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Kentucky Gun Laws

Ian McKenzie

New member
Joined
Jan 28, 2013
Messages
1
Location
Lexington, Kentucky, United States
Just wanted to update this thread.

House Bill 500 which amends KRS 65.870 is now in full legal effect. Citations below.

In summary, you can now open carry in nearly any building, even government buildings (with some exceptions) and no local city government may regulate against the law through ordinance. All existing city ordinances contradicting the new law have been struck off the books and "gun free zone" signs have already been removed from many buildings.

"People can now openly carry a firearm in any city-owned facility in Kentucky — including libraries, parks, the zoo, city council chambers and city hall — thanks to a revision made to state law last year."

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/12RS/HB500.htm

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20130124/NEWS01/301240068

http://www.kentucky.com/2013/01/25/2490120/firearms-now-allowed-in-public.html
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
1,692
Location
Louisa, Kentucky
Just wanted to update this thread.

House Bill 500 which amends KRS 65.870 is now in full legal effect. Citations below.

In summary, you can now open carry in nearly any building, even government buildings (with some exceptions) and no local city government may regulate against the law through ordinance. All existing city ordinances contradicting the new law have been struck off the books and "gun free zone" signs have already been removed from many buildings.

Since '84. It has been that way since before I was born.
 

Orion_13

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2013
Messages
71
Location
Paducah, Kentucky, United States
Reading through all the laws listed here and I'm a little confused or maybe I'm not... it is late. Any way, You have "printing" listed as a subject on one of the Conceal Carry laws and then point to a law about Menacing. Is this correct?

508.050 Menacing.
(1) A person is guilty of menacing when he intentionally places another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury.
(2) Menacing is a Class B misdemeanor.

Orion
Semper Gero
 

Hondagirl700

New member
Joined
Feb 10, 2013
Messages
1
Location
KY
Gun Control Bill in KY

Please be aware that serious gun control legislation is being discussed now in Frankfort! I have a pdf released yesterday but can't see a way to attach it here. Contact your State Senator and Representative and let them know your thoughts on this and the other gun control bills now active. Don't let the name fool you...the firearms proposals, if passed, are to start Jan. 1, 2014 or sooner if an emergency is declared...

B 265/LM/CI (BR 905) - M. Marzian, J. Wayne, T. Burch, J. Crenshaw, K. Flood, J. Jenkins, D. Owens, D. Watkins

AN ACT relating to firearms and declaring an emergency.

•Create new sections of KRS Chapter 237 to specify definitions for assault weapons, large-capacity ammunition-feeding devices, and ammunition sellers; require background checks for private firearms sales; require reporting to law enforcement of firearm and ammunition thefts and losses; require the safe storage of firearms;

•amend KRS 395.250 to require an estate's inventory to list each firearm;

•amend KRS 403.735 to require judges when issuing an order of protection to consider whether a person against whom the order is entered should be prohibited from possessing an firearm;

•amend KRS 504.030 to require judges in criminal cases where a person is found guilty by reason of insanity to demand the surrender of the defendant's firearms;

•amend KRS 506.080 to specify that the offense of facilitation includes assistance in providing firearms;

•amend KRS 508.020 to include physical injury to a minor by virtue of the intentional discharge of a firearm within the offense of assault in the second degree; create a new section of KRS Chapter 527 to create the offense of criminal purchase or disposal of a weapon;

•amend KRS 527.040 to require that the sentence for a felon in possession of a firearm run consecutively with any other felony sentence;

•amend KRS 527.070 to include colleges and universities within the existing ban on firearms in schools;

•amend KRS 532.030 to require the judge pronouncing a defendant guilty but mentally ill to demand the surrender of the person's firearms;

•create a new section of KRS Chapter 237 to require the State Police to promulgate administrative regulations relating to the:

• licensing of persons to possess firearms and assault weapons,

•the registration of firearms and assault weapons,

•and the logging of firearms and ammunition sales effective January 1, 2014;

•repeal KRS 65.870; EMERGENCY.

Feb 7-introduced in House

All information contained in this post and all linked documents are to be used ONLY as a starting point to the laws and not as legal advice. It is impossible to cite every law that we, as responsible citizens who carry firearms, may need to know. Always check everything found on the internet for correctness and always check Federal, State, and Local laws.

Kentucky state's constitution protects the "right to bear arms"[+] Kentucky has a statewide preemptive law against local regulations of firearms, so ALL of Kentucky's gun laws should be the same.[+] Local governments can, however, regulate the carrying of CONCEALED deadly weapons in buildings, but not grounds, they own and/or control.[+]. Most of these laws apply equally if you are a resident of Kentucky or not.

CARRY/OWN

[+]237.020 Permit to own: No

[+]237.110 Permit to carry: Not openly

[+]527.100 Minimum age to OC: 18 for both handguns and long guns

[+]237.060 Loaded Carry: Yes, even without a permit. Loaded is defined as a round in the chamber (or cylinder) or rounds in a magazine attached to the firearm.

[+]527.100 Minimum age to own a firearm: 18 for both handguns and long guns that are not an NFA firearm.

