[hunter1660]

WHERE CAN I KEEP MY GUN IN MY CAR?

This is a question commonly asked, but rarely able to be answered. You may keep, with or without a license, a firearm in your "private conveyance", otherwise known as a vehicle. Fl. Stat. s. 790.251(5) states "it is lawful and is not a violation of s. 790.01 for a person 18 years of age or older to possess a concealed firearm or other weapon for self-defense or other lawful purpose within the interior of a private conveyance, without a license, if the firearm or other weapon is securely encased or is otherwise not readily accessible for immediate use." The important, and most often misunderstood, parts of this provision are the phrases "securely encased" and "not readily accessible". "Securely encased" means in a glove compartment, whether or not locked; snapped in a holster; in a gun case, whether or not locked; in a zippered gun case; orin a closed box or container which requires a lid or cover to be opened for access. Fl. Stat. 790.001(17) (emphasis added). An important note in the list underlined previously is that whatever you keep your gun in it must be closed but not necessarily locked. Now, there is the second option of storing your gun in your vehicle where it is not "readily accessible for immediate use". "readily accessible for immediate use" is when "a firearm or other weapon is carried on the person or within such close proximity and in such a manner that it can be retrieved and used as easily and quickly as if carried on the person." Fl. Stat. 7903001(16). Keep in mind, this statute does not require you to carry your firearm securely encased and not readily accessible for immediate use; the statute states that either way is lawful. Also, if you do have a concealed carry license, remember, that you can carry it in any place but for those listed previously.