TexasCHLforum.com

pbandjelly wrote:it's funny how some people HAVE to ALWAYS be right.

Yeah, you're right. The real problem is that I "have to be right". The fact that 1talltxn would have his bike trip ruined if he listened to some silly advice about open carry in VA is really not the issue.

It's me.

VA is a cool open carry state? In someone's dream maybe.

Look what I found posted at opencarry.com

*********************************************

I wanted to hold off my story until I got it resolved, but I must get it off my chest since I have no one else to talk to. Again this is MY side of the story.

This event occured 6/29/07 approx 4:55pm.

I was going to pick up a friend who works at a bank call center in downtown Norfolk. I decided to park my car at a meter and wait across the street since my car didn't have any AC and it was cooler outside. Of course you know I was OCing. Approximately 5pm, a security guard walked past me. I felt that he was getting a closer look. One minute later, ANOTHER guard walked past me to get a closer look. Now both of these guards didn't look me in the eyes, so I knew deep down, it was going to hit the fan.

I checked to see what one of the guards was doing, and I noticed one of them was on a cell phone looking directly at me so I kinda knew what the call was about. So I thought to myself, "I wonder how long it would take them to get here through all of this traffic?". Then I thought, "who cares?". I then heard sirens. They seemed quite far. As time went by slowly in my mind, I could hear them getting closer and closer. Next thing I know I see a squad car turn down a street and I thought, "oh there they are". Next thing happened was quite a surprise.

Ready?

A officer came around the corner with his glock 19 drawn pointing at my chest.

LEO1 - TURN AROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE WALL!!!

Me - Um, am I under arrest?

LEO1 - PUT YOUR HANDS ON THE WALL!!!

I did what I was told, seeing that I couldn't convince him otherwise. He approached slowly and I wasn't sure who put the cuffs on. Then came the questioning.

LEO1 - What are you doing?

LEO2 - Why are you carrying a gun?

Me - I'm...

LEO1 - Why is it loaded and cocked?

LEO2 - Do you have a permit to carry that?

Me - It's a 1911, it supposed to be carried in cocked and locked and I'm open carrying it, I don't need a permit.

LEO2 - Do you realize you are standing near a bank with a gun? What are you doing?

Me - Now I know you are just doing your job, but I'm not answering your questions without a lawyer present. (at this point I was irritated).

LEO2 - Fine. (he then reaches into my pocket to get my wallet and get my ID)

Me - I didn't consent to you searching me.

LEO2 - I'm getting your ID.

Me - Again, I didn't consent to a search.

(meanwhile the other officer is glaring at my 1911)

Me - I don't consent to the seizure of my firearm.

LEO2 - You know carrying around a gun like this, especially in front of the bank is going to get attention and you got it. And what's with this hat, "Black man with a gun"? You are really looking for attention.

Me - I like to exercise my 1st and 2nd Amendment rights. So I'm being detained?

LEO2 - Yup.

Me - And why am I in cuffs again? I didn't do anything illegal.

LEO2 - For our safety.

Me - And mine.

LEO2 - You know that if you even cover up your firearm, it would be concealed and we could arrest you.

Me - Yeah....and that's why I'm carrying it openly.

While LEO2 when to "check my papers", I tried to make small talk with LEO1. Asking him how was his day going, what caliber glock do you guys carry, general stuff. And I could tell he wasn't happy. I felt that he KNEW I wasn't doing anything wrong, especially since he was giving me 1 word answers. I then overheard over his radio that the call was for a man carrying in plain sight. So I wanted to ask the ultimate question that I wanted to know the answer to.

Me - So, uh, after you guys let me go, what are you going to do?

LEO1 -

My friend came out the building and instructed friend to wait by the car. LEO2 came back and took the cuffs off.

Me - So I'm free to go?

LEO1 & 2 -

Me - Thank you officers, have a great day!

Before LEO2 could even gather enough breathe to say something (trying to get in the last word)...