[..]Registration of firearms: No

[..]Person to Person sale: Legal as long as they can legally own the firearm AND it is an instate sale (KY citizen selling to a KY citizen in KY). Background check is not required.

[+]527.020(8) Transport: Loaded or unloaded. In plain view or in any compartment installed by the original manufacturer.

[+]503.055 Castle Law: Yes

[+]503.080 Duty to retreat: No

[..]Must inform: No

[+]526.010 Record police: Yes, one party consent.

[+]244.125 Carrying in a bar: Unloaded and unconcealed only.

[+]244.125 Restaurant carry (as opposed to a bar): Yes, loaded if desired. It must make more than 50% of its earnings on FOOD and has at least 50 seats in the dining facility.

[+]Signs having weight of law: No, but if a prohibited place fails to post you're still in violation if you carry.

[+]237.106 Able to keep firearms at work: Yes, in your vehicle.

[+]527.070 Able to keep firearms at school(k-12): Only stored in your vehicle during drop off and pick up.

CONCEAL CARRY
Since the introduction of 527.020(9) it is legal to carry a concealed deadly weapon in a select few circumstances. This includes carrying at your place of business if you are the sole owner of said business, or on property owned or leased by you, your spouse, your parent your grandparent or child with their permission.

[+]237.110 Permit to carry concealed: Yes, CCDW or CDWL. I have heard it either way.

[+]237.110 Minimum age to apply for a CCDW: 21

[+]237.110 [+]500.080 Legal to carry concealed: Any deadly weapon including, but not limited to, firearms, knifes, metal knuckles, billy club.

[+]237.110(20)(a) Honors all states conceal carry permits.

[+]KY state police.org States that honor KY CCDW: AL, AK, AR, AZ, CO, DE, FL, GA, ID, IA, IN, KS, LA, MI, MN, MS, MO, MT, NE, NV, NH, NM, NC, ND, OH, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, TX, UT, VA, VT, WV, WI, WY. Some states may honor a KY CCDW permit but restrict carry to only handguns, all states listed are subject to their own laws. You must follow the laws of the state that you're in. RI and US Virgin Islands may honor with additional restrictions.

[+]508.050 Printing: Displaying a firearm in itself isn't a crime.

[+]527.020 Transport: With a permit you can have it anywhere in the vehicle.

[+]237.110 Places you cannot legally conceal: Police/Sheriff dept, detention facility, Court of Justice, government meeting, bar, any place where carrying of firearms are prohibited by federal law and any place that has an ordinance by 237.110.

[+]237.115 No criminal penalty shall attach to carrying a concealed firearm or other deadly weapon with a permit at any location at which an unconcealed firearm or other deadly weapon may be constitutionally carried.

[+]237.110 A CCDW holder must carry the permit at all times he/she is conceal carrying. Failure to provide CCDW at the request of a LEO is a non criminal $25 fine without court cost.

Misc Laws

[+]519.020 Obstructing: A person is guilty of obstructing governmental operations when he intentionally obstructs, impairs or hinders the performance of a governmental function by using or threatening to use violence, force or physical interference.

[+]525.60 Disorderly Conduct: A person is guilty of disorderly conduct in the second degree when in a public place and with intent to cause public inconvenience, annoyance, or alarm, or wantonly creating a risk thereof, he engages in fighting or in violent, tumultuous, or threatening behavior; makes unreasonable noise; refuses to obey an official order to disperse issued to maintain public safety in dangerous proximity to a fire, hazard, or other emergency; or creates a hazardous or physically offensive condition by any act that serves no legitimate purpose.

[+]525.30 Cruelty to an animal does not apply to:
Killing of a aggressive animal in self defense/ defense of another or in defense of a domesticated animal.

[+]Criminal Trespass in a building open to the public only when a lawful order, "personally communicated", by the owner or anyone with authority to do so. Signs do not hold weight of law in this case.

Court Cases / Opinions

Holland v Commonwealth- reinforces our right to open carry.
AGO 96-39-- Limits governments Authority in Parks
AGO 96-40-- Collage University Carry

Documents

OneBadUnit's Kentucky and Ohio trifold (04.02.12)

Statesman's View attachment 8275 (04.02.12)

Sundiver's View attachment 8276 (04.02.12)

Common acronyms

CC- Concealed Carry
CDWL- Concealed Deadly Weapon License
CCDW- Carry Concealed Deadly Weapon; Concealed Carry Deadly Weapon
DC- Disorderly Conduct
LAC- Law abiding Citizen
LEA- Law Enforcement Agency
LEO- Law Enforcement Officer
LR- Long Rifle
NFA-National Firearm Act
OC- Open Carry
OCDO- opencarry.org (Open Carry Dot Org)
P2P- Person to Person
RAS-Reasonable Articulable Suspicion
RKBA- Right to Keep and Bear Arms
SHTF- Sh!t Hit the fan


Please post something if I missed it, or if I have incorrect information/cites.

I would like for a mod to make this a sticky- Thanks Grapeshot! I think this would really help the new people or people trying to travel through/to our state. I didn't even look to see if there was a thread like this, I assumed if their was then it would already be a sticky.

