"A sign without statutory authority doesn't create a criminal prohibition under Idaho's preemption scheme."

This is the part most people get backwards at the LGS counter. A no-guns sticker on a city building doesn't carry the weight of law unless the state gave that entity the authority to restrict carry — and in Idaho, that list is short. You can still be asked to leave private property, but that's a trespass issue, not a criminal carry charge.

"The courthouse prohibition is the one that catches people most often. If you drive to the county courthouse to renew your vehicle registration and you're carrying — that's a problem."

This is worth burning into memory. People think of courthouses as the place you go for court — not for DMV business, not for property records, not for any of the dozen routine errands that happen to land you in that building. The statute doesn't care why you walked in.

"A standard concealed weapons license doesn't get you onto a college campus if the university has adopted firearms regulations. You need an enhanced license for that campus carry protection."

If you've got family at BSU or U of I and you're making the drive to help them move in, this distinction matters in a real and practical way. The enhanced license isn't just a reciprocity upgrade — it's a different tier of carry rights inside Idaho's own borders. The 8-hour live-fire course requirement is reasonable, and frankly if campus carry is part of your life it's worth the Saturday.

"Permitless carry does not override prohibited-place restrictions. Carrying without a permit in a courthouse is still illegal — the permitless carry law only removes the license requirement for otherwise lawful carry in otherwise lawful locations."

This gets glossed over constantly. Constitutional carry is not a blanket pass. The 2016 change removed the license requirement for carry — it didn't erase the prohibited places list. These are two separate parts of the code, and they don't cancel each other out.

For those of you who carry regularly around the Treasure Valley — where have you personally had to think through whether you were legal or not before walking into a government building? Courthouse, school pickup line, anything. Curious what situations actually come up in practice versus what people theorize about.

Read the full article in The Handbook →