Me - Thank you, have a great day!

LEO2 started to walk me with me trying to get the last word.

LEO2 - You know that there are certain places where you cannot carry that?

Me - Already know that, have a great day!!

LEO2 -

Now, I'm going down to the Norfolk Police Admin office to file a complaint and try to get a FOIA. Well see what happens then.

Now...the bad news...

After I got back to the car, I couldn't find my friend. My friend was waiting a block away and down another street. My friend said somethings that made me feel that my friend didn't support me. The things my friend said made me feel that it would have been better to be shot dead than live with the words and actions my friend did. I took my friend home and got into a heated debate. I left with the knowledge that my friend doesn't have my back 100% even thought said friend claimed they did. It's hard knowing that the people who say they support you 100% in anything you do only show 60% action. Not only that, my Dad doesn't support me.

I haven't told him what happened yesterday, but he believes that guns should only be kept in the house. But he's all for going to the range and gun rights. It doesn't make logical sense to me. I don't care what other people think, but it saddens me to hear it from friends and family.

Alas, I won't let the hurt ruin my ways of spreading the word of OC. I will ALWAYS carry openly (with a few exceptions). Unlike those who frown on OC, I'm doing something to educate and desensitize the public.

I welcome all positive and negative feedback.

Thanks in advance!

*************************************

To hirundo82,

Earlier, you wrote, "I was simply trying to refute your assertion that open carry will automatically get you handcuffed and hauled off to jail in Virginia. "

OK. I consider it refuted. Apparently, all it will get you is to be put against a wall and handcuffed while the police figure things out. I was wrong about the "hauled off to jail" part of it.

Sound like the way you want to spend your motorcycle trip?

To 1talltxn,

Now the guy who posted this is obviously an OC "crusader". Nothing wrong with that. But you stated you were going on a cool bike trip, not a crusade. So I tailored my advice accordingly.

So, 1talltxn, unless you want stuff like that to happen on your bike trip, I suggest you take advantage of our reciprocity agreement with VA and carry concealed.

longtooth wrote:One example in the whole nation in a yr.

The poster said he'd "wager" that the number of times something like that happened was "None".

He lost.

If I found another one, would you say it was "only two"?

Show me the tactical advantage to carrying openly.

Please.

KBCraig wrote:Frankie, of those cops killed with their own guns, how many were killed by "snatchers", who saw the gun and decided to take it?

None, I'll wager.

Police who are shot with their own weapons start out in conflict with the shooter, usually in a hands-on way. If you show examples of police minding their business walking down the street or eating in a restaurant, and having their service guns snatched, then you'll have a point relevant to private citizens' risks when carrying openly.

Kevin

See the example I cited above that occurred in Providence, RI last year.

Liberty wrote: Oh I don't know about that. There seems to be a large percentage of military/exmilitary/LEO/and ex LEO contingency in the CHL ranks.

Cool. And if you guys don't mind the increased risk of having to fend off a "snatcher", and are confident in your abilities to do so, I say go for it. Anybody tries to snatch your openly carried gun, you go ahead and kick their butts. Apply the Vulcan Death Grip if necessary. Under the circumstances, you would have good chances of being no billed. And rest assured, I'll be rooting for you.

I'll admit to being an occassional adrenalin junkie myself, though I get most of my "fixes" on the ski slopes or riding my motorcycle.

That having been said, for those of us who are older, smaller, female, or those who simply want to avoid the extra risk and unpleasantness of fighting for our lives with some dirtbag who tries to snatch our gun, I would advise them to carry concealed.

And it's also a good idea, IMO, for people who want to avoid unpleasant legal surprises or encounters with LEO when travelling through unfamiliar places.

Liberty wrote: Open carry might decrease the risk for certain people in certain situations. Some activities where open carry might work better than concealed carry:

Horse back riding
Motor cycle riding.
Being in a small boat.
Surf Fishing.

