Is it illegal to carry a gun in a commercial vehicle?

CA, Oregon, Ill, NY, and NJ would like to give you free room and board if you show up in their state with your out of state permit and expect to get away with it. In NJ you can be convicted for having a box of hollow point bullets and no gun. Your permit is not recognized by any state that doesn't specifically say they recognize your state permit. A truckstop lawyer isn't worth the money you pay him.

 

Just because you treat the truck like your home does not make it your home by law. A theory isn't the same as proven case-law. You can call your truck mobile gynecology lab, that doesn't make it so.

 

Law school takes 3 years because everything in the law is NOT a matter of logic. There are contradicting interpretations and different times and changes in law over time. This "your truck is your home so you can keep a gun at "home" is as silly as putting your logbooks into a stamped, addressed envelope prevents DOT from examining them. It's not true. It's bad advice. I realize you didn't make the point quoted in your post.

 

Not all states require permits. In Texas the law for years was that anyone traveling or carrying cash could carry a weapon. The law now pretty much allows open carry, but some larger liberal cities were making it harder on folks.
You also just used the word "gun". The laws for various states differ when it comes to hand guns, vs shotguns and rifles. While shotguns are more difficult to deal with as a self defense weapon in a truck, many states are for more tolerant of them. I used to carry a small 410 called a snake charmer that was very affective as a deterant and for defense.
Crossing state lines is always a problem, since it's impossible to know all the local rules and regulations. My thought on the subject is this. If you are traveling into areas where you feel compelled to carry a gun for self protection, I had rather risk law enforcement taking action against me, than to have someone take action against me with no way of defending myself. Sadly the places where a gun for self protection would be needed most, are the very places with the most restrictive laws against carrying one. I have a special shipping location where mine resides when I'm moving, but if I'm in the sleepler or parked in a location where I don't feel save, I'm as armed in Chicago as I am in Houston

 

That's not exactly true. It all depends on which states you run. In the southwest most states allow you to carry in one way or another. Some allow open carry, and some allow concealed carry. Most allow you to carry one in sleeper compartment either by legislation or by practice. And again, if I'm required to deliver or park in areas where it isn't safe, I'll take my chances with the cops rather than take my chances with the thugs. In those areas police show up about the time you stop bleeding and that's not quick enough for me.

 

It is easier for me to carry a weapon in a 18 wheeler than it is for me to comply with a employer who bans guns in a 18 wheeler or work place. ###### if you do and ###### if you don't I'll take my chances with the Law based on my CHL. Employers not so much.

There are however some states like New Jersey around the USA that will absolutely jail you for the hollow point bullets in the box or gun or vehicle. It is easier to say avoid those states because your freedom depends on it than to try and say get the laws changed. By NJ's definition everything on my belt holster is illegal. Here in Arkansas, we are just getting started.

 

I'm old enough that I just don't go to places where they don't allow me to protect myself. Of course everyone cant be that independent, but you will never again catch me In Chicago In a truck or even for pleasure, where they should issue weapons as you enter. I'm responsible for my own safety, because I'm in the only one competent and knowledgeable enough about my life to do so on a 24 hr basis. If everyone took that position there would be less need for protection.

 

It's a very good post. I would not go into Chicago either, they can burn it for all I care. However...

If everyone did look out for their own safety and did not engage in lawbreaking gang type behavior in Chicago there will be zero shootings. To paraphrase. The Gang Culture up there is a real big problem. It has to get stopped. How to do it? I don't know. You would have to mobilize a military, move into west central block by block, house by house and arrest/detain every single person in a gang indefinitely. This would also mean suspending Constitutional Freedoms and so on.

Once you completely weeded out everyone bad from west central you now have a problem of bulldozing everything to bare dirt and then reselling the now valuable lands to those who will develop factories, hud housing and so on that has value to a community and actually live there the next 100 years or whatever. Eradicating all gang from existance. Only then you could consider that part of Chicago "Cleaned up" and iut's rates of crime/violence would be average like everyone else around the USA.

Chicago for me is a mixed emotion. I like the city and it's history related to industry, trucking and particulary railroads and so on. But I do not like the crime and the parasites that hang around the south side loop markets into which I must go deliver food products in a reefer trailer. No wonder I hate them the way I do. If they lived better lives without preying on truckers or are a parasite onto society we will all be better off don't you think?

Most People who are lawful Gun Owners generally understand the United States and our way of life very well. I find them to be in general very good people to have around in society. There are many other things besides guns you can learn from them.

I feel fortunate. I consider in my day carrying a 7 inch buck special blade in it's own holster that has the knife fully covered next to the chain wallet (Into NYC and many NY warehouses of all things... you would think people will call the police against me for carrying a large knife. But no one ever did...) we used the blade for many non defense purposes related to freighting. Shrink Wrap comes to mind. Baled pallets is another. And so on. Maybe the presence of that blade and holster saved me from being evaluated as a future crime target who knows in places like Hunts Point.

My position on Weapons have moderated quite a bit over the years and I choose to consider that we are a United States. A Union of 50 states. Therefore all States will have very similar Consitutional Laws related to Guns in general and self defense, castle doctrine in particular. But we are NOT a 50 state one Union with similar laws. What is lawful in Arkansas is totally illegal and prosecutable on sight in say New Jersey for example. Other problems like 10 round magazine (I actually carry 10 rounder CMC's cut down to 9 rounders with Tripp Research springs and follower kit to improve reliablity) is not really a problem.

Ive had a shoot once with my Trainer who had a Glock 30 plus rounds in one magazine against my Colt with one magazine inside the weapon, one in chamber plus two reloads on the magazine holster (Crossbreed Brand) on the left side of my belt plus one in a right hand pocket. We both were weapons dry within a few moments of each other. I was about 3 rounds behind when he emptied first. 3 rounds is not that much when you only need about one and half seconds or so to send them. And both of us were on target pretty well. The secret was practicing reloads with Magazines until it's done really quick without thinking. So.. with that in mind the whole debate of 10 round magazines is not valid. You can go through 50 of them really fast with reloads in practice.

I enjoy a good discussion, one in which I can set aside my views; listen to yours or someone's position on a given issue and then put forward my two cents for better or worse. Sometimes these kinds of discussions might go badly because someone chooses to behave badly for a variety of reasons. It's not always a win for everyone though.

That's my position. If we are truly a 50 state union (We are not, we are so divided, it's not funny...) we would have one gun law for all the People and none of the problems infesting society today.

 

Think about this, I fear more of other truckers than I do criminals.

Trucking is made up of a hell of a lot immature idiots, you all think it may be a good idea not to arm them?