 1289.7 and read him the part where it says that a rifle, shotgun, or pistol may be carried open and unloaded, and told him that in the definition section, "unloaded" means not chamber or magazine loaded. He looked it over for a bit and ran my license. He told me that speeding is dangerous, and I said "sorry." He said not to worry, he doesn't take it personally, and that he was glad he learned something. He let me off with a warning. I don't know what the fine is for doing 28 over, but I'm pretty sure I got a little better than my normal hourly rate for giving 5 minutes of legal advice!
The only real issue is that he seized the gun momentarily... but if he thought it was being transported illegally, I guess he thought he had probable cause under the M/V exigency. Since I set him straight on legal transport, I didn't worry too much about it.
Anyway, yet another fellow citizen set straight on the mythical "gun has to be transported separately from the ammo" rule. Hopefully he will spread the word to some of his buddies too. Now somebody needs to go tell all the guys at the pawn shops. I swear every time I've bought a gun from one of those places, the guy tells me "now make sure you put the ammo separate from the gun in your car."
I got popped by a hi-po for speeding on the Turner Turnpike yesterday. I had my M&P sitting in the passenger's seat unloaded with the slide locked back and a loaded mag and loose round next to it. First he asked for my license, and I gave it to him. He asked if I had a concealed carry license and I said no. He picked the gun up and looked at it, making sure it was unloaded, and set it back down. He said that I can't carry it that way, and that the ammo has to be stored out of reach of the gun. I told him that there is no requirement for that in Oklahoma law, and that there is actually a law that specifically allows a gun to be transported that way. I told him I could show it to him if he had a code book. He had me get in the passenger side in his car, handed me a code book, and said "show me." I turned to 21 O.S. Section 1289.7 and read him the part where it says that a rifle, shotgun, or pistol may be carried open and unloaded, and told him that in the definition section, "unloaded" means not chamber or magazine loaded. He looked it over for a bit and ran my license. He told me that speeding is dangerous, and I said "sorry." He said not to worry, he doesn't take it personally, and that he was glad he learned something. He let me off with a warning. I don't know what the fine is for doing 28 over, but I'm pretty sure I got a little better than my normal hourly rate for giving 5 minutes of legal advice!
The only real issue is that he seized the gun momentarily... but if he thought it was being transported illegally, I guess he thought he had probable cause under the M/V exigency. Since I set him straight on legal transport, I didn't worry too much about it.
Anyway, yet another fellow citizen set straight on the mythical "gun has to be transported separately from the ammo" rule. Hopefully he will spread the word to some of his buddies too. Now somebody needs to go tell all the guys at the pawn shops. I swear every time I've bought a gun from one of those places, the guy tells me "now make sure you put the ammo separate from the gun in your car."