I notice that all of these activities have a common element. You're not mingling with crowds of strangers while on horseback, for instance.

I don't see exactly where open carry actually reduces risk in these instances, unless you're just referring to the inherently easier access.

I guess if I was surf fishing and concerned about a possible shark attack I might want to be carrying something handy. (Note: I know nothing at all about fishing. Is this a realistic concern?)

Horseback riding, boating, and surf fishing are not usually practiced in crowded urban areas, or crowded areas of any kind. Motorcycle riding is a bit different. At times you get off the bike, and you may well do this in places where there are also many strangers to mingle with.

Liberty wrote: Just because it might not work well in your world, doesn't mean it wouldn't be more suitable for someone else.

I actually open carry myself pretty often on my small spread out here in Smithville. I judge the tactical situation to be pretty good, as it is not my policy to allow for crowds of strangers to accumulate and hang out here.

Liberty wrote:

frankie_the_yankee wrote: But check out the stats on how many cops are shot each year with their own (openly carried) guns. One memorable case was a year or two ago where a female deputy in GA was whacked in a courthouse by a prisoner she was transporting. She stupidly gets in an elevator with a guy twice her size who was up on a murder charge. He takes her gun, shoots her, and shoots a few other people and makes good his (temporary) escape if I remember correctly.

Of course with cops it's a little different in that a BG would know that they were carrying whether they were carrying openly or not - because carrying is just what they do. So even if the cops carried concealed it wouldn't make any difference.

you speak of cops as though they are better trained than CHLs. I can only go by my own experiance, But I've known a few cops and most hardly ever go to the range, ALL the CHLs I know practice at home and on the range on a regular basis. Most of the cops I knew would go to the range less than every 6 months, and they would complain about the cost of ammunition.

I agree that most CHL's practice shooting as often or more often than cops.

But I'll bet they don't practice or experience hand-to-hand combat anywhere near as often as cops do. How often do you think the average CHL grapples with someone for the purpose of subdueing them? I think the typical street cop does this pretty often.

I myself shoot a few times a month, but I haven't been involved in a physical altercation in almost 30 years.

Cops get hand-to-hand combat training at the academy. (Most CHL's do not train in this way.) In most cases, this also includes special techniques for weapon retention. They also carry pepper spray, batons, and other weapons to help them prevail in a fight. In addition, there is certianly a big deterrent factor in that BG's know that cops have backup available and also that if someone whacks a cop, nearly every other cop in the general area will drop whatever they are doing and make sure that the perp is swiftly brought to justice. They also know that there is a greatly increased chance that they will get shot and killed while being brought to justice, even if they just twitch at the wrong time.

Private citizens have none of these things working for them.

So it says here that unless you're an ex-Delta Force / Navy Seal / "American Combato Master" / walking, talking death machine, you're better off maintaining tactical surprise by carrying concealed when you anticipate you may be in close proximity to people you don't know.

And while IANAL, I also advise people planning to travel to unfamiliar locations or states not to play "gunshop lawyer" and open carry anywhere unless they are 100% positive that there is no local ordinance or case law under which they can be prosecuted, even though they found a section of a given state's law that seems to say that open carry is legal.

hirundo82 wrote: I was simply trying to refute your assertion that open carry will automatically get you handcuffed and hauled off to jail in Virginia. I was not trying to describe where one can and cannot open carry in Virginia; if the thread had been "I'm going to Virginia, where can I open carry," I would have mentioned that it is cuurently not allowed in state parks.

Actually, the thread was about a guy taking a motorcycle trip through several states, VA among them, who wanted some info/advice as to where and how he could legally carry in some of the states on his route.

So telling him he can open carry here or there without providing all of the relavant details cold have gotten him into trouble.

hirundo82 wrote: I do not wish to get into another debate about open carry. I was simply pointing out that people in Virginia open carry every day without problem. Open carry is considered a right in many places and, like any right, could go away if not exercised.

