Carrying situation

[Shadow_of_Deth24]

ok so i carried in a prohibited place the other day. when i was leaving i asked a friend who works there if it is "illegal" to carry in there and he said yes. so i said ok and left. keep in mind i didnt say i was carrying in there. if he knew i was carrying (for whatever reason) and say he decided to report it or whatever, could i get in trouble now even though i am not there at the moment or does it have to occur while im physically there with my gun? i hope that all makes sense...

 

[ElsiePeaRN]

I'm no expert, but are you sure your friend is correct? Did you check the law? Just because a business prohibits weapons, that does not make it "illegal" to carry in that business. Based on your decription of the story, no one has any proof that you were carrying. All you did was ask a question, which is not illegal. If someone saw you carrying where it is prohibited by law, such as a courthouse, penal facility, school, riverboat casino, post office etc. and they reported it after you left, I guess it would depend on the strength of the testimony of that witness and/or the motivation of the district attorney to prosecute whether they would press charges based on that.

And a motherly question--- why are you carrying without knowing where it is illegal to do so? Here's the link to the statutes. Read them....

Indiana Code TITLE 35, Article 47 Table of Contents

 

[Shadow_of_Deth24]

ive read them before. but i didnt see anything saying i couldn't carry there unless of course i just missed it. it wasnt government property or anything. it was a youth center. theres the debate of whether or not no firearms signs actually have authority or not. but i don't know.

 

[rockhopper46038]

Signs prohibiting firearms don't carry weight of law in Indiana. A youth center would NOT be a prohibited site unless there is a school on-site, or perhaps if a school owns the youth center or the property the youth center is built on. Elsie is 100% right though, you owe it to yourself to educate yourself as much as possible if you are going to carry a weapon, and folks here will be very helpful in most cases; but you can't rely on what you may read here, its your freedom you may be putting at risk.

 

[IndyGunSafety]

I guess it would depend on the strength of the testimony of that witness and/or the motivation of the district attorney to prosecute whether they would press charges based on that.

As well as the OP's written confession above.

OP, learn the law! Use the link ElsiepeaRN provided, and also do a search for "Terry v Ohio" and "Melvin Washington v State of Indiana". Both of these cases will help you decide how to conduct yourself when carrying.

Bryan Ciyou has a great book on Indiana firearms law and he is a site advertiser here on INGO. Check it out.

 

[ElsiePeaRN]

I guess it depends on whether the Youth Center meets the broad definition of a "school" or whether it is owned by the local government AND there is a local firearms prohibition for property that the local government owns. Not surprising you didn't know then :o)

As for the debate about whether signage has authority. There really is not a significant debate about that afaik. If you ignore a sign, and then ignore instructions to leave the property, you can only be charged with trespassing.

IC 35-41-1-24.7
"School property" defined
Sec. 24.7. "School property" means the following:
(1) A building or other structure owned or rented by:
(A) a school corporation;
(B) an entity that is required to be licensed under IC 12-17.2 or IC 31-27;
(C) a private school that is not supported and maintained by funds realized from the imposition of a tax on property, income, or sales; or
(D) a federal, state, local, or nonprofit program or service operated to serve, assist, or otherwise benefit children who are at least three (3) years of age and not yet enrolled in kindergarten, including the following:
(i) A Head Start program under 42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.
(ii) A special education preschool program.
(iii) A developmental child care program for preschool children.
(2) The grounds adjacent to and owned or rented in common with a building or other structure described in subdivision (1).

But, the asnwer to your first question is yes, they can prosecute you even after you've left the building if they really want to. But in your scenario, no one saw your weapon, so it likely would be thrown out in the unlikely event they tried.

 

[Kelzo]

As well as the OP's written confession above.

OP, learn the law! Use the link ElsiepeaRN provided, and also do a search for "Terry v Ohio" and "Melvin Washington v State of Indiana". Both of these cases will help you decide how to conduct yourself when carrying.

Bryan Ciyou has a great book on Indiana firearms law and he is a site advertiser here on INGO. Check it out.

Melvin Washington v State of Indiana. Not smart.