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Greenville Area

kbd0522

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Anyone ever open carry in Eastern NC? I live in Greenville and travel to Raleigh and Morehead city but never see anyone. I assume if I did around here I would surely be detained.
 

John Pierce

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For what it is worth, I have open carried in the Raleigh-Durham area and the Asheville area with no problems, but only a couple of times.
 

acritical

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I live in Raleigh and I opencarry in Raleigh and Durham every weekend. No one has never said anything negative about it. I just make sure not to carry in those places that are legally off limits.
 

DreQo

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I'm stationed at Cherry Point, NC, not too far from Morehead City, and only about an hour from Greenville. I'm curious about this area, as well, since I've not saw anyone carrying, either. For what it's worth, I'll be starting to open carry in this area as soon as I get my CCW permit, just so I'm covered in case I'm questioned by a over-eager LEO.

I would definately like to see if anyone else in this area already has some experience.
 

OBXMIKE

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I grew up around Morehead City, and to the best of my recollection have never seen anyone open carry. LOTS of yanks there now :uhoh:.....on a permanent basis, even. I still travel home a few times a year, and always OC when I'm travelling. Have gotten a few sideways looks from convenience store clerks when I stop for gas of take the kids for a pit-stop, but no problems. If you guys encounter any problems, the new sheriff's name is Asa Buck. Hope he is up on the laws in this regard. Moreover, I hope there would be no issue to start with, right?

Please post your experience here to share with the rest of us. The N.C. section of this forum is noticeably quiet. We need to get with the program and exercise our rights! (myself included)
 

DreQo

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I've talked to a couple gun-savvy guys in the last few days. The concealed-carry instructors have all the right information, and make sure to teach that open-carry is legal, as well. One gun dealer who's familiar with most of the top law enforcement around here mentioned that while it is legal, some of the police chiefs (new bern, for example) are anti-gun and don't think any civilians should have 'em....so I was warned to expect trouble, legal or not.

I'm signed up for a CC class at the beginning of Feb, but I'm really tempted to start openly carrying before then...we'll see how well it goes over.
 

DreQo

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Well I gave in to temptation and open-carried inHavelock (not far from Greenville)to get my haircut today. Nothing spectacular...I decided to leave the gun when I went into the bank, however I kept the holster in plain sight. Coincidently enough, a city cop pulled up to use the ATM as I approached, and she didn't look too happy about the holster on my hip :?. I'm glad I decided to leavethegunin the car for that one.

Anyway, after the bank I went to the barber, and there were nothing but women and children in there, lol. No one said anything, but I could tell everyone was curious/surprised...

I really feel the need to get out there to get the people in this area used to the idea, but it seems like it's gonna be interesting to say the least. I almost felt like I was doing something wrong, even though I knew it was legal...is that normal or am I just bein' a puss? lol
 

acritical

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When I first started open carrying in Raleigh and Durham, I would get the same reactions, but no one ever said anything. As time went by, people got used to seeing it and then the questions started. "Are you LEO?" "Why do you carry a gun?" "Is that legal?" "Can anyone do that?"

Now I do not even get those. I have open carried to the CCB inside of the Kroger grocery stores with no issues. One teller asked what was I carrying and if they could hold it. Of course the answer was a Springfield .40 and I don't think that would be a good idea?

As long as you are carrying legal, keep carrying. People will get used to it.
 

jimwyant

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DreQo wrote:
...I decided to leave the gun when I went into the bank, however I kept the holster in plain sight. Coincidently enough, a city cop pulled up to use the ATM as I approached, and she didn't look too happy about the holster on my hip :?. I'm glad I decided to leavethegunin the car for that one.
Be careful carrying into a financial institution. Here's the law:

§ 14‑415.11. Permit to carry concealed handgun; scope of permit.
(c) A permit does not authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun ... a financial institution...

There is no statute that I can find that prohibits general carry into a bank, just the above quoted law saying that a permit does not authorize you to carry concealed there. There are laws that spell out prohibitions on carry "whether openly or concealed" where alcohol is served, on state property, educational property, and several other places, but nothing of this nature regarding financial institutions that I can find, anyway - IANAL. I would take this to mean that you would be able to legally carry inside the bank as long as you are not carrying concealed. I work in NC, but I'm not volunteering to be the test case for this, however.
 

DreQo

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Well, I just went all out today, lol. I ended up spending a good hour in walmart today while the girlfriend shopped for clothes, and everything went surprisingly well. I did notice a lot of eyes trained on the gun, especially if I was having a conversation with someone ( i.e. I was asking the employee at the gun cases about what rounds they had, lol.)

The only person who said anything was the girlfriend's aunt, whom we happened to run into while we were there. We know eachother well enough, and she simply said with a smile "well that's kinda scary, whatcha got that for?" I said it was for protection, and for the simple fact that I can. She replied "I suppose you lose the rights you don't use, huh?". :DShe got the point.

