Could I have your opinion please?

[RyanXD]

Hello, I'm new, live in Bucks County PA and I have had my License To Carry Firearms for almost a year now, and I just recently purchased a .45 XD and I'm curious about the difference between a "PERMIT" and a "LICENSE". whats the difference?

ALSO, I hear you can carry your pistol on your hip "OPEN CARRY" and its perfectly LEGAL...IS THIS TRUE IN BUCKS PA? I would really like to hear what you peeps have to say. I would really appreciate your help and would like any information on laws in BUCKS COUNTY. I have searched and found nothing. I just joined this site....like 10 minutes ago and just would like some help.

Thank you.

[Bug44]

Hello, I'm new, live in Bucks County PA and I have had my License To Carry Firearms for almost a year now, and I just recently purchased a .45 XD and I'm curious about the difference between a "PERMIT" and a "LICENSE". whats the difference?

ALSO, I hear you can carry your pistol on your hip "OPEN CARRY" and its perfectly LEGAL...IS THIS TRUE IN BUCKS PA? I would really like to hear what you peeps have to say. I would really appreciate your help and would like any information on laws in BUCKS COUNTY. I have searched and found nothing. I just joined this site....like 10 minutes ago and just would like some help.

Thank you.

Welcome to the Forum Ryan... I suggest you buckle up and enjoy the ride!!! Wear your helmet as well!!!

[Vig]

Hello, I'm new, live in Bucks County PA and I have had my License To Carry Firearms for almost a year now, and I just recently purchased a .45 XD and I'm curious about the difference between a "PERMIT" and a "LICENSE". whats the difference?

ALSO, I hear you can carry your pistol on your hip "OPEN CARRY" and its perfectly LEGAL...IS THIS TRUE IN BUCKS PA? I would really like to hear what you peeps have to say. I would really appreciate your help and would like any information on laws in BUCKS COUNTY. I have searched and found nothing. I just joined this site....like 10 minutes ago and just would like some help.

Thank you.

A "permit" affords you the liberty to do something. In PA (and the USA in general) everything in the Bill of Rights is said to be "God Given" therefore the only "permit" would come from the creator. The State is not the creator, ergo the State cannot issue "permits" for rights under the BoR.

A license however, shows that you are conforming to law in exercising your rights. It is a legal formality.

Open Carry is 1000% legal throughout the Commonwealth without a LTCF. The exception is Philly, where you need a LTCF to OC or in a vehicle. Counties cannot make their own laws contrary to this fact because of the State Preemption Law (only the state can regulate firearm ownership.)

Also, a good way to help understand laws (especially criminal law) is to remember that laws only prohibit behaviors, they do not endorse them. That is, unless there is a law explicitly prohibiting an action, then the action is legal.

By the way, welcome to PAFOA!

[CommonHighrise]

I would really appreciate your help and would like any information on laws in BUCKS COUNTY. I have searched and found nothing.

After entering 'Open Carry Bucks' intot he Search field;
http://forum.pafoa.org/open-carry-14...ks-county.html
http://forum.pafoa.org/bucks-13/1567...-bucks-co.html
http://forum.pafoa.org/concealed-ope...-incident.html
Just the first 3 to come up.

[JCWohlschlag]

ALSO, I hear you can carry your pistol on your hip "OPEN CARRY" and its perfectly LEGAL...IS THIS TRUE IN BUCKS PA? I would really like to hear what you peeps have to say. I would really appreciate your help and would like any information on laws in BUCKS COUNTY. I have searched and found nothing. I just joined this site....like 10 minutes ago and just would like some help.

Thank you.

The only Bucks County firearms law you need to know is 18 Pa.C.S. § 6120 (Limitation on the regulation of firearms and ammunition), which states that counties, municipalities, and townships are prohibited from regulating the ownership, possession, transfer, and transportation of firearms. This is the “state preemption” statute, which means that firearms regulation must come from a state-level entity. This way, Pennsylvania does not become a hodgepodge of various local laws that you have to sort through and figure out when you travel.

