Grass Roots North Carolina, P.O. Box 10684, Raleigh, NC 27605
919-664-8565,
www.grnc.org, GRNC Alert Hotline: (919) 562-4137
GRNC Alert 10-09-05:
Charlotte Ordinance Threatens Your Rights
We informed you Friday of a sneak attack on your right to self-protection planned by the Charlotte City Council in collaboration with the administration of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department. Briefly recapping; on Monday, October 10, 2005, the City Council of Charlotte, NC will entertain an ordinance to ban the open display of firearms in public. The proposal, being pushed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief of Police, will be discussed at the dinner briefing held at 5:00 pm at the Conference Center, immediately prior to the 7:00 pm council meeting in Room 267 at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth Street. The proposed ordinance is patterned after a similar ordinance passed 12 years ago in Chapel Hill, NC. The Chapel Hill ordinance bans the display of handguns on public streets and sidewalks and allows police to charge the offender with a misdemeanor.
You may be saying, "But I only carry concealed, why should I care," or "a responsible citizen keeps his firearm properly concealed," or simply "why would anybody need to carry in the open." All good questions, so why should you care?
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE!
What about the jewelry store that has been robbed multiple times culminating in the murder of an employee. Is the owner a criminal for now walking about his shop--where there are hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of diamonds temptingly in glass cases--with a pistol strapped to his side in plain view. What of the liquor store owner who now arms his clerks--after training and range time--because his store, in a bad part of town, had been robbed weekly and one of his employees beaten nearly to death by a couple of crack addicts? Is he wrong to do this? While inside his store, the owner is fine, but once he steps onto the sidewalk to go to his car, he would be in violation of the law. Should these people only be allowed to protect their lives by deterring these crimes if they have attended the Police Academy? Should an insurance agent who has had to visit a client in the evening and is now driving home late through a gang controlled neighborhood not be allowed to lay his personal protection weapon on the seat, in full compliance with long standing current laws?
You might be thinking that you aren't in any of those professions and only carry concealed anyway, how could it impact you? Good question! What if you wish to enter an establishment or government office where you are not allowed to carry your legally concealed self-protection handgun? If you are like a number of law-abiding citizens, you first secure it in the trunk of your car. What if someone sees it and reports you? No big deal right? You didn't "brandish" it or point it at anyone. Currently you would be right. Under this new ordinance, you would now be a criminal just because someone saw it!
Perhaps, you are headed to your local indoor firing range for a little practice. What if your neighbor from a "safe," "gun-free" large city elsewhere sees you and doesn't approve. In accordance with the instructions of the various gun-control organizations decides to be a "good citizen." This could lead to, not only, a knock on the door, but also to a little ride in the back of a shiny new police car. But this wouldn't happen, right? How often have you watched one of those real cops shows or read an article where the officers expressed sorrow about having to "do our job" and arrest someone who didn't mean to do anything wrong, but "he did break the law."
Finally, it is our sincere hope that you never have to draw your weapon in defense of your life or family, but if you should, could this mean that you are now in violation because you publicly "displayed" your weapon?
The Real Question --FOR WHAT REASON?
Now, this raises a question; what necessitates this new ordinance. Have there been roving bands of armed citizens terrorizing the city; any quick draw shootouts at high noon on Main Street? To answer this question we simply need to examine the words of the police representatives. Police attorney, Mark Newbold reports that there have been no altercations involving violence or injury. The Charlotte Observer reported, the police "recently received several reports of people walking around uptown, wearing guns openly, said Mark Newbold, a police attorney. No one was threatening anyone with the weapons, police said. And officers checked out the calls, making sure felons weren't carrying the guns."
In short the police are getting nuisance calls from anti-gun do-gooders who are either afraid of their own shadows or simply disapproved of what they saw. Once they arrive, the police administrators are annoyed that there is nothing they can do about this because the subjects of this harassment have broken no laws. So the obvious solution is to make YOU more arrestable.
