WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
North Carolina General Statute § 14-288.8 provides that it is unlawful for any person to manufacture, assemble, possess, store, transport, sell, offer to sell, purchase, offer to purchase, deliver, give to another, or acquire any weapon of mass death and destruction. A weapon of mass death and destruction includes:
(1) bombs of all sorts;
(2) grenades;
(3) rockets having a propellant charge of more than 4 ounces;
(4) a missile having an explosive or incendiary charge of more than one-quarter ounce;
(5) mine;
(6) any type of weapon (other than a shotgun or a shotgun shell of a type particularly suitable for sporting purposes) which will expel a projectile using an explosive or other propellant and which has a barrel with a bore of more than one-half inch in diameter;
(7) any firearm capable of fully automatic fire;
(8) any shotgun with a barrel length less than eighteen inches or an overall length of less than twenty-six inches;
(9) a rifle with a barrel length of less than sixteen inches or an overall length of less than twenty-six inches;
(10) any muffler or silencer for any firearm, whether or not such firearm is included within this definition;
(11) any combination of parts either designed or intended for use in converting a device into any weapon described above and from which a weapon of mass death and destruction may readily be assembled.
Thus, a device which could convert a semi-automatic firearm into one capable of fully automatic fire, would be in violation of this statute, whether or not one actually possesses such a weapon. The possession of the device itself is a crime. If any person possesses a weapon of mass death and destruction in violation of this statute, he would be guilty of a Class I Felony.
The only persons capable of owning or possessing a weapon of mass death and destruction, as defined above, are the following:
(1) Persons exempted from the provisions of carrying a concealed weapon in North Carolina with respect to any activity lawfully engaged in while carrying out their duties;
(2) Importers, manufacturers, dealers, and collectors of firearms, ammunition, or destructive devices validly licensed under the laws of the United States or the State of North Carolina, while lawfully engaged in activities authorized under their licenses;
(3) Persons under contract with the United States, the State of North Carolina, or any agency of either government, with respect to any activities lawfully engaged in under their contracts; or
(4) Inventors, designers, ordinance consultants and researchers, chemists, physicists, and other persons lawfully engaged in pursuits designed to enlarge the knowledge of or to facilitate the creation, development, or manufacture of weapons of mass death and destruction intended for use in a manner consistent with the laws of the United States and the State of North Carolina.
