Disarming before entering a court room?

[jcabin]

Is it legal to carry concealed/oc in the parking lot of the court house and lock the firearm away in the vehicle before entering the actual building?

Or is the parking lot considered part of the actual court house?

[P-11 shooter]

By law they have to provide secure storage for your firearm.

You can carry up to security, then inform them you are carrying and ask them how they would like you to proceed with checking and storage.

Only time I did it they had a clearing station and we cleared our guns and put them directly into lockers.

Each courthouse has their own set up, but it is legal to carry into the building.

[JCWohlschlag]

Is it legal to carry concealed/oc in the parking lot of the court house and lock the firearm away in the vehicle before entering the actual building?

Or is the parking lot considered part of the actual court house?

Judging by the amount of court security personnel (Sheriff Deputies or otherwise) who tell you to go lock your firearms in your car despite them being legally required to provide you a locker (or similar facility), I would venture to say it is legal to leave your firearm in your vehicle. The statute requiring courts to provide lockers (or similar facilities) can be found at 18 Pa.C.S. § 913: Possession of firearm or other dangerous weapon in court facility… specifically paragraph (e).

[jcabin]

By law they have to provide secure storage for your firearm.

That is what I had already thought. When I asked the clerk at the magistrates office if the black box held on the wall by 2 screws was a firearms check in box her eyes immediatly took the look of shock and said yes and quickly walked away. I said have a nice day.

[mikey]

I do not recommend leaving the gun in a vehicle. I would have it checked in at the courthouse. If they say they do not check weapons, ask to talk to the Sheriff or someone in charge (UnderSheriff) as some deputies don't know of the requirement under the UFA.

[IV_Warrior]

By law they have to provide secure storage for your firearm.

Note: This doesn't apply to Federal Courthouses.

[jcabin]

I do not recommend leaving the gun in a vehicle. I would have it checked in at the courthouse. If they say they do not check weapons, ask to talk to the Sheriff or someone in charge (UnderSheriff) as some deputies don't know of the requirement under the UFA.

I'm dealing with a magistrates building, which I believe is still considered a court so I continue to follow the guidelines set forth in the UFA. I should have asked the woman if she has ever had to check in a firearm, I'm sure she hasn't. I'm also sure if I go in there and tell her I want to check my firearm she probably wouldnt know how or what to do. Probably resulting in her having a deputy sheriff or psp drive down and give me a hard time.

also the box looked in no way secure. it looked like I could have kicked it or given it a nice tug and it would have come right off the wall.

[HiredGoon]

I'm dealing with a magistrates building, which I believe is still considered a court so I continue to follow the guidelines set forth in the UFA. I should have asked the woman if she has ever had to check in a firearm, I'm sure she hasn't. I'm also sure if I go in there and tell her I want to check my firearm she probably wouldnt know how or what to do. Probably resulting in her having a deputy sheriff or psp drive down and give me a hard time.

also the box looked in no way secure. it looked like I could have kicked it or given it a nice tug and it would have come right off the wall.

Talk to the magistrate/district judge personally and remind him/her of the law and ask about securing your weapon

[Statkowski]

The magistrate's facility is a court facility. And, as a court facility, by law (Section 913(e)), they are required to provide storage facilities for firearms.

That being said, I would wager that most magisterial courts do not have such facilities established. County courthouses, for the most part, do comply with the law, but the lesser, more numerous magisterial courts sort of fell by the wayside when the storage requirement came into being.

When carrying to a magisterial court, best to call ahead and find out exactly what the procedure is. If it's anything like my local magisterial district court, they have no experience whatsoever with anyone wishing to temporarily store a firearm.

To resolve this issue you are going to have to write to your county commissioners (with an info copy to the court administrator). This is what I did locally here in Indiana County:

http://forum.pafoa.org/pennsylvania-...al-courts.html

and

http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...s-part-ii.html

You can't blame the magistrate judge if his facility doesn't have storage facilities - it's not his/her job to provide such, but rather the county (meaning the county commissioners).

Feel free to use my letters as a guide or template. Don't expect immediate results. And, most importantly, don't demand - respectfully request. Sometimes in the political world it is necessary to show you're not the enemy. Point out that this may well have been an oversight on their part. It worked for me, and I'm still on good terms with the county commissioners (even got them to remove the "no guns" entry in their county parks ordinance.

[gnbrotz]

When carrying to a magisterial court, best to call ahead and find out exactly what the procedure is.

I disagree with this tact for one reason. If you do so, and they tell you not to bring the gun, you may risk being arrested for merely walking through the door (when they claim the phone conversation gave you the "actual notice" required by law - even in the absence of the required signage).

Show up a little early, and have a copy of the statute in hand. Put them in a situation where they have no choice but to comply with the law, even if it's in an impromptu manner in the absence of an established procedure.