Heaven forbid that this should happen in Charlotte, but one only has to look at events down in New Orleans following the hurricane and in Los Angeles after the Rodney King verdict to understand what can happen in a larger city when there is civil breakdown. In both situations the police were forced to stand back until the anarchy subsided to some extent before they could begin to restore order. During the Los Angeles riots, a number of Asian storeowners defended their property with so-called "assault rifles" against the mobs. Their families survived and their properties remained intact. However, what is less widely reported is the fact that many of them were later prosecuted on "weapons violations" after being identified in news footage as they stood their ground with the police nowhere to be seen. Should this kind of scenario occur in Charlotte, would you be prosecuted if you "displayed" your weapon in the defense of your home?
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
- Use our auto-emailer to contact the members of the Charlotte City Council:
http://www.grnc.org/alerts/email10_9_05a.htm
Alternate (mostly for AOL users)
http://www.grnc.org/alerts/email10_9_05b.htm
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Dear [Council Member]:
There is no need for an ordinance to ban the display of firearms in the City of Charlotte. This has never been a problem and Charlotte-Mecklenburg police attorney; Mark Newbold admits that there is no problem now. This is simply a tool that will be used to harass the honest citizens who simply wish to keep themselves safe from those the police should be focusing their attentions on. With violent crime increasing in Charlotte, that is where police should be concentrating their energies.
Criminals ignore laws and will not be deterred by any such frivolous ordinance. This will only serve to turn many law-abiding citizens into criminals, all for the sake of pleasing those who are ignorant of both firearms and southern customs. I will be watching this very closely via Grass Roots North Carolina alerts and demand that you take whatever steps necessary to prevent this from becoming law now or anytime in the future. I am prepared to cast my vote for your opponent in the upcoming or future election should my demand not be taken seriously.
Also consider that I will refrain from doing any business in Charlotte and will spend my money in other communities if I am denied the right to protect myself in your city.
Sincerely,
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- Show up Monday, 10/10/2005 at 4:45pm at Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth Street, Room 267. We MUST have a sizeable presence to let them know this is a critical issue.
http://www.grnc.org/alerts/600EFourthStreet.htm
Please note: Firearms are NOT allowed in Charlotte City Government buildings. You must be UNARMED while on city property.
CITY CONTACTS
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Mayor Patrick McCrory (R)
[email protected]
http://patmccrory.com/
1412-B East Boulevard, Suite 167
Charlotte, NC 28203
704-307-1244
Mayor Pro Tem Patrick De`Angelo Cannon
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Address: 15972 Cumnor Lane, Charlotte, NC 28277-2062
Phone: 704-890-1835
Fax: 704-527-2704
Council At Large:
Pat Mumford (R)
E-mail:
[email protected]
Address: 2208 Dilworth Road West, Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: 704-358-1689
Fax: 704-358-4202
Susan Burgess (D)
Address: 1333 Carlton Avenue
Charlotte, NC 28203
Phone: 704-333-2874
Email:
[email protected]
John Lassiter (R)
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 704-542-1426
Address: 2632 Winding Oak Dr.
Charlotte, NC 28270
District 1
Patsy Kinsey (D)
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 704-376-5367
Address: 2334 Greenway Ave.
Charlotte, NC 28204
District 2
James Mitchell, Jr. (D)
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Address: 3425 Valerie Drive
Charlotte, NC 28216
Phone: 704-398-9480
Cell: 704-577-3349
Fax: 704-398-9479
District 3
Warren Turner (D)
Email:
[email protected]
Phone: 704-713-0452
Address: P.O. Box 35465
Charlotte, NC 28231
District 4
Gregory Phipps (D)
Email:
[email protected]
Address: 2307 Kersey Court, Charlotte, NC 28213
Phone: 704-596-9602
District 5
Nancy G. Carter (D)
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Address: 1401 Cavendish Court, Charlotte, NC 28211
Phone: 704-336-3431
Fax: 704-770-0189
District 6
John H. Tabor (R)
E-mail:
[email protected]
Address: 2425 Sharon Road, Charlotte, NC 28211
Phone: 704-362-1700
District 7
Don Lochman (R)
E-Mail:
[email protected]
Address: 6915 Linkside Court, Charlotte, NC 28277
Phone: 704-846-6976
Fax: 704-814-4036
