Blue Ridge Parkway: Carry Question

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crisco

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I know they piggy backed the Natl Parks carry bill on the credit reform bill at the beginning of this year, but I don't yet fully understand how that impacts the Blue Ridge Parkway, specificly. I will be riding the parkway (with an '83 Goldwing:D) from beginning to end, Cherokee NC to Virginia. I have a resident FL carry permit.

All the research I can find says VA will be fine, no problem. I'm still hazy on the NC side of the Parkway. Handgunlaw.us says "no state park" and "no state/natl forest," but doesn't the BRP count as a Natl PARK not a forest? To add to the confusion, I seem to recall that the Natl Parks carry bill gave dominance to state laws, but the state law in NC doesn't say "Natl Parks."

Any help appreciated!
Chris
 
Good question. I'd like to know also. I may be going down there next spring.
 
You could call the governing agency of the Parkway. From what I was taught in NC carry class your okay to carry it through a park as long as you don't stop to do anything in said park, but that info may be incorrect.
 
I was under the impression that under the bill, National parks were to be considered as State parks of the appropriate jusrisdiction, and whatever rules held in the state park would be held in the national parks as well...

I'm not positive though. Good luck!
 
I do know that VA just passed several laws concerning CCW, including legalizing CCW in a place of business that serves alcohol and also legalizing CCW in state parks.

As far as NC goes, I would assume as long as NC will honor a FL CCW you shouldn't have any issues. The farther north towards VA you get, the friendlier the police tend to get. ;)
 
It's complicated because the Blue Ridge Parkway is a public highway, but it's also National Park land. NC allows carry on public highways, but the National Park status makes it ambiguous. Federal law says it's OK if the state allows it, but NC doesn't clearly allow or disallow it, AFAIK.
 
It is my understanding that the law for national parks merely says that the state laws governing concealed carry apply, not the state laws governing carry in state parks. If you can carry in town in that state, you can carry in a national park in that state.
 
I live 10 miles from the BRP in NC, drove it today in fact. You are good to go while on the parkway and in Great Smoky Mountain NP. If you get off the parkway and hike in Pisgah National Forest you're in violation.
 
Ok this question may be a bit out in left field but how could they enforce that? Under what statute could they legally do it is what I am asking. My understanding is that if you have a legal CCW permit, that you can carry anywhere in a state that allows CCW. Except in buildings that are under fed protection and such. Is it an anti poaching law or something is what I guess I am asking. Since it is a forest/park whatever, it is not in a building so how could they get away with that? Next step for them would be to make it illegal on any state owned property. See where I am going with that? I hope I am not being to confusing as I tend to confuse my damn self usually! :(
 
Speaking only of NC, the issue centers on the Nat Forests being considered NC Gamelands. NC has a law prohibiting possession of anything over .22lr and longer than 6 or 7" barrel on a gamelands unless you're hunting.
 
Ok so it is like the Pa hunting regs saying you are not allowed to CCW while hunting archery or a non firearm season. Which if I remember correctly is being seriously contested somewhere but it has been a while.

I guess I can see the point as far as poaching and such. But if it is not even hunting season yet I don't see where they could legally enforce that and still be within the rights of a legal CCW permit holder. Unless he was caught literally firing on game animals or some retarded thing.
 
I guess I can see the point as far as poaching and such. But if it is not even hunting season yet I don't see where they could legally enforce that and still be within the rights of a legal CCW permit holder. Unless he was caught literally firing on game animals or some retarded thing.
Click to expand...
We're trying to get it changed, but unfortunately NC can and (IIRC) does enforce it, under the theory that protecting hunting interests supersedes all other RKBA related issues; there is no balance between the two here. AFAIK, every dime of our Pittman-Robertson funds go to wildlife management in this state, too, with not a cent for shooting range development/support, even though nonhunters pay most of the taxes.

And poaching is just the excuse, IMO. You can legally carry a scoped .22 pistol with a 7.5" barrel loaded with 60gr subsonics in a NC National Forest, but you can't carry a Kel-Tec P32 or Beretta Tomcat .32 ACP with a ~2 1/2" barrel. Make sense to you?

The thing is, looking for deer carcasses, rather than looking for .32's and 9mm's in the pockets and waistbands of carry license holders, would be much more effective as an anti-poaching measure. So would investigating sounds of gunshots out of season. But, alas, that's not where we're at.

Not to mention that here in eastern NC, I don't think poaching is actually much of a problem, but it's certainly a convenient hook to hang an anti-self-defense agenda on. Would someone have a reasonable case to fight the rule on 2ndA grounds, if arrested? Certainly! But who can afford to be the test case?
 
WNC Seabee post #9:

This was my understanding of the laws as well, best as I could tell.


I thought about calling the BRP info line but I honestly didn't expect a "real" answer, either from ignorance or opinion.


Benezra post #6: Thats exactly why I thought I'd ask everyone what they thought, best I can tell NC doesn't actually spell out the BRP's policy. I think I'm agreeing that the Parkway is fine but not the forest around it. I lived in Asheville for six years - they have some backward laws up there.
 
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You can carry in any National Park if you can legally carry in the state the NP is in. It doesn't matter if you can carry in their St/Nat Forests (States set the carry rule for National Forests not the feds) or State Parks in the state the National Park is in. National Parks now go by the State law on carrying. If they allowed carry then you can carry in the National Park in their state.

Now a state can pass a state law that says you can't carry in the National Parks in their state but no state has done that yet.
 
It's very dependent on the parkway police that you encounter while on the parkway itself.
Each one I've spoken with, and I do a lot of hiking up there, have a different view on it.
The Parkway Police police the parkway. That sounds redundant, but I'm stressing that you won't find townies, counties, or Staties up there riding around. It's Parkway Police (feds) only writing tickets.
So, you may be better off limiting the scope of your question to them.

The best answer I can give you is to get through NC as quickly as possible because the law here is a morass of common and modern law that's easily gotten wrong and twisted on the roadside.
Our "open carry" statute alone gives attorneys from other states migraines.
 
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