I agree that rights can and will go away if not exercised.

And while people may well open carry in VA "every day", I have visited VA several times, and I challenge you to show me any urban area in VA where even 1% of the adults on the street are carrying openly. I know of no such place. That tells me that carrying openly in VA might well be considered a right, but it is also considered a bit unusual, to say the least.

hirundo82 wrote: I realize that you come from a state where carrying a gun is something shameful and needs to be hidden, as is the case in Texas as well, but that is not the case in every state. I see it as a way, where legal, to educate people that ordinary, law-abiding citizens carry firearms in the course of their daily lives and no problems occur.

My objections to open carry have nothing to do with "shame". I simply see it as a very bad tactical choice. Cops do it because they are in uniform and they more or less have to. They get training in weapon retention methods, they use retention holsters, and they accept the added risk, whether when mingling with crowds of strangers or in the situations that come up where they are forced to grapple with people when taking them into custody.

There is no rational reason for someone to subject themselves to that added risk when they don't have to.

Most people who carry a gun will tell you that they do so to enhance their personal security. That's why I do it. I certainly don't do it to add to my level of risk.

1talltxn is headed out on a bike trip, not a mission to educate people along his route that they have a right to carry openly.

hirundo82 wrote: And your insinuation that I am trying to "play cowboy" by exercising my right to open carry when it is legal is quite frankly insulting. It sounds like the rhetoric the anti-gun forces use when describing CHL holders as "Rambo" or wanting to play hero.

Open carry is a very poor tactical choice. I was merely speculating as to what might motivate someone to do it. You say, "education" is the motivator in your case. OK. I'll take your word for it.

hirundo82 wrote: I do use a retention holster when open carrying, ...

Good. I find that type of holster a bit bulkier than a concealment type, and thus harder to cover with a garment. So if someone were travelling, and wanted to sometimes open carry and sometimes to carry concealed, they would need to take a couple of different holsters along if they wanted to do it right.

hirundo82 wrote: ...and I find that it forces me to be more alert.

Yes. Exactly how someone would prefer to spend a motorcycle tour, or a walk to the local quickie mart, constantly on the alert about the gun they are openly carrying.

hirundo82 wrote: However, I have never seen any evidence (not speculation) that open carry will make an ordinary person a target of a gun grab or the first person shot in a robbery.

I've seen no stats on "ordinary people" either. That could be either because they are so formidable that no BG or group of BG's would ever think of taking a crack at them, or it could be because so few people carry openly in urban areas that there are not many opportunities for such things to occur.

You tell me.

But check out the stats on how many cops are shot each year with their own (openly carried) guns. One memorable case was a year or two ago where a female deputy in GA was whacked in a courthouse by a prisoner she was transporting. She stupidly gets in an elevator with a guy twice her size who was up on a murder charge. He takes her gun, shoots her, and shoots a few other people and makes good his (temporary) escape if I remember correctly.

Of course with cops it's a little different in that a BG would know that they were carrying whether they were carrying openly or not - because carrying is just what they do. So even if the cops carried concealed it wouldn't make any difference.

But for non-cops, no one knows whether you're carrying or not if you are carrying concealed. So there's nothing to grab. There's nothing to make them consider shooting you first. etc.

In other words, you maintain tactical surprise. To me that is a big advantage that I would not advise people to give up.

1TallTXn wrote:Guys, I didn't mean to start an argument here. Just looking for some info. Y'all have both provided info that I will back up with my own research.

I had gone through and read the PDO blurbs about each of the states that I plan to visit and so far you guys are both in a position that could be taken from what I read. Yet again, the law isn't written in a manner that even someone with two college degrees can figure out.

Y'all don't have to worry bout me going strictly off of y'alls input. I was simply looking for an opinion, and I thank you for providing it.

y'all have a great day

No problem.

