I was told that you have to have a concealed carry permit to carry a loaded handgun, even if it's not concealed. Is this true?

Depends on what state you reside in.

In my state, you can carry a loaded handgun on your person as long as its not concealed, without any permit.

Idaho is simular. Here you need a hunting license to carry any kind of weapon unless your law enforcement. You can carry concealed anywhere outside any city limits with a hunting license. To carry concealed in town you need a concealed carry permit.

As noted above, laws vary tremendously from state to state. One of the best resources for looking at firearms law is packing.org.

The NRA-ILA web site (http://www.nraila.org/gunlaws/) has a list of laws.

...are oppressive and are about to get worse unless everyone gun-owning American gets up off the armchair and votes this Nov. 7th.

EMC2

this site my friend set up is really good too, better than packing.org because you don't have to wait forever to things to appear

http://www.handgunlaw.us/

You guys think you got it tough with gun laws...try living in Canada...if youve been divorced...lost your job...or gone bankrupt in the last 5 years...you need 2 letters of reference from..."qualified people"...

Welcome to the forum!

Maybe it's time you consider moving south, we need all the help we can get!

Welcome to the forum!

Maybe it's time you consider moving south, we need all the help we can get!

I cant move south any further...i am about 25 miles from the Canada/USA border...and "Homeland Insecurity" has deemed me "An unacceptable risk to the health and saftey of the USA and its citizens"...besides...i have trophy whitetail hunters comming to stay with me for the next 10 days...