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Gun print....concealed carry

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  • stage20

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    Is this a grey area or is there a statue stating it clearly. I've looked but maybe I've missed it.
     

    Jeb21

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    790.053 Open carrying of weapons.—
    (1) Except as otherwise provided by law and in subsection (2), it is unlawful for any person to openly carry on or about his or her person any firearm or electric weapon or device. It is not a violation of this section for a person licensed to carry a concealed firearm as provided in s. 790.06(1), and who is lawfully carrying a firearm in a concealed manner, to briefly and openly display the firearm to the ordinary sight of another person, unless the firearm is intentionally displayed in an angry or threatening manner, not in necessary self-defense.
     

    Telum Pisces

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    There is no "printing" law here in FL. You can hide it under spandex that shows a gun outline all day long. Gun just has to be out of sight. Bulge for gun outline does not matter!
     
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    FrankT

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    TP is right, they took away any question or penalty for printing, the above reference is to protect you from being in trouble for your weapon accidentally being uncovered and folks seeing it, nothing to do with printing covered.
     

    Jeb21

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    Your weapon is either concealed or openly carried. Under Florida law, as a general rule citizens cannot openly carry. If you inadvertently flash your gun (expose it) the weapon will still be considered to be concealed. It stands to reason that if your weapons prints on occasion (say when you bend down to pick up something off of the ground) then it will also still be concealed. The problem arises when you are wearing a skin tight shirt and a full sized handgun and the world can see that you are carrying a firearm at all times - then you run the risk of being charged with open carry. For this reason carrying a weapon that always shows through your cover garment - looking at you spandex - will also be a problem from a practical standpoint definitely and from a legal standpoint maybe.
     

    Jeb21

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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tq8Ie2C9Uaw
    .
    Interesting video from 2009. Legally armed citizen gets arrested because the bottom of his holster showed during a traffic stop.

    Here is another unrelated incident

    Dale Norman has a valid Florida Concealed Carry License but was arrested on February 19th, 2012 by the Fort Pierce, FL Police Dept. while otherwise lawfully carrying a handgun because it accidentally became exposed.

    He is currently being prosecuted despite assurances made to the Florida Legislature in 2011 that police, prosecutors and Sheriffs would stop harassing people with concealed carry licenses for innocent accidental exposure of their handguns.

    Dale was forced to the ground, a knee put in to his back, cuffed, booked, made to spend the night in jail, and is still (as of June 4th) being actively prosecuted for the criminal offence of carrying an unconcealed handgun all because his shirt got caught behind his holster while he was walking.
     
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    stage20

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    Worst I have is a couple pair of older jeans may show something other than a phone or a wad of money in my pocket.
     

    wildrider666

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    There is no "printing" law here in FL. You can hide it under spandex that shows a gun outline all day long. Gun just has to be out of sight. Bulge for gun outline does not matter!

    I strongly disagree. If a person can see the shape/outline of a gun: it is not concealed, its merely covered. To conceal means to hide from view which a spandex covered shape does not. A spandex gun shape on constant display also falls outside the brief/accidental exposure.

    Conceal: keep from sight, hide. Also: keep (something) secret; prevent from being known or noticed.
     

    Jpyritz

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    OP are you talking about clearly see the complete shape of your firearms or just simply what we overly obsesse about and "printing"? I don't purposely wear anything that will show that I am carrying but the occasional print of the mag well or a "strange bulg" has never been a big deal to me. Remember the society that we live in is so buried in their phones they don't pay attention any. I think we worry much about nothing. 99% of the time people will never know what you have, except that 1% of carriers like me that will lean over to the wife and try to guess what someone is carry'ing lol. I say carry covered but don't over think on it, it'll ruin your time out of the house always thinking " do people see me printing"
     
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    Realtor

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    How about using your head, and not bringing attention to yourself? No? I don't carry a "Dirty Harry" hog-leg, but I do carry a smaller gun. I have never had a problem.

    They can't (and wont) write a law for every conceivable situation.
     

    Snake-Eyes

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    If your normal carry method means an average adult can casually observe without a doubt that you have a gun on you, it's probably not concealed with the intent of the law. If it's a momentary thing, then the law is on your side, for the moment, provided you don't act stupid.

