NC Gun Law Knowledge Wanted

[jrpeppers]

See Posts #10 & #13 above involving a similar conversation. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-409.40 is the NC General Statute cited as a reference. If you already did that then sorry. I would estimate that it is illogical for the state to expect you not to bring your ccw on the grounds of the premises at all, especially if it is secured in a locked vehicle out of plain sight.

 

[benEzra]

I'm a resident with a CCW permit and I haven't had any trouble, but then again in NC there are so many places you can not carry that a CCW permit here is almost worthless.

A CHL in NC is not as nice as having one in a more free state, BUT it is not "almost worthless" by any means. Obtaining a NC CHL allows you to have a firearm in the passenger compartment of a vehicle without having it sliding around on the seat or visible in the dash for a thief to steal later after you park. It lets you have a firearm on your person in most public areas, restaurants that don't serve alcohol, non-posted stores (very few are posted here in eastern NC), when walking, etc. It also exempts you from the Jim Crow pistol purchase permit requirement.

 

[jrpeppers]

on the seat or visible in the dash for a thief to steal later after you park.

Whoa, NC expects you to leave your gun in plain view in an unattended parked vehicle. That is dangerous and negligent in so many ways. I thought if you had to stow your handgun in a vehicle when parking, without a ccw, you could put in another compartment out of sight.

p.s. You shootin at the tourney this Sat?

 

[Resto Guy]

You only have to leave it in plain view if you are with it in the vehicle and do not have a CCW. OR if you exit your vehicle and others (without benefit of a CCW) are occupying the vehicle.
Otherwise, conceal it if you exit, expose it when you re-enter and keep it exposed. Think about it - if you leave the vehicle and the weapon is then concealed, you are no longer in possesion. DO NOT keep it concealed until pulled over. You most likely will be shot when you retrieve it.

FWIW, I am in eastern NC and have a permit for concealed carry.

 

[jrpeppers]

Ok, just making sure I don't have to risk losing my gun every time I leave my car. My CCW needs to hurry up and get here, this "You can carry like this, if you do that, until this happens, at which point you have to do that..." stuff sux -- IWB or UTS is so much easier.
(UTS = Under the Seat)

 

[benEzra]

Whoa, NC expects you to leave your gun in plain view in an unattended parked vehicle. That is dangerous and negligent in so many ways. I thought if you had to stow your handgun in a vehicle when parking, without a ccw, you could put in another compartment out of sight.

I'm talking about when you're driving around the parking lot looking for a place to park. Yes, you can presumably stow it as you're exiting your car, but people in the parking lot could have seen it before you were allowed to stow it (or as you were stowing it). And NC also bans tinted windows on cars (but not SUV's), grrr...

 

[charliehustle10]

While were are talking NC gun laws, I have a quick question/scenario I was always curious about. Let's take for example the fact that you can't legally carry concealed after consuming ANY alcohol. Can you open carry after doing so? Furthermore, If you do consume alcohol with say a firearm you forgot about in your vehicle, would separating the ammunition from the gun, or the slide from the frame and storing them in separate places help you in any way from breaking the law? Or are you held to a higher standard as a CHP holder? I'm in no way advocating or planning on breaking the law, but just curious, and hoping what to do if ever in such a situation.

 

[Zach S]

And NC also bans tinted windows on cars (but not SUV's), grrr...

You can go 35% on cars. Trucks and SUVs are allowed 35% on the front door glasses, no limit on the glass behind them.

 

[JustinW]

charliehustle10,

I'm unsure as to the accuracy of the information I am about to provide so take it with a shaker of salt but here is my thinking regarding your proposed situation.

From http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/byarticle/chapter_14/article_54b.html

§ 14‑415.11. Permit to carry concealed handgun; scope of permit.
...

(c) ... It shall be unlawful for a person, with or without a permit, to carry a concealed handgun while consuming alcohol or at any time while the person has remaining in his body any alcohol or in his blood a controlled substance previously consumed, but a person does not violate this condition if a controlled substance in his blood was lawfully obtained and taken in therapeutically appropriate amounts.

