So towards the end of next month, I will have to make a quick trip to Ohio. Being on the road I plan on taking my gun, so I headed on over to
http://packing.orgto check out the laws in the states I would be traveling throuh.
No problems until I got to Ohio and started reading the laws:
It is legal to carry concealed in Ohio unless you are in a car. If you are in a car the gun must be in plane sight on your person, in a locked case in plane sight, or in a locked glove box.
Also if you are involved in a traffic stop, being in contact with a firearm is against the law...but one of the options is to have it on your person...
I called the state attorney generals office and spoke with someone and got this response:
You have to unconceal your weapon in your car. Ohio has open carry so if you are putting on/taking off a jacket there is no problem. If someone sees your gun and calls the cops, then as long as you are involved in a legal activity (in which open carry is) then you don't get in trouble. This also means you can not get in trouble for insighting a riot simply by open carrying a handgun wherever you went.
As far as the traffic stop goes, "being in contact" seems to mean "reaching for" if the officer has not told you to reach for it.
Man I'm glad I got all that streight before taking my trip.
(Although I am tempted to open carry into a gas station just because I would be able to. However that kind of attention and excitement, I don't really need.)