You are wise not to blindly follow offered advice, whether from me or from anyone else. It's your trip and your fanny on the line. So the best thing to do is to get as much info as you can and make your own decisions as to what to do.

I know it irritates some on this board, but I am no fan of open carry. Even for trained police officers with retention holsters there is an added risk. For untrained people carrying in public in ordinary concealment type holsters with limited or no retention features, who may be big, small, young, old, weak, strong, wise, or foolish, I think it is a bad idea.

If somebody is a big rough tough hombre, highly skilled in aikido, karate, "combato", a former UFC champion, incredibly lucky, or a massive bore (skilled at quickly putting potential adversaries to sleep), who spends most of his time visiting Amish and Quaker communities or Bhuddist temples, it might work out OK. To all of you, I offer a hearty, "Congratulations." You're cool.

But an "ordinary guy" who might be out and about in places where both good and bad people might be around is making a huge tactical mistake by carrying openly, IMO.

Just remember that while you're out there living out some long held fantasy, some predatory violent criminal may be nearby getting ready to live out one of his.

And while it is true that some jurisdictions allow for open carry, there's no way I want to be the only guy on the street doing it. That would be strange, and it would attract attention that I neither want nor need. And FWIW, I have spent time in both AZ and VT, two well-known open carry states, and only once have I seen a civilian openly carrying a handgun in an urban area. So nobody's gonna tell me that it is common.

If I'm going out to eat, I want to just walk into a restaurant and eat. I don't want to spend time "raising the consciousness" of cops or others who may be unfamiliar with the law.

So it says here, forget open carry for your trip. Carry concealed where we have reciprocity. Unload and lock up where we don't. And in VA or any other place where you can't carry concealed in a place that serves alcohol, avoid such places or unload and lock up.

That's what I would do.

You're going on a bike trip, not a "carry trip". Enjoy!

hirundo82 wrote:

frankie_the_yankee wrote:

tomc wrote: In Virginia, if you go into any place that serves alchohol, you cannot carry concealed, but you can open carry.

I would strongly recommend that you do not do this unless you really enjoy having discussions with cops while handcuffed.

ENJOY THE BIKE TRIP!!!!!

I would strongly recommend you visit Opencarry.org, and the forum in particular before you start spouting off about open carry, especially in Virginia. It is very well known among Virginia law enforcement that open carry is legal, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Virginia Citizen's Defense League.

I grew up in Virginia, and I open carry some of the time when I am back there. I have openly carried in a number of restaurants there rather than go unarmed and leave my gun in the car where it would be vulnerable to theft (and would be much more vulnerable if I were riding a motorcycle as 1TallTXn is doing).

Contrary to the beliefs of many people on this forum, open carry does not cause people to faint at the sight of your gun. At least in Virginia, the police getting called because of open carry is rare, the occasional call is usually well- handled, and when the police do not handle it well they are hounded by the VCDL and other groups until they better train their officers on the legality of open carry. I have never heard of someone in Virginia being handcuffed for open carry.

I noticed that while you were spouting off about how great open carry is in VA, you left out this little tidbit (from packing.org):

State Parks
General notes
Date updated: Jul 29, 2005 @ 10:47:03 pm EDT

Permit holders may carry in Virginia State Parks. The handgun must be concealed. (Emphasis addedd.) Non-permit holders may not carry.

Note: Park signs may not reflect the above law and say "No firearms" or "No guns." I suggest you printout the following page from the Department of Conservation and Recreation's web site and carry it with you just in case (the part on concealed carry being allowed is toward the bottom):

Department of Conservation and Recreation FAQ

Hmmmmm. So not only is open carry not allowed in state parks, but the writer of the above article seems to think that SOME VA cops or Park Police might not be aware that concealed guns are OK. That's why he suggests printing out a document explaining the law and carrying it with you in case you run into some cops who "handle it badly".

Of course, since anything can be edited, faked, cut, pasted, etc., there is no guarantee that any cops you run into will actually BELIEVE that the document you whip out is authentic. So you could STILL find your fanny tossed in jail.

