O/T Maines new conceled carry law,

[Snopro]

Anyone got a link to the actual law? Had a warden tell me a few things today that I would like to read on!

[GasBlaster]

http://www.maine.gov/dps/msp/licenses/weapons_permits.html

[Anomaly]

Thanks for the link GB.

Just before the new law came into effect, a bunch of clammers were talking about getting guns to wear on the flats. I don’t think they knew they could open carry anyway. They were joking, in not so funny a way, about how Marine Patrol would handle them when they carried guns and how it would cut down on other clammers coming into their area. Found out later they guy doing most of the talking is a felon.

I’ve had a couple times I might have had to pull a gun while being threatened, both times by felons. Luckily they turned out to be all mouth. The one guy was baiting me to hit him. That’s a fun story. I won’t be carrying, but it is a good option if needed. I wish, though, that some training of some sort was mandated.

[rdhammah]

thanks for the link GasBlaster. if i read this correctly, an out of stater can legally carry concealed in Maine. That's awesome!

[troutmster]

Foolish law... Any idiot can walk around with a 45 in his pocket but people have to pay for a class to hunt with a bow/gun?  Not to mention the injuries already flowing in to hospitals because some people just shouldn't be armed..A lot of factors come to mind.. What % of saturday night thieves and drunks are gonna be packing when they get busted by the law..Bad situations are happening

[9huskies]

What's foolisn is all the years we were prohibitedfrom carrying unless we had a permit. Maine's permit process was pretty simple. Take an 8 hour class and apply for a permit. Maine was a "shall issue" state. Anyone who could legally carry a gun could get the permit. Now you can carry without being in another database.

[jacksmelt71]

I'm for concealed carry but do agree that the training course should be mandatory. its only common sense.going to be too many inexperienced carriers causing unnecessary accidents giving the anti's something more to use to get our carry rights removed. too many idiots out there!

[. Ron]

The "accident" argument is the one that irritates me the most. 

I sure don't need anyone protecting me from...me.


-Ron

[Anomaly]

 

I sure don't need anyone protecting me from...me.


-Ron

So you say....I have heard otherwise. 

[icefisha22]

Any idiot could have walked around with a 45 before this as well, he just had to have it open carry. I think that it is a good law and here are a few reasons why I think so:  1) this law does not enable people to have guns if they couldn't legally have them before. 2)  This law doesn't change the fact that you can carry a gun, just that you can conceal it. 3) the previous law only affected law abiding citizens, no criminals are going to be caught in the screening process because they aren't going to bother applying. 4) god forbid an emergency occured, but if one did, hopefully somebody would have a weapon to help the situation. 

I'm a (soon to be, in may) pharmacist, and am quite eager to see how the pharmacy robbery situation will be affected.

On the flip side, it might be nice if people had to take at least a brief training course before buying a handgun.

[nhpikeking]

Mandatory training course? Right to bear arms not right to bear arms if you took a training course concealed carry without a permit should be the law in all states no ifs ands or buts

[maineduckhunter]

Anyone got a link to the actual law? Had a warden tell me a few things today that I would like to read on!

What are the few things?

[Sinnian]

Make CCW training a mandatory class as a senior in high school, then everyone would be educated and then can decide for themselves later if they want to carry or not (and I am an "L" word).

[woodchip]

Firearms safety courses should be mandatory. Like hunting for the first time it is required. I wish they would work in a safety class  for first time carriers.  I don't know how this slipped by.

[iceman260]

Laws and permits keep honest people honest and under gov. scrutiny. criminals don't care about laws or permits.

[woodchip]

Firearm safety programs are not designed to separate crooks from good and honest people  .But when someone who has never handled a hand gun before  they blunder and hurt or kill themselves or some other innocent bystander Like we had in Bath last week. A safety course would help eliminate such cases.

[troutmster]

Nobody cared about carrying when it had to be in the open...Now everybody is carrying and a lot of them shouldn't be.. I work in surgery and have already helped a lot of people that had an "accident" with their weapon..Most of them shouldn't of had weapons..No experience+no class=hole in leg or missing fingers.

[44 Degrees North]

A couple of friends of mine were in a gravel pit sighting in rifles for deer hunting in October. It was around noon time and had warmed up to 70 degrees or so. Some of the rifles were laying on the back seat of the truck with the doors open. One guy takes his sweatshirt off and throws it in the back partially covering the guns and goes back to shooting. A warden shows up asks them what they were doing, they explain. He sees the rifle protruding from under the sweatshirt and writes them up for a concealed weapon with no permit. Thanks to this new law we will not have to deal with this and an over zealous warden again. You can argue this law all you want. There are good and bad to all laws. They are never flawless. Oh, and the warden, you lucky people of Beldrade Lakes have him now.

