Law officials outline open carry gun policy

[philstoys]

read at your own risk this come from the first violent crime in my city in 16 years.
Law officials outline open carry gun policy
(the chief need to lear a few things)
By Connor Sattely
Journal Intern
Thinking about taking your firearm out with you in public?
Corry City Police Chief
Fred Corbett says that’s fine— as long as it’s registered.After the July 7 murder of Corry resident Nathan Reynolds, some residents have responded by choosing to carry a firearm with them for protection.
According to Pennsylvania law, any citizen
has the right to carry a firearm openly, provided that they have a permit to
do so. However, doing so may get you stopped and questioned by police, according to several area law enforcement offices.
No assumptions
Erie County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Brenda Nelson said that anytime a weapon is showing, any of their officers will
stop and ask questions. “These days, you can’t assume they’re a good guy, you can’t assume they’re a bad guy,” she said. “An officer is going to stop and ask them questions if they don’t know them, to make sure the situation is safe and make sure the public is protected. If you don’t, and there’s a problem, you’re responsible.”
Nelson said open carry issues are very rare — usually, she said, gun owners will have the “common sense” not to draw attention
to themselves. “We had a group walking through the Millcreek Mall a while back with guns on their hips,” she said. “They did it more in protest, but it
drew a lot of attention, and worried people.”
Corbett said that regardless of the reason for carrying openly, it’s always a
safety risk if the gun owner is not properly trained. “When you’re a police officer, you go through extensive training on how and when to use it, and how to make sure no accidents happen,” he said. “A lot of the time someone with their own firearm doesn’t go through that training.”
That can include keeping track of your weapon in a dispute or a fight, making sure nobody else gets their hands on it. Corbett said he is constantly tapping his right elbow against his gun to make sure it’s still there. Unfortunately, he said, he’s been involved in quite a few fights in his line of work.
Registration vs. Permit
Anyone who is not prohibited from buying a firearm can do so, provided they register the gun itself. Personal information is taken down and registered with the serial number of the gun. That, Corbett said, gives you two basic rights: Keep the gun in your home, and transport it to a gun range for target practice. Beyond that, he said, a permit
is needed.
The two big kinds of permits to know are a hunting and fishing permit, which basically lets you carry the weapon with you while you are in the process of hunting and fishing, and an open carry permit,” he said. “An open carry permit will allow you to carry your firearm with you in public.”
Much of this distinction comes to common sense, he said — someone walking down Center Street with a pistol strapped to his hip is obviously not hunting. Another type of permit for a weapon is the concealed carry permit, which allows gun owners to carry their weapon in a bag or away from sight. This can also include cars, if the weapon is loaded. So, for instance, if an officer pulls you over for speeding and finds a loaded firearm in the car, you need a concealed carry permit. Business owners’ rights Despite the right to carry an open firearm, Corbett said that if a business owner is
made uncomfortable by a weapon, he has a right to ask the person to either put it away or to leave the business. “You see a lot of the time, especially on the west coast, that some business owners put up a ‘no firearms’ sign inside their business,” Corbett said. “Just like you’d
see at courthouses, federal buildings, and school areas.”
Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Tim Yetzer agreed, saying the owner has a right to refuse service. “If you don’t want someone walking around inside of
your business with a firearm, you have the right to fix the situation,” Yetzer said.
Still, in his 18 years working for the police, he has never seen a problem with a business owner reporting troubles over an open firearm. Usually, he said, they work it out themselves. “It’s mostly common sense, so, you don’t usually see people walking around in, for example, a bar with their gun out,” he said. “Would I do it myself? No. But everyone’s different, and every town has an idea of what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s a little too touchy
to say what’s a good idea and what’s a bad idea.”

[bigdawgbeav]

Oh goodie... more cops that don't know the law. Sounds like a response needs to be crafted schooling the news on the law. Can't believe they don't do their research and take the cops' word for it.

Not a good sign for an intern to get everything wrong.

[thefirstndsecond]

This sounds like a job for dun dun dahhhh.... The FOAC!!

[ungawa]