I've got a question for TXI if he is reading this thread. What is the typical reaction of a cop when someone he is arresting produces some document purporting to explain that what they are doing is OK?

Anyway, it's a good thing that 1talltxn didn't listen to you and go tooling through VA with his shootin' iron strapped to his leg - 'cause open carry is legal, right? - and accidently (or on purpose) wander into a state park.

'Cause if he did, unaware that it was illegal, he'd be having one of those cuffed conversations with local cops or VA Park Police.

And he'd need your help with bail money, legal expenses, etc.

Maybe you'd even buy him a new gun to replace the one that got confiscated, assuming that he was still eligible to buy a gun after the whole mess was sorted out.

hirundo82 wrote:

frankie_the_yankee wrote:

tomc wrote: In Virginia, if you go into any place that serves alchohol, you cannot carry concealed, but you can open carry.

I would strongly recommend that you do not do this unless you really enjoy having discussions with cops while handcuffed.

ENJOY THE BIKE TRIP!!!!!

I would strongly recommend you visit Opencarry.org, and the forum in particular before you start spouting off about open carry, especially in Virginia. It is very well known among Virginia law enforcement that open carry is legal, thanks in large part to the efforts of the Virginia Citizen's Defense League.

I'll make my recommendations and you make yours.

And I hope you are willing to help out with any bail money and/or legal defense expenses 1talltxn mightr need if he follows your advice and/or the advice he might find on opencarry.org.

hirundo82 wrote: I grew up in Virginia, and I open carry some of the time when I am back there. I have openly carried in a number of restaurants there rather than go unarmed and leave my gun in the car where it would be vulnerable to theft (and would be much more vulnerable if I were riding a motorcycle as 1TallTXn is doing).

1) You may "know the territory" in VA. 1talltxn's perspective was one of a guy getting ready to travel through many unfamiliar jurisdictions, where it would be impossible to know the applicable laws in all of them.

2) You say you open carry "some of the time". Why not ALL of the time? After all, it's legal, right? And ain't it really cool, kind of like what guys do in cowboy movies, right?

hirundo82 wrote: Contrary to the beliefs of many people on this forum, open carry does not cause people to faint at the sight of your gun. At least in Virginia, the police getting called because of open carry is rare, the occasional call is usually well- handled, and when the police do not handle it well they are hounded by the VCDL and other groups until they better train their officers on the legality of open carry. I have never heard of someone in Virginia being handcuffed for open carry.

So sometimes they don't handle it well, hey? Gee, where would anyone get that the idea that that might happen?

What do I care if the cops are subsequently "hounded by the VCDL" if my bike trip has been ruined by an encounter with some cops who didn't handle it well? Better IMO to avoid that unpleasant situation entirely by carrying discretely and in compliance with the law.

Finally, this is just my opinion, but someone who would carry openly in a populated area in a holster primarily designed for concealment (i.e. a holster that DOES NOT have some major retention features that generally render it too bulky for easy concealment) has a couple of screws loose somewhere. It's too easy for a gun to be snatched in a typical concealment type holster.

So you can sing the praises of open carry all you want. But unless you're advocating doing it using modern retention type holsters (like many police agencies specify) I consider it bad advice.

Also, FWIW, unless you're a real tough guy (and maybe even if you are) I would recommend getting some training in weapon retention and techniques to counter attempted snatchings. These situations can get really interesting, especially when the BG is a lot bigger than you.

Last year, a Providence, RI police detective was questioning a homicide suspect, who happened to be quite a bit bigger than him, in a room at police HQ. When his partner stepped out to get some water, the suspect ambushed the cop, overpowered him, grabbed his gun, shot him dead, and made his (short-lived) escape by jumping out a window.