[Anomaly]

Some of the rifles were laying on the back seat of the truck with the doors open. One guy takes his sweatshirt off and throws it in the back partially covering the guns and goes back to shooting. A warden shows up asks them what they were doing, they explain. He sees the rifle protruding from under the sweatshirt and writes them up for a concealed weapon with no permit.

Were they convicted?

[Snopro]

A couple of friends of mine were in a gravel pit sighting in rifles for deer hunting in October. It was around noon time and had warmed up to 70 degrees or so. Some of the rifles were laying on the back seat of the truck with the doors open. One guy takes his sweatshirt off and throws it in the back partially covering the guns and goes back to shooting. A warden shows up asks them what they were doing, they explain. He sees the rifle protruding from under the sweatshirt and writes them up for a concealed weapon with no permit. Thanks to this new law we will not have to deal with this and an over zealous warden again. You can argue this law all you want. There are good and bad to all laws. They are never flawless. Oh, and the warden, you lucky people of Beldrade Lakes have him now.

Also know guys that have been wrote up for sighting guns in shooting on truck hood! Shooting from motor vehicle.

[Sinnian]

Thanks to this new law we will not have to deal with this and an over zealous warden again. You can argue this law all you want. There are good and bad to all laws. They are never flawless. Oh, and the warden, you lucky people of Beldrade Lakes have him now.

This law won't help this, it is for concealed handguns only

[cjg]

Also know guys that have been wrote up for sighting guns in shooting on truck hood! Shooting from motor vehicle.

Anyone stupid enough to shoot across their truck hood deserves to get a ticket.

[MAINETROUTWHISPERER]

Right still can't have a loaded rifle or shotgun in a vehicle

[Anomaly]

Also know guys that have been wrote up for sighting guns in shooting on truck hood! Shooting from motor vehicle.

I wondered about that, while I was doing it. Usually use a bench rest.

[NickM]

In New Hampshire, it was shall issue - $10 for a 4 year permit. I lived near Vermont where it was no permit required.

I never heard a case in either state where there was an unfortunate shooting that would have been prevented by an 8 hour class. I heard some grumbling about this law when it passed about how everyone is going to be carrying a gun now. That's not how it works. Not everyone in NH and VT is carrying a concealed firearm, and if you wanted to carry a gun in Maine before without taking the class, there wasn't much to stop you. I'm happy this passed, because I do carry a sidearm for critters when I'm hiking. I had a carry permit in NH, and the only time I thought I might have to use my gun was two times I was confronted by aggressive dogs off leash. I don't need extra paperwork robbing me of my time and doing nothing else.

If you are going to carry a pistol for defense, you should train, but I can't imagine the old 8 hour class was adequate. Once you're proficient in basic safety and marksmanship, you should take a course that focuses on real world scenarios. In a real situation, your heart is going to be ripping out of your chest and you're going to revert to your lowest level of training. If you don't have any training, that's going to be a pretty low level.

I A loaded rifle or shotgun in your vehicle can reasonably guessed to be for game, not defense. If I was given a ticket for sighting in off the hood of my truck, I would challenge that. That's not the intention of the laws that exist. In NH, we had the same law, but it was very specifically referring to a loaded long arm within a vehicle. I would not even volunteer the fact that I had a hunting license to a gamey if I was target shooting. You don't need a hunting license to own a gun or to shoot it.

[44 Degrees North]

Were they convicted?

  This happened maybe some twenty years ago and I don't remember the outcome. Both men are dead now so I can't ask them.  Also, there seems to be some confusion. The rifles in said incident were unloaded as should be but partially covered up. No intent of either man to conceal a loaded weapon or unloaded. If a game warden uses no common sense, then a folding knife in your pocket becomes a concealed weapon,no?

[troutmster]

Nick,How would you know how many people are carrying if its concealed? Yes,been a good number of unfortunate shootings that could of been prevented with some sort of weapons class..I know this because they were my patients..A good number of them bought a gun with no prior experience and now regret it ..They don't put these situations in the news very often but it happens a lot more than you would expect.. Why is it a big deal even with an 8 hr class to assure your families safety? Seems like no big deal to us that have had guns our whole life but to others it could cost a life.. If you need a class to hunt with a bow I think a class to carry a loaded pistol in public is not asking to much..Your mind would change if some idiot accidentally shot his weapon into your family member while fishing around his pockets looking for his wallet at hannaford..crap happens!!

[jamison1]

So I guess a carrying case is concealed too... You're always guilty til you can prove youre not with game wardens...