read at your own risk this come from the first violent crime in my city in 16 years.
Law officials outline open carry gun policy
(the chief need to lear a few things)
By Connor Sattely
Journal Intern
Thinking about taking your firearm out with you in public?
Corry City Police Chief
Fred Corbett says that’s fine— as long as it’s registered.After the July 7 murder of Corry resident Nathan Reynolds, some residents have responded by choosing to carry a firearm with them for protection.
According to Pennsylvania law, any citizen
has the right to carry a firearm openly, provided that they have a permit to
do so. However, doing so may get you stopped and questioned by police, according to several area law enforcement offices.
No assumptions
Erie County Sheriff’s Department Lieutenant Brenda Nelson said that anytime a weapon is showing, any of their officers will
stop and ask questions. “These days, you can’t assume they’re a good guy, you can’t assume they’re a bad guy,” she said. “An officer is going to stop and ask them questions if they don’t know them, to make sure the situation is safe and make sure the public is protected. If you don’t, and there’s a problem, you’re responsible.”
Nelson said open carry issues are very rare — usually, she said, gun owners will have the “common sense” not to draw attention
to themselves. “We had a group walking through the Millcreek Mall a while back with guns on their hips,” she said. “They did it more in protest, but it
drew a lot of attention, and worried people.”
Corbett said that regardless of the reason for carrying openly, it’s always a
safety risk if the gun owner is not properly trained. “When you’re a police officer, you go through extensive training on how and when to use it, and how to make sure no accidents happen,” he said. “A lot of the time someone with their own firearm doesn’t go through that training.”
That can include keeping track of your weapon in a dispute or a fight, making sure nobody else gets their hands on it. Corbett said he is constantly tapping his right elbow against his gun to make sure it’s still there. Unfortunately, he said, he’s been involved in quite a few fights in his line of work.
Registration vs. Permit
Anyone who is not prohibited from buying a firearm can do so, provided they register the gun itself. Personal information is taken down and registered with the serial number of the gun. That, Corbett said, gives you two basic rights: Keep the gun in your home, and transport it to a gun range for target practice. Beyond that, he said, a permit
is needed.
The two big kinds of permits to know are a hunting and fishing permit, which basically lets you carry the weapon with you while you are in the process of hunting and fishing, and an open carry permit,” he said. “An open carry permit will allow you to carry your firearm with you in public.”
Much of this distinction comes to common sense, he said — someone walking down Center Street with a pistol strapped to his hip is obviously not hunting. Another type of permit for a weapon is the concealed carry permit, which allows gun owners to carry their weapon in a bag or away from sight. This can also include cars, if the weapon is loaded. So, for instance, if an officer pulls you over for speeding and finds a loaded firearm in the car, you need a concealed carry permit. Business owners’ rights Despite the right to carry an open firearm, Corbett said that if a business owner is
made uncomfortable by a weapon, he has a right to ask the person to either put it away or to leave the business. “You see a lot of the time, especially on the west coast, that some business owners put up a ‘no firearms’ sign inside their business,” Corbett said. “Just like you’d
see at courthouses, federal buildings, and school areas.”
Pennsylvania State Police Cpl. Tim Yetzer agreed, saying the owner has a right to refuse service. “If you don’t want someone walking around inside of
your business with a firearm, you have the right to fix the situation,” Yetzer said.
Still, in his 18 years working for the police, he has never seen a problem with a business owner reporting troubles over an open firearm. Usually, he said, they work it out themselves. “It’s mostly common sense, so, you don’t usually see people walking around in, for example, a bar with their gun out,” he said. “Would I do it myself? No. But everyone’s different, and every town has an idea of what’s right and what’s wrong. It’s a little too touchy
to say what’s a good idea and what’s a bad idea.”

LOL, what a bunch of idiots. I wish there was something worthwhile to justify the hours of driving to get up there. But, there's just a bunch of idiots, and I got stuff to do.

[mauser]

WOW!!!

An open carry permit?
Registration to make it legal to transport?

WOW!!!

Someone needs to talk to this fellow. I hope he isn't speaking for the entire police force, there must be someone there with a clue.

[Curmudgeon]

Link to source?

And WTF is an open carry permit? The fail in this piece is unbelievable.

[bigdawgbeav]

Link to source?

And WTF is an open carry permit? The fail in this piece is unbelievable.

The fail not only falls on the chief, but on the INTERN writing the piece. He wants to be a journalist and can't even do some basic research to back up the claims? Seriously?

I think the publication in question is http://www.thecorryjournal.com but I can't find the story. If this is what this INTERN thinks is good journalism, he needs a serious wake up call.

Here's his Google+ profile: https://plus.google.com/112043580054362851591/posts

[GunLawyer001]

I'm posting this link again, because I think it shows what a reporter can do if he understands statutes and talks with someone who's actually read the relevant law:

http://pennrecord.com/news/pa-lawyer...-doctrine-law/

The OP's linked article is so fundamentally flawed that it's worthless. Not only does it claim that some legal acts are unlawful, but FAR WORSE it implies that some criminal acts are OK. Whether your handgun is loaded in the car, or unloaded, is irrelevant to the law. An unloaded handgun in your trunk is a felony or M-1, unless you have an LTCF or fall within a narrow, time-specific exception. And WTF is "registration"?

It's bad enough that a cop is this ignorant of the law. It's worse when he's so oblivious to that ignorance that he gives an interview for public consumption. This info is so bad that it could serve as evidence of alcoholism or drug abuse, for purposes of license revocation.

If the chief was misquoted by the "intern", then he should file a libel suit, because the article portrays him as a man unfit for his job.

[Connal]

I'm smack dab in the middle of erie, and pitt. Anyone wants, my home will be a way point. They can register my gun the day their open carry permit exists.

Road trip anyone?

[DaveyC]

I'm smack dab in the middle of erie, and pitt. Anyone wants, my home will be a way point. They can register my gun the day their open carry permit exists.

Road trip anyone?

I would love a road trip, time permitting. Starting a new job here in the next few weeks, so it could be hard to get away. I have a camp up in warren county, and made the trip to erie a few times from there. Maybe I could do some fishing while I'm there!