It seems as though people are a lot more accepting than I thought, as long as you look like you know what you're doing. It may have helped, too, that it wasn't an overly large or obvious gun. It's just my Walther PPK/S.



So far so good for eastern north carolina!
 

acritical

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I have contacted the Attorney General's office and they referred me back to the State Trooper's office. Just to cover myself, I also talked to my County Sheriff and both offices agreed, that as long as they are not posted, it is absolutely legal to open carry into a financial institution. The key word is open carry.

As far as law enforcement goes, Brinks and other armed car services are private citizens. For them to be able to carry openly into a financial institution means that anyone open carrying legally can do so also. If a financial institution does not want their patrons to open carry inside, they must post like any other business that is not covered by State law.
 

jimwyant

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acritical wrote:
I have contacted the Attorney General's office and they referred me back to the State Trooper's office. Just to cover myself, I also talked to my County Sheriff and both offices agreed, that as long as they are not posted, it is absolutely legal to open carry into a financial institution. The key word is open carry.

As far as law enforcement goes, Brinks and other armed car services are private citizens. For them to be able to carry openly into a financial institution means that anyone open carrying legally can do so also. If a financial institution does not want their patrons to open carry inside, they must post like any other business that is not covered by State law.

Is there a law stating that you can't enter a facility openly carrying, even if it is posted? The CC law states that a permit is not valid in locations that are posted, but what about OC? I'm sure a trespassing charge would be forthcoming if you refused to leave if asked to do so, but is OC onto posted property in and of itself a criminal act? If it is, I can't find it in the statutes.

Edited to add: My workplace has one of these "criminal safe zone" signs, and it refers to NC 14-415.11(c), which is the statute that defines the scope of the concealed handgun permit. If there were a stronger statute, I feel sure these idiots would have used it.
 

DreQo

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Edited to add: My workplace has one of these "criminal safe zone" signs, and it refers to NC 14-415.11(c), which is the statute that defines the scope of the concealed handgun permit. If there were a stronger statute, I feel sure these idiots would have used it


criminal safe zone, as in criminals will be safe here because nolaw-abiding citizenhas a gun???? Anyway, while the statute only references concealed carry, common sense would tell you that if they took the time to post the sign, they obviously don't want guns in their place, period. Being that it is their private property, they have that right, I suppose.

Now if you look at the statute, it says "A permit does not authorize a person to carry a concealed handgun...where notice that carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited by the posting of a conspicuous notice or statement by the person in legal possession or control of the premises."

It seems to me that it never says that it is unlawful, it simply states that the permit doesn't give you permission to argue if the owner of the premises doesn't want guns. So, if he wants to kick you out for having a gun, and a sign is posted, then he has every right to. HOWEVER if a sign isn't posted, then they shouldn't be able to deny you service simply because you are legally carrying a weapon...concealed, or not.
 

acritical

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There are two basic signs. No concealed weapons and no firearms. Under the no concealed weapons, you can legally open carry a firearm on that establishment. Some stores use the sign thinking it means you cannot carry at all and others just want to be aware of those that are carrying.

The no firearms sign means just that. No carrying whether concealed or not. However, there are places that are not posted that you cannot carry whether concealed or not and the statutes make that very clear. Places such as hospitals, schools, and government buildings.
 

DreQo

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The no firearms sign means just that. No carrying whether concealed or not.
...according to the owner of the property, which means you can be asked to leave, however no where does it say that it would be unlawful to do so. It's like running at a swimming pool..the sign says no running, so you get kicked out if you do..but you can't be charged with anything.
 

DreQo

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I've opened carried a few times now in Havelock, Morehead City, and New Bern. The general reaction has always been inquisitive stares and whispering amongst themselves, but no one has seemed scared or concerned. While walking through Target, an employee came around the corner, saw my handgun, and blurted out "Whoa! Where'd ya get a permit to do THAT!?" I smiled and told him one wasn't required as long as it was in plain view, guns weren't prohibited in the area, and the person was carrying responsibly (he was young, so I figured I'd toss that in there lol).

The mall in new bern was an interesting topic. I didn't end up carrying there, because on the front main doors, the words "No Weapons" were displayed, however it had been almost completely removed by vandals. On any of the other entrances, however, like the ones going into JC Penny (which connected to the main mall), there were no signs what-so-ever. I ran into the mall security guy while I was there, and he said that guns were definately not allowed, but didn't seem bright enough to discuss the legalities of posted signs so I didn't bother.

When I get my CC permit, I will definately be carrying there simply because it is not posted on every entrance. It seems though that, over all, eastern NC isn't reacting too bad to open carry. :D
 

DreQo

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So while I was in Walmart in Morehead City this evening, an employee thought it was necessary to call management and ask why there was a guy wandering around with a gun. They promptly told her not to be concerned, and that it was legal. Afterwards, she eagerly asked me what I did for a living, how exactly it's legal, what kind of gun I had, where she could get one, etc. etc. lol. I'm glad the higher-ups are educated enough to know that's legal and not call the cops, lol.
 
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