Hoover Dam

I know I can't carry my gun at Hoover Dam.  I was there 3 years ago and we were checked by security but we were in a rental and did not have a gun.  My question: can the gun be concealed in the car or is that also illegal?  I can always leave in in the hotel that day.  Thanks!

You already know that you can't carry a gun into the Visitor Center or on dam tours (which aren't available now anyway). The issue of carrying a gun in your vehicle was even more significant before they built the bypass, as the dam structure, which you had to drive across, is federal property.

When you park in one of the designated lots, you are at a Bureau of Reclamation facility (Department of the Interior). BoR facilities do not allow firearms except for the express purpose of hunting or target practice, which have to be allowed via a permitting process. The approach to the parking lots on the Nevada or Arizona sides involves crossing through BoR land even if you don't go across the dam itself.

So while there's probably relatively little risk, if your car got stopped and searched while on BoR land, you could be subject to a substantial fine and/or arrest. So, why risk it? It's not like you're going to need to kill anybody on your sightseeing tour. Just leave it back in the hotel.

(Taking advantage of your proximity to Lake Mead to throw the damn thing in the lake would be the absolute best option, but maybe that's littering.)

Addendum: a major reason why Hoover Dam security has been so tight is fears of terrorist threats (any damage to or destruction of the dam would cost billions of dollars and could kill thousands of people). So, it's probably one of the absolute worst places to bring a gun even if it was perfectly legal. Security there borders on the paranoid.

Thanks for the info on the legality of the concealed gun.  Yes, those security officers were very intimidating last time we came through.  I appreciated the explanation but not the editorial.  But that appears to be the content of this forum.  Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  I'll carry where allowed by law and protect myself and family.  

SPretire, trust me.  Kevin doesn't believe that you're entitled to an opinion that differs from his.

You feel the need to carry a gun everywhere?   

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No one can trust you about anything, and in stating my opinion, I never said that the OP or anyone else wasn't entitled to disagree with me.

The simple facts are that carrying/having a gun, on your person, in your car, or in your home, dramatically increases the chance of you or a family member being killed or injured. But I do realize that it makes people feel "safe." It's more of a fetish than any kind of actual safety measure, especially since it actually makes you less safe.

There are two reasons for this. One, the vast majority of people don't store/safeguard their guns properly. If the OP keeps his gun "handy" (where he could presumably lunge for it at a moment's notice if he felt threatened), then it's not stored safely in his car. Two, people aren't trained for violent confrontations with lethal weapons. In a tense situation/crisis, whippin' out the ol' shootin' iron is much more likely to escalate than de-escalate the situation. When untrained amateurs try to use firearms in a confrontation, people die.

I realize that this contradicts gun fetishism and manly man cowboy myth. But in today's post-Wild West world, a cell phone, first aid kit, and emergency flares in your car are much more likely to save your life and the lives of your family than a substitute penis, er, sorry, gun is. And your five-year-old chiid is unlikely to kill or injure himself if he rummages around and finds your first aid kit.

About a year ago, our self proclaimed gun expert Kevin suggested that a cop should have shot the gun out of a bad guy's hand instead of killing him.  Kevin obviously gained his vast knowledge of guns and shooting skills from watching Hollywood movies.

Spretire22 seems satisfied with his own answer:  he will "carry where allowed by law and protect myself and family."

Yet, I don't see the answer regarding a gun being "concealed in the car" in the parking lot at Hoover Dam.  Spretire22 already experienced one "search" of his vehicle there.  The searchers were "pretty intimidating", which suggests to me they don't want no 'stinking' guns (LOL, movie quote) on the premises, concealed or not.  But I didn't see that specifically answered yes or no, even in Kevin's informative "editorial."

Assuming a gun was locked in a proper box in the trunk, or inside the car, or in the glove box, and/or if Spretire 22 declared the gun present before the start of the search, would that satisfy the searchers?

Candy