First off, I'll admit that I read the first post, voted for "I support it but would not do it myself," and then clicked "post reply." After this post, I probably wont come back to the thread.
Now that that's out of the way:
NC has a common law about "going armed to the terror of the public." I dont know exactly what it means. Most of the LEOs I've spoke to about it dont really know either. One said, as he understood it, it was legal to carry openly untill someone called and reported you. Since its such a gray area, I do not carry openly. Even if it wasnt, I wouldnt do it often.
I will admit that while not carrying openly, I have ran out to the store in the middle of the night and didnt exactly "conceal" whatever I had on me. Most people dont notice my lazyness, however someone else that carries, or a LEO would.
I do carry openly on occasion, however I do so when on private property, normally mine, my family's, or my girlfriends family, when doing yardwork or working on a car. It hasnt been a problem, and all my neighbors seem nicer when I'm armed (except for the guy right across the street, he's always nice).