carry in philly

[sinkrun]

Can A resident of Pa that does not live in or anywhere near philly conceal carry in the City of Philly with a valid pa carry license?

I thought they could however need to be sure, thanks.

[pacodelahoya]

Yes.

[ArcticSplash]

Can A resident of Pa that does not live in or anywhere near philly conceal carry in the City of Philly with a valid pa carry license?

I thought they could however need to be sure, thanks.

You must have a PA LTCF to carry in Philadelphia. You can also carry in Philadelphia with another recognized recip conceal permit, but Philly cops may get confused when they see it, and this could result in drama--varies by officer and why you got stopped.

While OC is legal in PA and in Philly, do not OC in Philly unless you thoroughly enjoy being harassed by Phila PD.

And YES, you may carry legally on SEPTA vehicles, including the trains and subways. If your train journey takes you to another jurisdiction this could be a problem for you... such as entering the state of Delaware or NJ.

If you do not have the card, the only way you can move about the city with a firearm is in transit to gun range/gun shop/home, must be in a container box/etc. sep from ammo and if you do not have an automobile and you're moving about as a pedestrian this type of separation is nearly impossible short of the walk from a gun store with a new purchase and your car.

Entrapment happens infrequently in Philadelphia. It was a lot more common when carry licenses were first introduced because Phila PD took a negative (and political) attitude when they were first adopted here, but carrying in the city is now accepted. But only concealed.


Do not enter the state of New Jersey for any reason whatsoever if you have a gun on you. Our licenses are not recognized on the other side of the bridge, entrapment is very common there. Google "Shaneen Allen" to discover what happens when legal firearm owners in Philly go across the bridge.

[Sgt.K]

You must have a PA LTCF to carry in Philadelphia. You can also carry in Philadelphia with another recognized recip conceal permit, but Philly cops may get confused when they see it, and this could result in drama--varies by officer and why you got stopped.

The OP specifically asked about carry as a PA *resident*. A PA resident may NOT carry in PA under any but a PA LTCF. Let me say that again: A PA resident may NOT carry in PA under any but a PA LTCF.

While OC is legal in PA and in Philly, do not OC in Philly unless you thoroughly enjoy being harassed by Phila PD.

Unlicensed OC is (generally) legal outside Philly. OC in Philly - like ALL carry in Philly - requires licensure. Confrontations with PPD are less than they were, but non-zero.

And YES, you may carry legally on SEPTA vehicles, including the trains and subways.

You may even OC on SEPTA, with the above caveats. http://forum.pafoa.org/showthread.php?t=216917

If your train journey takes you to another jurisdiction this could be a problem for you... such as entering the state of Delaware or NJ.

Utah and Florida non-resident licenses are most popular among PA residents for entering Delaware. F#$% NJ...

If you do not have the card, the only way you can move about the city with a firearm is in transit to gun range/gun shop/home, must be in a container box/etc. sep from ammo and if you do not have an automobile and you're moving about as a pedestrian this type of separation is nearly impossible short of the walk from a gun store with a new purchase and your car.

I have never walked or taken transit to a range while unlicensed, but unloaded in a proper case *should* be OK. I will let others chime in here.

Entrapment happens infrequently in Philadelphia. It was a lot more common when carry licenses were first introduced because Phila PD took a negative (and political) attitude when they were first adopted here, but carrying in the city is now accepted. But only concealed.

This change is before my time, so I can't speak to the differences. I have no personal knowledge of entrapment.

Do not enter the state of New Jersey for any reason whatsoever if you have a gun on you. Our licenses are not recognized on the other side of the bridge, entrapment is very common there. Google "Shaneen Allen" to discover what happens when legal firearm owners in Philly go across the bridge.

Solid advice.

Do not enter the state of New Jersey for any reason whatsoever if you have a gun on you. Our licenses are not recognized on the other side of the bridge, entrapment is very common there. Google "Shaneen Allen" to discover what happens when legal firearm owners in Philly go across the bridge.

Again, I can't speak to this.

Do not enter the state of New Jersey for any reason whatsoever if you have a gun on you. Our licenses are not recognized on the other side of the bridge, entrapment is very common there. Google "Shaneen Allen" to discover what happens when legal firearm owners in Philly go across the bridge.

Do this. Note to ArcticSplash: Shaneen was not entrapped by NJ - she was royally screwed by the Philly GPU when they told her she must notify police if stopped. Not same-same...

[ArcticSplash]

The OP specifically asked about carry as a PA *resident*. A PA resident may NOT carry in PA under any but a PA LTCF. Let me say that again: A PA resident may NOT carry in PA under any but a PA LTCF.

Thanks for this catch.

If you're a PA resident, you must have a PA LTCF, not any other state permit, to present to a cop. This was a change made because of a "Florida gun permit loophole" scare, claiming that all these mass shooters are everywhere getting Florida gun permits and buying up all sorts of crazy guns. Tweaks were made to exclude PA residents from having their out of state non-resident permits from being recognized.

(If you live in Philadelphia, or Delaware County, you need to also get a Utah permit if you regularly pass through Delaware. Delaware has a very strange setup for carry which bans concealed carry but open carry is permissable under certain conditions; it's also unworkable in practice in LEO encounters particularly in traffic stops. This is likely going to impact you if you shop at Cabela's because the closest Cabela's store to Philly is in Wilmington DE, not the one in Hamburg, PA)

Philadelphia PD is still forced to recognize out of state permits for non-PA residents where PA has reciprocity. This is checked at the time a gun permit lookup is done over the radio.

