Legal to open carry a pistol on a bicycle in your state?

[GPintheMitten]

Here's another good forum on Michigan Open Carry. There is specifically a question in FAQ about bike carry (q#8). This is from a group of people who promote open carry but also want to help keep people out of trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Michigan Open Carry, Inc.

 

[JDgreen227]

Here's another good forum on Michigan Open Carry. There is specifically a question in FAQ about bike carry (q#8). This is from a group of people who promote open carry but also want to help keep people out of trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Michigan Open Carry, Inc.

Read that before I originally started this thread !!!! And YES I HATE LAWYERS !!!!

 

[GPintheMitten]

Read that before I originally started this thread !!!! And YES I HATE LAWYERS !!!!

Well, if you open carry on a bicycle and get arrested for carrying a concealed gun in a vehicle, you may need the hated lawyer. And then we might have a good test case to settle it.

Personally, I think we should be allowed to open carry while on a bicycle and even a motorcycle, but it's a gray area of the law that hasn't been well tested. But by all means, keep your cop friends business card in your wallet.

 

[MarkF48]

Would open carry on a horse be any different than a bicycle?

Lawyers are just politicians in training. They'll tell you what you want to hear and then deny they ever said it

 

[ecbaatz]

EVERYBODY with a legally registered pistol should have that right.

We should NOT have to register them. Makes it easier to get them confiscated.

 

[ecbaatz]

Nor here. You fellas in Michigan have to register you firearms?

Well in its original format, it is a SAFETY INSPECTION. However the original forms specifically stated that they did not check for mechanical defects and were not responsible for a failure. In all intense and purposes it is a registration. It is called a registration on the state website unfortunately.

 

[RoyJackson]

Yah, nobody likes lawyers until they are handcuffed in the back of a police car.

The penalties for breaking gun laws can be quite severe. And ignorance is no excuse. Nor is but my friend the cop told me he wasn't aware of any law against it. It's up to you. I don't really care what you do. I'm just trying to bring up things for others to consider.

One definitely does want to know the laws...and a lawyer who is versed in those laws.
It's an unfortunate fact that some prosecutors will charge you with disorderly conduct or other such foolishness...and this may well be due to their politics, not what's on the law books.

 

[dmccarty]

Here's another good forum on Michigan Open Carry. There is specifically a question in FAQ about bike carry (q#8). This is from a group of people who promote open carry but also want to help keep people out of trouble.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) | Michigan Open Carry, Inc.

Would open carry on a horse be any different than a bicycle?
...

Given what is said in the link, no way would I open carry on a bike in Michigan. It is asking for an arrest, and likely conviction, or at best, being a test case. A a minimum, it is assuming that an officer's interpretation of the law sides with the person carrying. That is a really risky assumption.

Years ago, I asked a criminal lawyer working for the state if having a weapon wedged between the seat and console of a car was considered being concealed. After researching case law, he referred to a case with a horse drawn wagon. :shocked: The case law said the weapon was not concealed. Course, that was just the opinion of the court then and who knows what a court today would do. I sure would not want to be the test case to find out.

FLA had, and I would still guess does have, laws on the books that contradicted each other. One statute said it was legal to possess a firearm while hunting, fishing and either camping or hiking. Can't remember if it was camping or hiking. Any who, there are other laws that prohibit firearms in areas were one would be hunting, fishing or camping/hiking. I asked many a wildlife officer about the contradiction but they knew of no test case to resolve the contradiction. I guarantee you people were being prosecuted for carrying a weapon in those prohibited areas but I never hear of anyone fighting it out in court.

FLA also used to have a law on the books that allowed a person to use deadly force to stop a theft from one's house. A guy came home one day and found someone robbing his place, and while the thief ran from the house with a TV, the guy shot the thief. The statute said he was perfectly legal in shooting said thief. The DA thought otherwise and charged the shooter. The shooter was found not guilty but I would bet the shooter wished he had let the guy have his TV. That was one VERY expensive TV.

Later,
Dan

 

[IslandTractor]

Some of them train for distance rides on rural roads with no guys along...sorry...that should be rather obvious.

Any history of assaults on female cyclists in your area? I haven't heard of any myself. Mobility, speed and being on the road instead of sidewalk or parking lot would seem to be factors that diminish risk. She'd cycle past a bad guy before he had a chance to size up the mark.

Open carry also lets the bad guy know a valuable firearm could be had with an ambush. I don't know whether carrying a weapon while cycling would have a positive or negative effect on safety. I'd sure like to see data rather than assumptions.

 

[dmccarty]

....
Another guy I know was bicycle riding in low traffic metro Atlanta suburbia. Some people came up in a pickup and robbed him of the bike at gunpoint. He gave them the bike and no gunfight. He was carrying in his fanny pack but he said a bike is not worth a gunfight. Pickup truck was later found to have been stolen.

If someone thinks that a cyclist should only ride in packs or in "safe" areas, there have been incidents of predators attacking people in well traveled relatively high traffic count "safe" multipurpose trails. That is kind of like telling a fellow he cannot go out in the woods in the fall because it is far from the police and there are people in the woods with guns. Well maybe a stretch but saying a person should not be able to be free to recreate on their own doesn't seem right to me.
...

DUH. I can't believe I forgot about the case I read about last week.

A group of kids were riding down a city street the UK when three guys attack them to steal their bikes. Two of the kids riding bikes were knocked off said bikes and the thugs rode off with the stolen bikes. If I am following this right, the kid that was riding ahead of the other two was stabbed in the attack but managed to stay on the bike but died a short distance down the road. I have watched the security camera footage several times and I do not think the three kids on the bikes had a clue what was about to happen and there was nothing they could have done about the attack because it happened so fast.

Alan Cartwright murder: Shocking CCTV shows moment 15-year-old is stabbed in chest while cycling with friends - Mirror Online

The kids just got blitzed on a busy city street with quite a few witnesses not to mention cameras.

Later,
Dan