Now maybe you might be such a big tough guy that no one could do that to you, or that no one would ever think of trying to do that to you, but when handing out advice you need to take into account that all kinds of people might be reading it, including middle-aged or flat out old and puny little wimps.

tomc wrote: In Virginia, if you go into any place that serves alchohol, you cannot carry concealed, but you can open carry.

I would strongly recommend that you do not do this unless you really enjoy having discussions with cops while handcuffed.

ENJOY THE BIKE TRIP!!!!!

1TallTXn wrote:
I'm going to avoid IL. The problem arises in that I want to go through Ohio and West Virginia. Neither of those states honor the TX CHL.
WV allows unlicensed open carry.
OH requires the gun to be out of reach and/or disassembled.
I'm sourcing my info from PDO.

On the bike open carry is going to be a bit interesting. I can stick in on my belt, but my jacket is mostly going to cover it. Not completely, but enough that it might be fuzzy on the "open" part.

My advice would be to avoid open carry no matter what the law appears to say. Many states have laws that APPEAR TO allow for open carry. But actual "tolerance" for open carry in real life can vary widely from place to place. In some states, open carry in rural areas is common and accepted. In others, it is not. And in urban areas in many states, open carry is rare and many people, including police, may not be aware that it is technically "legal".

So what happens in real life is that the PD gets a "man with a gun" call and you end up debating the law with them at the side of the road, with your gun confiscated (even if only temporarily) and your hands on the trunk of a police cruiser or cuffed.

They may well know the law better than you do. In some jurisdictions, there is case law establishing that if the sight of your openly carried gun causes some nearby "sheeple" to become upset, you can be booked on disorderly conduct.

It is very hard to have full knowledge of these things for all of the unfamiliar territiry you will encounter on a long trip. You could call the state and/or local PD or sheriff's dept. for the places along your expected route through WV. You may or may not get accurate information even then.

And I wouldn't depend on PDO to keep me out of jail.

My main point is, who needs all that unpleasantness? You're on a motorcycle vacation. ENJOY THE RIDE!!!

Bottom line: It says here to avoid the hassle and when in OH and WV, just unload the gun and lock it up in a hard sided case or saddlebag. With any luck, you will live through the experience and have a great trip.

1TallTXn wrote:Reading the OH code I'm more confused then I was before.

(C)(1) This section does not apply to any of the following:
(b) Any person who is employed in this state, who is authorized to carry concealed weapons.................

IANAL. But if I had a nickel for every gun owner who fancied himself a lawyer, even an expert in constitutional law, and attempted to determine what their "rights" were by reading a section of law, I could easily retire in comfort.

And most of those gun owners, if they actually acted on their dubious legal theories, would be rotting away in various state or county lockups.

I have no idea what the passage you quote means, and I would submit that you don't either. But I would guess that it probably doesn't mean what you would like it to mean. ("Authorized to carry concealed weapons..." probably doesn't mean, ".....by some other state", or, "...by Texas.", or, "....by my cousin Fred who owns the bar I work at." )

If so, we would have reciprocity with them. Since we don't, it probably means something else, like maybe, "authorized to carry concealed weapons by some Ohio state or local government entity that has the legal authority to grant such authorization."

But that's just a guess on my part.

And without knowledge of any established case law that may exist, the law could easily mean something vastly different than the way it seems to read to laymen such as us.

The best policy I can suggest for a long trip through multiple jurisdictions where one's knowledge of the law may be incomplete is to abide by the reciprocity info given on the TX DPS website.

If we have reciprocity with a given state, carry concealed with confidence. If we don't, pack your handgun for "transport" - i.e. unloaded and in some kind of locked case, and ride with confidence.

Enjoy your trip! I ride myself, and I wish I could go on a run like you are describing.

Maybe someday......

Avoid IL. Every other place on your list should work out fine. Just stay concealed and make sure you don't violate any local (state) laws referring to carrying while drinking and/or while in bars or restaurants that also serve alcohol. (I don't know what they might happen to be. You need to look them up.)

Have a good time!