Why is NC not a Gold Star State

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Im just curious why isnt NC classified as a Gold Star state I mean we can basically OC where ever we want as long as it follows the law. We also cant be convicted of GATTTOTP unless we are being stupid. Anyone know why this is.

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No, we can't carry wherever we want to. There are a lot of rather restrictive prohibitions, like not being able to carry into any place that serves alcohol or charges admission. We can't carry into the vast majority of restaurants in the state, or bars, clubs,or even movie theaters. The BIG reason we're not a gold star state is because our preemption contains exceptions that permit rather substantial restrictions at a municipal level. Cities, towns, etc. are allowed to ban firearms from any public park grounds and buildings.

We have more freedom in NC than a lot of other states do, but the current laws create a mine field of prohibited areas. This makes it very difficult to carry freely and consistently. The problem is that we're at a point where we have more freedomthan most, making some people content. Evenyou posed the question as though you feel the state has more freedom than this site gives it credit for. I've asked that same question in the past, but I now realize that we're no where near "gold star" rating, and things still need a lot of work.

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Yeah, I would say your right I feel we have alot of freedoms, I can do my shopping with my gun in public places, but the movie theaters and bars is really a killer. But thats okay. I would say I feel as if we have alot of freedoms Simply because we can carry openly compared to other states such as SC.

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DreQo wrote:

No, we can't carry wherever we want to. There are a lot of rather restrictive prohibitions, like not being able to carry into any place that serves alcohol or charges admission. We can't carry into the vast majority of restaurants in the state, or bars, clubs,or even movie theaters. The BIG reason we're not a gold star state is because our preemption contains exceptions that permit rather substantial restrictions at a municipal level. Cities, towns, etc. are allowed to ban firearms from any public park grounds and buildings.

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Yep, that's it. Gold star requires FULL pre-emption of local law. It's not the fact you can't carry into any alcohol-selling establishment; Arizona has that restriction and it's gold star.

Now, if the State didn't leave it up to the municipality, but instead stated that ALL government-owned and operatedbuildings, including those at the local levels, are off-limits, NC would IMO be gold star even though nothing changes. The problem is that it is left up to the municipality, so technically the law is different for each municipality. Whether that's actually true requires you to look at the ordinances of every county and city. That's what Gold Star says you DON'T have to do; In a Gold Star State, the State statutes are all you need to know because local ordinances are unenforceable.

I do agree that you might as well be; don't carry into government buildings and don't carry into liquor establishments and you're fine. I grant you that is rather restrictive if you can't carry into your local grocery store, but like I said, Arizona's no better and is fully Gold Star, and it beats an outright ban on OC like we're fighting in Texas (mainly because gun owners can't come to an agreement on whether OC should be unlicensed like Virginiaor require a CHL; there are a lot of arguments for and against, and many CHL holders start using many arguments we normally hear from the Bradys on this issue).

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Lucky for us we can carry into grocerie stores