Open carry in North Carolina?

[Zach S]

I was basicly told that you're not breaking any laws, untill someone calls the police.

 

[LAR-15]

Was it a law enforcement officer who told you?

Thanks

 

[ChristopherG]

It was a LEO who told me that same basic thing, when conducting my CCW class. I suspect if you surveyed LEO's in NC on the legality of open carry and the 'going armed' law, you'd get a disturbingly vague and inconsistent set of responses.

 

[hammer4nc]

Lar-15...my information came from local police, off the record.

 

[Waitone]

Ambiguity of NC gun laws in general was the specific reason I obtained a CCH permit. I just did not want to be at the mercy of an ill-informed ossifer of the law.

 

[Phetro]

You can be arrested for being a smart aleck, too, but that does not mean it will stick. Unless someone posts an appellate case supporitng their position, I would not be too quick to simply accept the proposition that a gun in a holster carried peacefully is a crime in NC.

"going armed to the terror of the people" must have a reasonableness component, viewed on an objective, not a subjective basis.

With that having been said, I have performed no research on the subject, but I have performed enough research on other states (like louisiana and Colorado) to dispel similar internet rumors that people just accepted as the law.

It is highly unlikely that peaceful carry in a holster satisifies the elements of this crime.

Common sense at its finest. Shame on the meek, the sheep, scared of being arrested for perfectly harmless open carry, but even worse than that: advising others to share in their fear.

 

[ChristopherG]

Shame on the meek, the sheep, scared of being arrested for perfectly harmless open carry, but even worse than that: advising others to share in their fear.

Not sure of your tone here, Phetro, or exactly what you're trying to say.

The question was "can you be arrested for open carry in NC?" Those of us who've lived there and talked to LEO about it and perhaps done it ourselves on occassion (as opposed to reading on the internet about doing it in other states) seem to be largely of the opinion that the answer is, "yes, in some circumstances, you probably can."

Are you suggesting that answer is cowardly?

 

[LAR-15]

Hammer,

thanks

 

[CAPTAIN MIKE]

It's High Time for a TEST

The folks in Nawth Cao'linah could pick up some tips from the Virginia Citizens Self Defense League. I do believe that unless the law is tested with a case, it will just lie there on the books, ready to be abused against anyone exercising the 2nd Amendment right to BEAR their sidearm. However if a NC resident takes part in Open Carry and is arrested on that statute alone, there would be a clear case on which the NRA-ILA, Gun Owners of America or some other 2A RKBA organization could build both a public relations campaign and mount a courtroom assault to overturn the statute as being Un-constitutional.

'Sides - that there dern law is written with language just like it was IM-ported by the doll-garn Carpetbaggers after the War of Northern Aggression. It just plain needs to "GIT"

 

[Waitone]

Common sense at its finest. Shame on the meek, the sheep, scared of being arrested for perfectly harmless open carry, but even worse than that: advising others to share in their fear.

Let us talk common sense. The law is vague permitting considerable windage to be applied by the ossifer making the call or the DA doing whatever it is DA's do in NC. Yeah, you can make a spirited defense and, yeah, you may (or may not) prevail. Yeah, you might actually come out looking good in the media. One thing is guaranteed. You will be expending your resources fighting a battle. Don't know about you but my resources are not sufficiently deep to clarify law over which I have no concern.

Put another way, "Open carry in NC is not a hill I am willing to die on". Other issues are far more important to me. Cowardice? I think not. I would rather pick and choose my fights expending my resources in battles with a high probability of enhancing my life, liberty or property.

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

Anybody?

I posted almost a week ago requesting that somebody give a cite to an appellate court decision upholding an arrest for merely carrying openly in a holster.

Nobody has yet done so.

How many people have viewed this thread?

Spreading internet rumor should not substitute for fact.


The simple answer to the question is that you can be arrested for anything, anywhere, anytime, by anyone. I think the real question is whether the arrest is lawful. So far, in multiple pages in this thread, nobody has posted any authority for concluding that such an arrest is lawful.

Please stop the internet rumors. What you heard third hand from your cousin's college roommate who was an LEO in NC at one time really is not the law.

If you have legal authority - state it.

 

[Gray Peterson]

and I've posted plenty of authority saying otherwise.

NC OpenCarry.org thread on this issue

Another NC Open Carry Thread

Here's the one with the case law

The particular case is State v. Kerner which upholds the right of open carry originally, and it was upheld in State v. Dawson in 1968. Chapel Hill has a city ordinance against open carrying of smaller handguns. I don't have the language of the ordinance, and it's of questionable legality due to the preemption statute (which I have not read yet).

EDIT: Found it

North Carolina's Preemption Statute

 

[Malum Prohibitum]

OK, Lonnie, you threw me for a loop. I thought when you said "otherwise," that you were disagreeing with me. I started reading your links, and I was finding info saying it was ok to carry openly, and I was just about to post a snide response when I re-read your post and realized you were making my point.


Good stuff.

 

[Gray Peterson]

OK, Lonnie, you threw me for a loop. I thought when you said "otherwise," that you were disagreeing with me. I started reading your links, and I was finding info saying it was ok to carry openly, and I was just about to post a snide response when I re-read your post and realized you were making my point.

One thing I will agree with you on, and we are both similar: I HATE COP MYTHOLOGY, AND I HATE RUMORS!

 

[Zach S]

Was it a law enforcement officer who told you?

Thanks

Sorry for the late reponse...

Yes, two actually, and they reccomended carrying concealed to stay under the radar. They said when they've responded to calls about it (which wasnt often), they just ran the person's license for warrants and such, however other officers were much more, how can I put this, thorough. Of course, the officers I spoke with were shooters, regulars at the same range I visit, and like us, dont agree with a lot of gun laws.

In addition to my previous post about small towns, I would not carry openly in Burnsville NC.

 

[JoseM]

On three occasions I have been stopped while carrying. Once at a traffic stop, (NC State Patrolman)...

Just a question...did you mean a North Carolina State Trooper or a NC State University patrolman? I live in Cary and am a NCSU graduate. And carrying through campus or 1000 feet near campus is a no-no and I was just wanting to clarify!

Thanks!

 

[GunsRlife]

Open carry in NC

I am a firm believer in guns are important to life. With that said I live in Goldsboro, NC and I open carry everytime I leave the house and it is also my service weapon for my job since I am an armed guard. This also requires me to travel all over the state of NC also and I still open carry except for the Three citys that ban handguns in city limits (if Im not Working). Since I have been legal to carry at the age of 21yrs i have been stopped and pulled aside 3 times. Each time them threating me to take my weapon and haul me to jail and each time I say these words "Officer, i respect your authority and your status but with all do respect you will not and cannot take my sidearm." He'll try to tell you that your terrorizing the public and i calmy say again " I respect your status but I am legally open carrying my Presonal/Serivous weapon in the state of NC and If you still want to press this issue then you much call your superivisor and I will call my lawyer." usually it ends there but that doesnt mean that they havent tried to get me if they saw me again. Law has now been passed that you can carry in a bar as long as you dont drink and into any resturant as long as you dont drink. Now what they dont tell you is that manager of the building can tell you that you cant bring in the weapon even though there is no sign in place. so best to do is get CCW or just dont acted the fool when you have it.

 

[GunsRlife]

Also you can have a firearm in your glovebox in your car on school grounds as long as its not loaded and the glovebox is secured. State buildings are still banned unless you work at that building and you have sign documents saying you can from your employer

 

[Hangingrock]

I've witnessed open carry but it appears to be the exception rather than the rule. Open carry is a venue that I would not practice thus drawing attention to myself.