Firearms carry in Bucks County is going to effectively be the same as firearms carry throughout the entire state. The only “special” location that has their own state-level law so far is Philadelphia.

[wa3ra]

What they all said, and welcome to the forum!

[RyanXD]

So, if someone without a LTCF purchased a handgun, they are allowed to carry it on there hip (being shown)?

[Rauswaffen]

So, if someone without a LTCF purchased a handgun, they are allowed to carry it on there hip (being shown)?

No one may allow them. It is perfectly within their natural rights to do so. The law is silent on Open Carry, so it is by default legal.

Here is a link to the PA Uniform Firearms Act:
http://www.acslpa.org/pa_uniform_firearms_act.htm
This should tell you everything you need to know.

Welcome to the forum.

[JCWohlschlag]

So, if someone without a LTCF purchased a handgun, they are allowed to carry it on there hip (being shown)?

Absolutely.

• Pennsylvania Gun Rights Flier
  
  Yes, open carry IS legal in Pennsylvania.
  
  In Pennsylvania, persons who are not prohibited by law from owning firearms may openly carry a handgun in plain sight with no license except in vehicles, cities of the first class (Philadelphia), and where prohibited specifically by statute.
• Commonwealth v. Hawkins
  
  In all parts of Pennsylvania, persons who are licensed may carry concealed firearms. 18 Pa.C.S. § 6108. Except in Philadelphia, firearms may be carried openly without a license. See Ortiz v. Commonwealth, ___ Pa. ___, ___, 681 A.2d 152, 155 (1996) (only in Philadelphia must a person obtain a license for carrying a firearm whether it is unconcealed or concealed; in other parts of the Commonwealth, unconcealed firearms do not require a license).
• Municipal Police Officers’ Education and Training Commission 2009 Mandatory In-Service Training manual
  
  Question #1 - What is “open carry”?
  
  Answer #1 - Open carry can be defined as carrying a legal firearm, loaded or unloaded, on your person unconcealed, with or without a valid and lawfully issued license to carry a firearm.
  
  Question #2 - Is “open carry” legal in Pennsylvania?
  
  Answer #2 - Yes, but with several exceptions: The Pennsylvania Uniform Firearms Act is silent on the specific issue of open carry. §6106 only prohibits carrying a firearm in a vehicle or concealed on or about one’s person, except in the person’s place of abode or fixed place of business, without a license and when no exemption applies.
  
  Carrying a firearm unconcealed on one’s person does not violate §6106. However, a person who is engaging in “open carry” of a firearm violates §6106 when that person enters a vehicle with the gun in his possession and the person does not possess a valid and lawfully issued license to carry a firearm and is not exempt from licensing. Also, a firearm cannot be open carried in an area where firearm possession is generally restricted (i.e. courts, schools, state parks or where restricted federally).
  
  The exceptions to open carry are as follows:
  
  There is a restriction on open carry during a declared state of emergency. In this situation the person must be actively engaging in a defense of that person’s life or property from peril or threat and possesses a valid and lawfully issued license to carry a firearm or is exempt from licensing. (§6107).
  
  There is a restriction on open carry in a City of the First Class (Philadelphia). (§6108).
  (And thank you, once again, lildobe, for supplying a version of that document that works with copy/paste! So much easier than manually retyping. )

[ungawa]

So, if someone without a LTCF purchased a handgun, they are allowed to carry it on there hip (being shown)?

Yes. But handguns (or firearms with very short barrels or short overall lengths) can only be tranported by vehicle to the range, gunsmith, etc. See the law or forum stickies for clarification. So you cannot unload you gun, put it in the trunk, drive to Walmart, and then holster-up. You need LTCF to be free of the handgun vehicle transportation requirements. Does not apply to you since you have LTCF.

LTCF also allows you to carry in Philly, borrow handguns from people, and carry during state of emergency.