...

That is the only NC statute I could find regarding guns and alcohol. Assuming that I didn't miss any laws covering other aspects of firearms and alcohol and that no other provision or law applies to your case (i.e. drinking on a college campus or (open) carrying in a bar) then open carry should be fine where otherwise legal as it is not expressly prohibited by law.

As for putting and transporting your gun in the trunk of your vehicle my thinking is that it would be the same as Joe Citizen placing and transporting a firearm in the trunk regardless of the amount of alcohol in your system. If it is locked in your trunk you are not concealing the weapon in NC and are legally transporting it. If the location of the weapon in your vehicle could be construed as "concealed" per the law then you'd be in trouble but if it does not qualify as being concealed then I see no reason why there would be a difference in enforcement because you had alcohol in your system. Again there are no provisions that I am AWARE of specifying a different standard based on the amount of alcohol in your system.

AGAIN, take this advise with a shaker of salt as I am not as familiar with this aspect of NC law regarding firearms as I am with others. Hopefully others will chime in with more information to confirm or correct this post.

Here's another though: What if a restaurant has seating on a public sidewalk and sells/serves alcohol. Can you use the sidewalk seating to eat at the restaurant while (legally) carrying your gun? I don't know the answer to this so I'm throwing it out as another hypothetical thinking question for everyone. (FYI I wouldn't do it as it walks WAY too close to a fuzzy line, that may be prone to movement, for me to be sure I'm on the right side of said line.)

 

[NavyLCDR]

I'm in NC and went to the Post Office today, and was three steps away from my truck, and (oops) stopped, walked back, got back in, and disarmed into the center console. I do this same thing a few times a year. Is my concealed carry weapon legal stowed in the vehicle in the parking lot of a Post Office in NC?

Les

Your concealed carry weapon stowed in the vehicle in the parking lot of a Post Office is against Federal regulation and illegal, regardless of which state you are in.

 

[FiREhAwk]

Yes, the great influx of retired northerners (no offense as before I was laid off I worked in the residential and commercial development field around the coastal areas) and a migration of out of state workers filling the high demand of work in the tirad has changed the politics of NC, but mainly in the dense urban areas. The rural areas not affected by urban sprawl and suberbanization (Did I make that word up?) are still very much traditonal and conservative. Besides the pistol purchase permit law, which can be easily avoided with a easy to obtain conceal carry permit, NC is gun friendly (minus the aforementioned areas).

 

[jrpeppers]

Ref: Charliehustle10's question.

Even if it was legal to carry openly while impaired, something I doubt an LEO would allow, and you started making a scene in public, i.e. talking really loudly, cursing, or just doing any thing that would normally just be considered slightly obnoxious to others, a weapon on your body in plain sight would just amp up the intensity level of everyone else that much more, maybe enough to call a cop over to you.

Then you have the b.s. GATTOP charge (which, from what I understand, is officer's discretion and very broad) to deal with or possession of a firearm while impaired (which may not even be illegal but just enough to have your gun seized and get charged then beat it in court maybe.)

Also, I'm thinking if you needed to use deadly force and were intoxicated at all, even if justified, that probably wouldn't turn out to great for you. God forbid you end up being so intoxicated you make the wrong call....

I would just decide not to ever carry open while impaired. Just stow my h.g. in the trunk before I drink and carry it into my house and that's it. However, I think I saw a clause somewhere about nothing should prohibit a person from carrying while intoxicated on their own property....regardless, if I'm having a couple of beers around dinner time, or not, I always carry at home. If I end up drinking 4 or more, I will usually disarm just to get my wife off my back.

 

[wrs840]

Yes, the great influx of retired northerners...

Who are stupidly voting to turn NC into exactly the kind of cesspool they fled as quickly as possible.

NC's CCW laws are pretty restrictive and convoluted, IMO. i.e. "public gathering prohibition", can't carry in a restaurant where alcohol is sold, etc.

Les