NC Rifle and Pistol

[jeepinbanditrider]

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Directly from their FAQ section

Q: I don't want to get a Concealed Handgun Permit; I just want to carry a gun openly in a holster. Is this legal?
A: In North Carolina there is no State law specifically prohibiting the open carry of firearms. Under the theory that if it isn't specifically prohibited it's not illegal, open carry is possible. There are some glaring exceptions to this. They are:

1. Private property owners and businesses can post "no guns."
2. Firearms are strictly prohibited on state-owned property, except rest areas and state lands where hunting is permitted.
3. Local governments can (and do) enact prohibitions against "display of firearms" in cities and/or specific areas within cities or counties, which means they can't be visible. Under this statute there is absolutely no requirement for the city or county to post notice of the display ban.
4. Local governments can (and do) enact firearms bans on local government property and in parks and recreational areas.
5. Any federally-owned property or federally-regulated property like banks and Post Offices is of course a prohibited area.
6. Much of the Outer Banks is "National Seashore," and firearms are prohibited in those areas.

So in theory that leaves everywhere else in the state - except for one more thing. There is a common-law offense in NC called "going armed to the terror of the people." Basically what this means is that if someone sees you carrying a firearm and calls the police to report "person with a gun," you can be charged with this offense. It's not often used in rural areas, but has been used in populated areas. If you are an out-of-state visitor who is not here lawfully hunting or engaged in some overt firearms-related event such as a competition, it will be hard to talk your way out of it.

So is open carry legal in NC? In theory, yes. In practice, maybe. It seems to us like a very good way to get arrested.

All I ask is help with flooding their e-mail to get them to change their attitude and openly support OCing.



Who's in?


For an assosiation that is directly affliated with the NRA they don't seem to have a firm grasp on the OC concept and the actuall way that the "going to the terror of the public" law is applied.

 

[Citizen]

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Flooding e-mail is a forceful tactic. I think you would get further with some individual contacts. Persuade folks, as opposed to overwhelm with voume.

 

[jeepinbanditrider]

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eh I guess. Maybea lot of e-mails about he legality of carrying and talking to them about changing their stance on the subject?

 

[jeepinbanditrider]

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This is the e-mail I sent to the NCRPA

Good Afternoon,
I am sending this to your web master because your "feedback" page has been down for a while now. I feel compelled to ask about your standing on Open Carry in this state. I make the assumption from you "FAQ" section that you do not support our legal right to open carry

"
Q: I don't want to get a Concealed Handgun Permit; I just want to carry a gun openly in a holster. Is this legal?
A: In North Carolina there is no State law specifically prohibiting the open carry of firearms. Under the theory that if it isn't specifically prohibited it's not illegal, open carry is possible. There are some glaring exceptions to this. They are:

1. [*]Private property owners and businesses can post "no guns." [*]Firearms are strictly prohibited on state-owned property, except rest areas and state lands where hunting is permitted. [*]Local governments can (and do) enact prohibitions against "display of firearms" in cities and/or specific areas within cities or counties, which means they can't be visible. Under this statute there is absolutely no requirement for the city or county to post notice of the display ban. [*]Local governments can (and do) enact firearms bans on local government property and in parks and recreational areas. [*]Any federally-owned property or federally-regulated property like banks and Post Offices is of course a prohibited area. [*]Much of the Outer Banks is "National Seashore," and firearms are prohibited in those areas.

So in theory that leaves everywhere else in the state - except for one more thing. There is a common-law offense in NC called "going armed to the terror of the people." Basically what this means is that if someone sees you carrying a firearm and calls the police to report "person with a gun," you can be charged with this offense. It's not often used in rural areas, but has been used in populated areas. If you are an out-of-state visitor who is not here lawfully hunting or engaged in some overt firearms-related event such as a competition, it will be hard to talk your way out of it.
[font="Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica"]So is open carry legal in NC? In theory, yes. In practice, maybe. It seems to us like a very good way to get arrested."
[/font]
[font="Trebuchet MS, Arial, Helvetica"] I am confused here as if you happened to be arrested while Open Carrying (assuming you weren't acting like a moron) the police or Sheriff's Department wouldn't have a legal leg to stand on. Open Carry is perfectly legal and has been upheld in North Carolina Supreme Court decisions.

As for the "going to the terror of the public" common law charge that you brought up it is very unlikely that a person carrying openly in a holster would ever be charged with this offense. If someone sees you carrying and calls the police that is not enough evidence to convict you of that charge.

Here is the wording of the law:
[/font]Going Armed to the Terror of the Public

This is a common law offense (272 N.C. 535; 32 N.C. App 495).

A person guilty of this offense

(1) arms himself or herself with unusual and dangerous weapons (firearm)

(2) for the purpose of terrifying others

(3) and goes about on public highways

(4) in a manner to cause terror to others.

In order to be charged with this offense a person MUST be meeting all four conditions.

I personally thought that an organization such as your affiliated with the NRA would be more up-to-date with issues such as this, AND be supportive of it. Open Carry does happen in this state. Myself my wife and other that I know Open Carry on a regular basis, as do many others. Yet one of the most influential 2nd Amendment supporters in the state seems to not support a legal carry option.

If you would like more instances of citizens open carrying please follow the following link:
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/forum41/

Have a nice day,
Cpl. Downs
USMC ACTIVE

Has anyone else sent e-mail yet? I had to send mine to the webmaster as the "feedback" page is currently down. It may just get deleted as spam so I may have to resubmit though the feedback page.

 

[HankT]

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Citizen wrote:

Flooding e-mail is a forceful tactic. I think you would get further with some individual contacts. Persuade folks, as opposed to overwhelm with voume.

Good idea. This is really the same rationale used when I made my communication-basedsuggestions with the MMM meetings subject a couple of months ago...

How come you can get away with such common sense suggestions, Citizen?

 

[jeepinbanditrider]

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My first e-mail didn't make it though it got "bounced" back to my gmail address. I'm going to try to send it from my work address.


here is the e-mail to the webmaster

webmaster@ncrpa.org



That e-mail bounced back also.Mylandlord is a member of the NCRPA and their newsletter they send out has the e-mails tovarious"high level" members of the NCRPAI'll try to get them and post themup.