CLAIM: Open carry not permitted if possessing LTCF

[Krichardson]

Ouch, that's a good one!

Haha yes it is.

[SgtRecon]

Be sure to ask the shop owner what is his explanation that in Philadelphia to open carry , one must posses a LTCF, that should confound him good.

[stainless]

Hello Ray. Welcome to the site.

In what County did this occurred? Just curious.

[God's Country]

If I were you I would call my local pd to firm up the conclusion. Can't be too careful.

[Emptymag]

Shop name please.

Please.

Please.

[abner13]

Remind the idiot he's prohibited from walking if he has a driver's license.

I gotta remember that one!

[abner13]

If I were you I would call my local pd to firm up the conclusion. Can't be too careful.

Cops are one of the worst sources for gun laws!

[GunLawyer001]

The confusion comes from ignorant folks (including some working in DA's offices) who read this and become discombobulated:

§ 6109. Licenses. (a) Purpose of license.--A license to carry a firearm shall be for the purpose of carrying a firearm concealed on or about one's person or in a vehicle throughout this Commonwealth.

Somehow, they make the startling leap to conclude that having a license requires you to carry concealed or in a vehicle, and eliminates the option to open carry.

It does not.

There are activities which are only legal if you have an LTCF, and those include concealed carry and transport in a vehicle. The example I usually give is about bicycles and cars; do you have to stop riding your bike once you get a driver's license? Nope. The purpose of a DL is to ALLOW YOU to drive a car; you don't forfeit rights by getting a DL.

Years ago, in Montgomery County, I had a client being charged with a violation of 6109(a) for openly carrying a firearm while having an LTCF. The DJ tossed it at the prelim, because it's not a real crime. Only someone who lacks any understanding of the UFA, who misunderstands the way criminal statutes work, or is unfamiliar with English As She Is Spoke, would read that explanatory sentence as a legal imperative.

When openly carrying, outside of Philadelphia, your LTCF is not being used for any purpose. Nor is it being misused, since it's not being used. It's irrelevant. It's like saying that you're misusing the hammer in your tool bag while you're tightening bolts with a wrench. Yes, the purpose of a hammer is to drive nails, but you're not driving nails now, so shut up about the hammer.

[Justin///M]

I'm not a PA LTCF holder...yet, but I was told something that didn't make sense. I stopped in a PA gun shop to pick up my Glock 43 and struck up a conversation with the owner who is a certified USCCA instructor. He told me that it's unlawful in PA to open carry if I'm a LTCF holder. I thought he was pulling my leg, but he was serious. I told him it didn't make sense, but we all know that there can be quirks in the law and especially gun laws.

So I checked here at our friendly PAFOA forum and found one relevant discussion:
CAn you open carry after being licensed to carry concealed?

It seems from that discussion that the claim of open carry for LTCF holders being illegal is nonsense, but the claim seems to reappear from time to time. Has anyone been able to get solid information from someone in a relevant position of authority as to what is permitted and a precise statement of what law governs this particular issue?

Standard gun shop drivel. It never ceases to amaze me how uninformed gun shop owners and salesman are. Even "certified instructors". It kind of cheapens the "certification" for me when they don't even know the laws about which they speak.

[God's Country]

Cops are one of the worst sources for gun laws!

You must be a new guy.