Edit: I hope this makes it easier to get the info you want/need.

Edit: I would like more court cases/opinions that reinforce our rights and cites for things already posted if you know where I can get them. I don't want anyone to take my word for it because I do make mistakes.
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
1,692
Location
Louisa, Kentucky
Reading through all the laws listed here and I'm a little confused or maybe I'm not... it is late. Any way, You have "printing" listed as a subject on one of the Conceal Carry laws and then point to a law about Menacing. Is this correct?

508.050 Menacing.
(1) A person is guilty of menacing when he intentionally places another person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury.
(2) Menacing is a Class B misdemeanor.

Orion
Semper Gero

Sorry about not replying sooner.

Printing is your firearm visible through your clothes. Most states printing isn't illegal within itself but they like to use laws such as brandishing or menacing to make it illegal.

You have to understand how difficult this was to prepare, I couldn't just find one law to say "Hey, this is legal because KRS XXX.XXX(X) says it is." Because laws don't (and shouldn't) work that way. I had to find the most relevant statute and then ask myself, does this apply to this situation.
 

self preservation

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2012
Messages
1,036
Location
Owingsville,KY
Sorry about not replying sooner.

Printing is your firearm visible through your clothes. Most states printing isn't illegal within itself but they like to use laws such as brandishing or menacing to make it illegal.

You have to understand how difficult this was to prepare, I couldn't just find one law to say "Hey, this is legal because KRS XXX.XXX(X) says it is." Because laws don't (and shouldn't) work that way. I had to find the most relevant statute and then ask myself, does this apply to this situation.

Depending on how the law makers vote, you may have to redo this whole thread.
 

Orion_13

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 5, 2013
Messages
71
Location
Paducah, Kentucky, United States
Sorry about not replying sooner.

Printing is your firearm visible through your clothes. Most states printing isn't illegal within itself but they like to use laws such as brandishing or menacing to make it illegal.

You have to understand how difficult this was to prepare, I couldn't just find one law to say "Hey, this is legal because KRS XXX.XXX(X) says it is." Because laws don't (and shouldn't) work that way. I had to find the most relevant statute and then ask myself, does this apply to this situation.

Please don't take what I said as criticism because it isn't intended that way at all. I'm just trying to understand it all.

Orion
 

rctrucker

New member
Joined
May 16, 2013
Messages
1
Location
Glasgow
I looked through this post and the attached KRS articles but I did not see anything pertaining to OC being loaded or not. I know other states require you to have your OC firearm unloaded and/or unchambered, requiring you keep your ammunition in a seperate pocket not attached to the gun. I would like to know about this for both handguns and rifles.

Am I missing this in writing somewhere? I would like to be sure before I OC in KY, as I have only lived hear for a year or two and it was very clear in my last state.

Thanks for maintaining this thread!
 

self preservation

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2012
Messages
1,036
Location
Owingsville,KY
I looked through this post and the attached KRS articles but I did not see anything pertaining to OC being loaded or not. I know other states require you to have your OC firearm unloaded and/or unchambered, requiring you keep your ammunition in a seperate pocket not attached to the gun. I would like to know about this for both handguns and rifles.

Am I missing this in writing somewhere? I would like to be sure before I OC in KY, as I have only lived hear for a year or two and it was very clear in my last state.

Thanks for maintaining this thread!

Not at all. It doesn't exist. So therefore you can do it. For everyday OC you can have a round chambered. I know some states have laws that don't let you have a live round in the pipe. Lucky for us, KY wanted us to have more than expensive paper weights.
 

kyboy4u

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
12
Location
Campbellsville, ky
fair

I understand the current standings of the KY state fair regulation, do these also apply to county fairs? I was asked to leave by a National guard member, but was already heading to my truck so I did not question him.
 

09jisaac

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 13, 2011
Messages
1,692
Location
Louisa, Kentucky
I understand the current standings of the KY state fair regulation, do these also apply to county fairs? I was asked to leave by a National guard member, but was already heading to my truck so I did not question him.

I would have questioned him. I would have found something else to be doing at the fair if someone without any authority asked me to leave.
 

kyboy4u

Regular Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2013
Messages
12
Location
Campbellsville, ky
Would this have anything to do with posse comitatus?


The way I understand it, posse comitatus does not apply to the National guard acting as law enforcement in their home state. Other than that I am ignorant to the amount of authority they have, thus why im here seeking advice. I plan to return tomorrow and will be oc as usual. Thanks for any help.
 

poetdante

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2014
Messages
449
Location
Louisville, KY
Is it legal to CC in a business that has more than 50% of it's sales from alcohol? I know there was a law prohibiting it but didn't SB100 (I think) pass saying you could carry as long as you weren't drinking?
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2014
Messages
7
Location
Kentucky
I can't seem to find this info so can someone let me know?

If I were gifted a hand gun:
Is it now Legally mine?
Do I need to register the gun or obtain any other certification or license?


When open carrying, when is the gun considered concealed?
Does the whole gun need to be displayed at all times? Or can one use an inside the waste band holster? If my winter coat were to fall over half of the exposed gun would I then be in violation of the law?
 
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