Concealed Carry & Home Defense

CCW Weekend: Can You Get In Legal Trouble For Printing?

(Photo by George Frey/Getty Images)

Guns and Gear Contributor
Font Size:

By Sam Hoober, Alien Gear Holsters

One of the most common concerns for people who carry concealed is that of printing, or where an otherwise concealed firearm “prints” through clothing. Look at almost any forum for concealed carry, and you’ll see questions, comments, stories about printing.

It’s natural for people to be concerned about printing – for one, the operative word in concealed carry is “concealed.” Some might also be concerned about what constitutes the differences between mere printing and brandishing, a criminal action in which a person displays a firearm or other weapon to intimidate, harass or otherwise inflict mental distress on a person who wasn’t threatening the brandisher.

Bear in mind, this is not legal advice and one should not construe it as such – this is rather a discussion about the topic.

In many states, the legal difference between concealed and open carry is that open carry must be done so that the firearm is completely, utterly and totally in plain sight at all times. Concealment requires that it be covered or otherwise hidden. Brandishing a weapon is to display a firearm for ill intent, which is different from openly carrying – which is merely carrying a firearm openly for all to see.

Granted, some people might say that open carry is tantamount to brandishing, since the goal is to make sure other see it. That’s a matter of opinion rather than a matter of law for the most part, and frankly, the “open carry vs concealed carry” trope is already a dead horse – no need to kick it further. Those who want to conceal will do so; those who want to open carry will do so.

Where an accidental uncovering of one’s firearm could conceivably land a person in hot water is in states which forbid open carrying. Currently, four states (Florida, Illinois, New York and South Carolina) and the District of Columbia, prohibit open carrying of handguns, though exceptions are made for hunting or whilst at a gun range. California and Oregon generally prohibit open carry except in rural areas.

Since concealment generally requires the firearm to be hidden from view, an uncovering that isn’t attended to might be considered a violation of statutes forbidding open carry. For instance, open carry is legal in Massachusetts but there are a number of cases where otherwise licensed and legal carriers were charged with disturbing the peace or stripped of their licenses for open carrying, as doing so disturbed others.

In these states, a firearm becoming uncovered – which is different than printing – could therefore be construed as a criminal act, since carrying openly is not permitted, even if one has a license.

In most other states, however, it isn’t an issue – since almost all states in the union allow open carry. Many don’t even require a license to do so.

Could printing be construed as brandishing? Anything is possible, and stranger things have certainly happened. However, in order for a person to be engaging in brandishing, they have to be intentionally displaying a firearm with the end goal being to achieve a particular psychological effect.

There aren’t any states that strictly define printing – such as it is – to be brandishing or even a crime.

In truth, a lot of people could probably worry about printing a little less. Excessive concern is especially acute to people who are just starting to carry or have a new holster, gun, or shirt they wear while carrying.

People pay less attention than one imagines they do. A person who is carrying is a bit more sensitive to what it looks like when a gun is tucked under one’s clothes, but the typical person going about their business in Wally World isn’t paying much attention to a couple of contours of your shirt.

Look at the same forums where people discuss the issue – mostly you’ll find experienced daily carriers telling the newbies not to worry so much. If the gun isn’t blatantly obvious in the mirror at home, it’s not going to be that obvious out and about.

Sam Hoober is Contributing Editor for AlienGearHolsters.com, a subsidiary of Hayden, ID, based Tedder Industries, where he writes about gun accessories, gun safety, open and concealed carry tips. Click here to visit aliengearholsters.com.

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel