Trucker Forum - Trucking & Driving Forums - Class A Drivers - Gun enthusiasts read and research . .

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uturn2001 (Post 440764)

Things would have to change a lot before drivers would be able to legally carry a firearm in their truck.

1. You have 100's of different laws on how to legally transport a weapon, not to mention many states do not have carry options per se'.

2. You have the fact that, for company drivers at least, the truck is the property of the company and as the owner the company does have a right to say what can and can't be in or on that truck.

3. That ruling says an employer can't restrict the rights of an employee from keeping a firearm in the employee's vehicle while on the employer's property. I do not believe that ruling covers the rights of visitors to a place of business which is what most truck drivers would be.

Even though this ruling, for the time being, only really has impact for residents of Oklahoma it could have implications far more reaching eventually for the rights of legal gun owners in regards to having weapons in their personal vehicles or other types of property that they own.

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On a side note regarding truck drivers and carrying guns in their trucks:

While I am generally for gun rights I am more than happy when it comes to truck drivers that guns generally are not allowed in a truck either through the complications of various laws or company policy. Given the stresses of the job I am concerned that what many times is nothing more than verbal release could all to easily escalate into something with serious consequences if drivers had easy access to a firearm while on the job.

Your last comment is laughable and echoed the Brady Bunches hysteria over the right to carry legislation in Florida and elsewhere when it was being announced. "Gunfights at intersections!" "Bloodshed in the street!" None of which came true, in fact the violent crime rate drops everywhere right to carry is introduced.

Employee's vehicle: This is for the employees private vehicle not the company provided one. That one is owned by the company and they can prohibit anything they want in it. Your own personnal vehicle is a different story and places of business cant prohibit you from carrying a firearm in it. This ruling is state to state I think and a big courtcase was fought in Oklahoma over it.

Transportation: As long as you have the firearm in a locked case with the ammo secured in a different area usually defined as not in the immediate vicinity of the firearm while you are driving you can indeed carry the firearm everywhere. A specific federal law superseeds the local jurisdictional laws to allow you to transport the firearm from place to place as long as you have a legal right to the firearm at your starting point and your ending point. This law was enacted specifically because of local cops taking legal firearms from travelers. The sticking point becomes when you stop for the night somewhere then you have to comply with the local laws although it has also been ruled that your vehicle is treated like your home and as long as you are not in a place that flat bans private ownership of handguns in the home you can have the loaded weapon in your sleeper at night. IE: carry it locked up, stop for the night, get it out and load it, in the morning unload it and lock it back up.