Carrying a firearm in a vehicle…

Many students are curious about the laws concerning carrying a firearm in a vehicle. Since Arizona permits “open carry” of a firearm, you can legally carry a firearm in any permitted location, as long as the firearm is in plain view.

This includes your vehicle.As long as a casual observer can see you have an unconcealed firearm, you are not violating any the law.

If you want to conceal the firearm in your vehicle, the easiest way is to get your AZ CCW permit. Then you can legally conceal your firearm in your vehicle.

If you don’t have an AZ CCW permit, your firearm can still be concealed, but it should be at least two steps removed from your immediate access. What this means is that you cannot have immediate access to the firearm.

For example, if you put your firearm in the glove box, it is only one step removed from immediate access…you can open the glove box and grab your gun. If you have your gun in a case or holster and then put it in the glove box, it is two steps removed(you have to open the glove box and remove it from the holster or case).

If you wish to conceal a firearm in your vehicle, my recommendation is to get your Arizona CCW permit…then you will not have any issues. Otherwise, you may be subject tothe court’s interpretation of whether or not you had ‘immediate access’.

Some have also asked about ways to safely have immediate access to your firearm without having to put it in the glove box, console or map pocket of your car. There are at least two holster manufacturers that I know of that sell holster systems that allow you to mount a holster in your vehicle.

Generally this is done by bolting the mount under the dashboard or in some other appropriate location. When you get into your vehicle, you can place your gun in the mounted holster giving you easier access to it.

Believe me when I say that this can be a real issue for a lot of people. Depending on where you wear your holster, you might have difficultly reaching it quickly when seated in thevehicle with your seat belt fastened. You can draw from a seated position in the car, but it is difficult and requires practice to do quickly.

Without proper training,drawing from a seated position in a vehicle can be dangerous to both yourself and other occupants of the vehicle. Holster mounts eliminate this as an issue. If you want to get more information about holster mounts youcan visit http://www.sidearmor.net or http://www.fobusholster.com