"Carrying" a Pistol in a Public Place Includes an Unloaded Pistol That Is In a Secure Case

State v. Larson, Minn.Ct.App., 4/24/2017.  Mr. Larson, who has a valid permit to carry a pistol, went down to the First National Bank Building intending to partake of the shooting range that's in the basement of that building.  He rode downtown to the bank building, got out of the car, walked to the building on a public sidewalk, and went inside.  All the while he was holding a closed gun case which contained an unloaded pistol.  Because it turned out that Mr. Larson was under the influence of alcohol the city prosecutor charged him with carrying a pistol while under the influence of alcohol based on his act of holding the pistol in a case on a public sidewalk.

He moved to dismiss the charge.  He said that the statute did not extend to possession of an unloaded pistol securely enclosed in a gun case.  The trial court disagreed, and the court of appeals affirms.

When the legislature enacted the statute to permit persons to carry pistols in public it excluded a person's ability to do so if that person were under the influence of alcohol.  The statute does not, however, define "carry" so the court hauls out the dictionaries to give it a go:

Because the term “carry” is not a defined statutory term, we first address whether there is an ordinary usage of the word “carry,” which provides the term’s plain meaning. Occhino, 640 N.W.2d at 359. And ordinary usage may be determined with the aid of dictionary definitions. State v. Haywood, 886 N.W.2d 485, 490 (Minn. 2016). Here, “carry” has been defined as “[t]o convey or transport.” Black’s Law Dictionary 257 (10th ed. 2014). It also has the meaning of “[t]o keep or have on one’s person.” The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language 294 (3d ed. 1992). Using these definitions, we conclude that, by its plain meaning, “carry” in Minnesota Statutes section 624.7142, subdivision 1, subsection 4, prohibits transporting a pistol on one’s person while under the influence of alcohol in a public place. Because the statute prohibits carrying “about” the person’s clothes or person, this includes situations in which the pistol is unloaded and in a case. See Minn. Stat. § 624.7142, subd. 1(4). 

The court also points to other statutes where the legislature was more precise in its language.  For instance, there is a statute that prohibits carrying a BB gun, rifle, or shotgun in a public place but expressly provides that "carry" doesn't including toting those weapons around unloaded in a fully enclosed case.  Minn.Stat. 624.7181, subds. 1(b)(2),2.