    As already stated above, most-likely the only people who might be giving you the hairy eyeball to see what/where you're carrying will be other CWL holders (and criminals). Joe Public won't notice.

    From a "camouflage equals concealment" perspective, who's to say that slight bulge isn't part of your belt, or an insulin-pump (or other medical device), or a multi-tool, or even a tiny cellphone holster (some people still have those, but those are usually the same people who recently still had pagers). And if you carry appendix IWB, it's generally a social taboo to be staring at a dude's crotch region. As long as it doesn't scream "gun", it is concealed.

    So, I'd argue it's in your best interest to keep your situational awareness high, and keep your weapon(s) concealed as best as able. Makes you less likely to be a target.
     

    Big Shrek

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    Snake Eyes is correct. Joe Public is for the most part,
    too engaged in their own little world to pay attention.

    A couple years ago I was in a store, another patron was wearing two shirts...
    when he lifted one shirt up with his left hand and started a draw-motion
    with his right as he walked forward, I slipped behind a display & put
    my fingers on my EDC in pocket until I could figure out what was what...
    fortunately he was just reaching for a belt-cased cellphone to make a call :)

    That made me think about quite a few things after...noticing the odd clothing
    worn during the hottest part of summer (two shirts untucked), noticing the lift &
    draw technique that is used by So Many folks who CC, especially at IDPA meets...
    immediately stepping behind cover in response to a possible threat...
    & WATCHING before deciding to draw to make sure there was an actual threat.

    Nobody else around me & the guy noticed a thing. Totally lost in shopping.
    I took it as a good practice run for spotting trouble & reacting appropriately.
    God knows we'ed all rather suspect something is about to happen and it
    turn out to be nothing, than have the squishy actually hit the fan ;)

    Stay alert, know that some folks will pay attention while others could care less ;)
     

    stage20

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    How about using your head, and not bringing attention to yourself? No? I don't carry a "Dirty Harry" hog-leg, but I do carry a smaller gun. I have never had a problem.

    They can't (and wont) write a law for every conceivable situation.
    That's exactly what I'm trying to do is not grab attention. Listen to advice and opinion of others to help me along the way. I don't carry a desert eagle in swim trunks lol.
     

    RackinRay

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    OP are you talking about clearly see the complete shape of your firearms or just simply what we overly obsesse about and "printing"? I don't purposely wear anything that will show that I am carrying but the occasional print of the mag well or a "strange bulg" has never been a big deal to me. Remember the society that we live in is so buried in their phones they don't pay attention any. I think we worry much about nothing. 99% of the time people will never know what you have, except that 1% of carriers like me that will lean over to the wife and try to guess what someone is carry'ing lol. I say carry covered but don't over think on it, it'll ruin your time out of the house always thinking " do people see me printing"


    For some reason, this made the thought; "Does this Model 29 make my hips look too big?" pop into my head for a chuckle.

    To the OP, matching your carry to your attire so that it is now readily viable or detectable is all you really have to do' as many have said already. I am lucky in that at my body size I can carry a compact .45 easily in a shoulder rig, t-shirt under an open un-buttoned outer shirt is normal carry...but I still button my lowest button on the cover shirt when walking into a store on a windy day even though current law would not find that chargeable. I just do not want folks to easily notice I am armed. No need to alarm folks, and I want any bad actors to be in the dark on that matter!
     

    fondblanc1

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    Your weapon is either concealed or openly carried. Under Florida law, as a general rule citizens cannot openly carry. If you inadvertently flash your gun (expose it) the weapon will still be considered to be concealed. It stands to reason that if your weapons prints on occasion (say when you bend down to pick up something off of the ground) then it will also still be concealed. The problem arises when you are wearing a skin tight shirt and a full sized handgun and the world can see that you are carrying a firearm at all times - then you run the risk of being charged with open carry. For this reason carrying a weapon that always shows through your cover garment - looking at you spandex - will also be a problem from a practical standpoint definitely and from a legal standpoint maybe.

    Are you a LEO by any chance?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
     

    Jeb21

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    Nope, but I am a lawyer and I teach the CCW law and self defense law as part of a concealed weapon class.
     
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