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open carry in nc vs. open carry in va

mrt6812

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Hi, I'm sure I can find this elsewhere on the forum but I figured I would ask anyway. In Va, where I'm from, you can OC anywhere except schools, federal buildings, courts, and businesses that have no firearms policies and the laws are statewide. You also don't need a permit. How does it work in NC? I've looked at the CC laws and they seem pretty restrictive in comparison. I've tried to read the actual laws from the legislative website but they seem to be hard to understand. Can someone fill me in on the OC/CC laws in layman's terms? I'm not a citizen in NC yet, but I'm at school in Greensboro. Thanks for any help.
 

chiefjason

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Here's a good place to start. If you cannot CC, you generally cannot OC. The exception is you can OC in a bank. No guns at all if alcohol is served and consumed on premises, unlike VA.

http://www.handgunlaw.us/states/northcarolina.pdf

It must be in plain sight in a vehicle as well.

You won't find many laws relating to OC. If you see in the statues where "all firearms" are restricted in a given situation it applies to OC and CC.

If you are into reading legal documents you can check out State v Kerner. It's usually what I refer folks to in regards to OC being legal in NC.

Most of the areas you mentioned are off limits in NC as well. The signs in NC only refer to CC, but I generally don't do business with places that post signs anyway. If you don't want my guns you don't need my money.

Any more specific questions, just ask. Welcome aboard.
 

mrt6812

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I checked the link and it was pretty helpful. My only question is where you said if you can't CC then you can't OC but the section in the link that says where is off limits even w/ a permit leads me to believe that that section only pertains to CC and you usually don't need to have a permit to OC. I also think I read in the link that as far as carrying and possessing firearms goes, the state has preempted laws, like Va has, but cities can enact carrying prohibitions on CITY property, but not STATE property. Is that true?
 

chiefjason

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mrt6812 wrote:
I checked the link and it was pretty helpful.  My only question is where you said if you can't CC then you can't OC but the section in the link that says where is off limits even w/ a permit leads me to believe that that section only pertains to CC and you usually don't need to have a permit to OC.  I also think I read in the link that as far as carrying and possessing firearms goes, the state has preempted laws, like Va has, but cities can enact carrying prohibitions on CITY property, but not STATE property.  Is that true?

If you go back to the actual statutes you will find that in most of the areas CC is no allowed the statue reads "no firearms openly or concealed" or "any firearms". and it's a good, well documented place to start. You will find very little documented about OC in NC. OC is legal because it is not expressly illegal and per State v Kerner, the Supreme Court has tied OC to the State Constitution "Right to keep and bear arms."

Carrying weapons into assemblies and establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to carry any gun, rifle, or pistol into any assembly where a fee has been charged for admission thereto, or into any establishment in which alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

Yes the state has preemption. Cities and counties can enact some laws on their property, but state law rules on private property. Cary and Chapel Hill are the only 2 that have made serious changes that I am aware of. Take Cary, NC as the example. They have made OC illegal on city property but you can OC when you shop at stores. You just cannot walk on the public sidewalk or cross the public road and OC. Here is the preemption statute, too much to post here.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/BySection/Chapter_14/GS_14-409.40.html
 
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