[ArcticSplash]

Do this. Note to ArcticSplash: Shaneen was not entrapped by NJ - she was royally screwed by the Philly GPU when they told her she must notify police if stopped. Not same-same...

New Jersey needs to be brought up because we border NJ and there's a lot of cross traffic over the bridges and the speedline.

New Jersey's thick tapestry of gun restrictions plus its very hyperactive enforcement of those laws by its peace officers spells entrapment for anyone who knowingly or unknowingly carries a firearm over the bridges or tunnels. If you're discovered with one, you are going directly to jail.

Several Philadelphia off-duty cops have been locked up in the past during the late 90s-early 2000s for bringing their personal firearms with them while going off-duty to their shore hangouts, like so many Philly hoagiemouths so love to do. They thought their status as cops would exempt them from treatment. They were proven wrong and made an example out-of.

Philly GPU does often give out bad information. However that doesn't absolve this advice: do not ever enter the state of New Jersey for any reason. If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself while traveling--then you cannot enter this state. You can attempt to pass through it on your way to Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire or Rhode Island---places that likely accept your carry status, but I would highly recommend a full tank of gas and do not ever get off Federally-marked interstates and highways and do not enter state roads or streets.

The reason: New Jersey is barred from entrapping motorists passing through on their way to a location where your firearms are legal. So long as you are "passing through", and not stopping in New Jersey--you should be fine. There was another case before Shaneen Allen with a motorist in the middle of moving his domicile and brought his out of state weapons with him--he was locked up by NJSP for making a pitstop stayover in South Jersey. In the Shaneen Allen case, she went to Atlantic City (her destination) with a firearm and was returning to Philly when she was stopped by NJSP and then locked up after volunteering to the peace officer that she had a valid PA LTCF. This turned into quite a bit of drama, with Gov. Christie eventually having to commute her sentence to spring her out of jail--since the optics of locking up a single-mom African-American female with "gotcha!" laws isn't so hot. Don't expect this kind of treatment--others are sitting in jail for the same reason over there right now.

If you are stopped in NJ: Do not display your carry permit(s) from other states to a New Jersey peace officer. This is an invitation for a search and prosecution--asking questions later. Hope you do not have any weapons on your or in the vehicle. If you're not even carrying--then all you're asking for is an invitation of a search and wasted time.

Or to simplify things further: Just do not go into New Jersey, period. If you want beach, get a Utah permit and go to Rehobeth. Nicer people there anyway. Anything you could ever want shopping-wise is available in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

[Sgt.K]

New Jersey needs to be brought up because we border NJ and there's a lot of cross traffic over the bridges and the speedline.

New Jersey's thick tapestry of gun restrictions plus its very hyperactive enforcement of those laws by its peace officers spells entrapment for anyone who knowingly or unknowingly carries a firearm over the bridges or tunnels. If you're discovered with one, you are going directly to jail.

Several Philadelphia off-duty cops have been locked up in the past during the late 90s-early 2000s for bringing their personal firearms with them while going off-duty to their shore hangouts, like so many Philly hoagiemouths so love to do. They thought their status as cops would exempt them from treatment. They were proven wrong and made an example out-of.

Philly GPU does often give out bad information. However that doesn't absolve this advice: do not ever enter the state of New Jersey for any reason. If you feel you need a gun to protect yourself while traveling--then you cannot enter this state. You can attempt to pass through it on your way to Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire or Rhode Island---places that likely accept your carry status, but I would highly recommend a full tank of gas and do not ever get off Federally-marked interstates and highways and do not enter state roads or streets.

The reason: New Jersey is barred from entrapping motorists passing through on their way to a location where your firearms are legal. So long as you are "passing through", and not stopping in New Jersey--you should be fine. There was another case before Shaneen Allen with a motorist in the middle of moving his domicile and brought his out of state weapons with him--he was locked up by NJSP for making a pitstop stayover in South Jersey. In the Shaneen Allen case, she went to Atlantic City (her destination) with a firearm and was returning to Philly when she was stopped by NJSP and then locked up after volunteering to the peace officer that she had a valid PA LTCF. This turned into quite a bit of drama, with Gov. Christie eventually having to commute her sentence to spring her out of jail--since the optics of locking up a single-mom African-American female with "gotcha!" laws isn't so hot. Don't expect this kind of treatment--others are sitting in jail for the same reason over there right now.

If you are stopped in NJ: Do not display your carry permit(s) from other states to a New Jersey peace officer. This is an invitation for a search and prosecution--asking questions later. Hope you do not have any weapons on your or in the vehicle. If you're not even carrying--then all you're asking for is an invitation of a search and wasted time.

Or to simplify things further: Just do not go into New Jersey, period. If you want beach, get a Utah permit and go to Rehobeth. Nicer people there anyway. Anything you could ever want shopping-wise is available in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

Entrapment would be a commercial saying "No, we don't have a problem with you being armed" and popo searching every vehicle crossing the bridge.

NJ laws suck. I do not challenge that at all. Their opinion of the value of their subjects citizens is execrable. But to call it "entrapment" is a misuse of the term...

P.S. - I am aware of Shaneen Allen, as well as the other examples you cite and - sadly - many more. I mentioned her case because you offered her as an example of entrapment, where she was more accurately a victim of the GPU.

[Berncly]

I think people that need this type of information would be better served with a link and/or quote from a reputable gun law website.
There is a lot of blurring in this thread between the law and personal preferred practice.
Clarity is always best when dealing with these issues.

[mpan72]

This is the law as written:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/...tn=8&subsctn=0

[mpan72]

Here is the entire crimes code, chapter 61 is the most relevant too the op's question.

http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI.../htm/18/18.htm