State of Emergency--Carry Prohibition?

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I'm thinking about this because today, Beaufort County cancelled school because of the heavy rain, and the possibilities of flash flooding. It got me thinking of Hurricane Season, and the potential for natural disaster scenarions here in the "sand hills" region. We're only an hour from the coast after all, and we're in a low-lying area...

According to what I'm able to find, it is against the law in NC to carry (OC or CC) in a declared area of emergency anywhere except your own property: Does anyone have any clarification on this? I mean, if the SHTF (natural disaster, widespread civil unrest, etc) you'd think that is when you would need to be carrying the MOST! And this statute DOES NOT allow for exemption if you have a CHP (§14-415.11(c))...

If we had a "Katrina" like incident here (and being in a low-lying area close to the coast, it's not impossible), I wouldn't leave the house WITHOUT something on my hip at the very least. If I were going out for supplies with the family, I'd probably even want to bring along the Mossberg if things were REALLY chaotic...

Does anyone know the reasoning behind this statute? Is it more about riots, rather than natural disasters? It seems to be one of those old left-over laws from the days of Jim Crow, intended to keep minorities from protecting themselves against angry mobs...

Anyone have any thoughts?

If the Governor declared YOUR county or city to be in a "State of Emergency", would you carry when out and about, off your own property?

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We discussed this statute when I took the cc class and some brought up how a lot of times the whole state goes under "state of emergency" even if the emergency is limited to a specific area.

They were talking about how last year when some tornadoes came through we were under a state of emergency. I remember the tornadoes came through Greensboro and hit some parts hard while other areas were totally unaffected (and that was in the same city). So people on the other side of the state who had no emergency at all would not be able to carry.

Like you pointed out, in a state of emergency would be a time where you should be MORE inclined to carry.

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Unless I misread the posting, we are currently under one. It was posted on the internet complete with the Gov.'s signature. Rock slide on I-40 up in the mountains. Unfortunately for us the state of emergency isn't specific to the area but includes the whole state. Supposedly so the state can qualify for Fed. funds.

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buzzsaw wrote:

Unless I misread the posting, we are currently under one. It was posted on the internet complete with the Gov.'s signature. Rock slide on I-40 up in the mountains. Unfortunately for us the state of emergency isn't specific to the area but includes the whole state. Supposedly so the state can qualify for Fed. funds.

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So anyone gonna still carry? That would make you a criminal, a bad guy, a despicable person for breaking the law...

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It might just make a good test case to see if we could get the courts to throw it out cause those nut cases in Raleigh sure aren't going to do anything about it. Anyone out there saddled with too much money right now?

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buzzsaw wrote:

It might just make a good test case to see if we could get the courts to throw it out cause those nut cases in Raleigh sure aren't going to do anything about it. Anyone out there saddled with too much money right now?

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I'm a little tied up with 14-277.2 right now :quirky

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I think this is one of 'those laws' that they would tout as under the discression of the officer.

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Buzzsaw,

Hmmm. You are correct, sir. Here is a link to the Executive Order, EO27:

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/NewsItem/ExecutiveOrderDetail.aspx?newsItemID=735


You will notice that, in Section 1 of this EO, it specifically invokes §14-288.15, which is more about the Governor exercising control in an emergency that exceeds the local government's abilities to deal with it. Something like a landslide that takes out a section of a major roadway definitely falls within this. I seriously doubt that Haywood County has even a fraction of the funds it would take to fix this damaged stretch of road...

Notice that this EO has been in effect since 28 October, 2009...

Although, it IS a "declared state of emergency", and has been declared statewide, which by implication, invoked the statewide enforcement of § 14-288-7, which DOES ban possession, transport, or carrying of firearms off one's own property.

I'm calling the NC AG office first thing TOMORROW...

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Here is the exact wording of the statute referenced:

http://law.onecle.com/north-carolina/14-criminal-law/14-288.15.html

This statute deals more with the governor being able to delagate authority to local and county officials to regain control in an emergency situation.

If this were to refer to the "state of emergency firearms ban", I think the EO would have specifically referenced §14-288.7, which DOES prohibit possessing, transporting, or carrying firearms during a declared emergency. However, as I stated above, the declaration of a statewide state of emergency does, de facto, invoke § 14-288-7. It is a convoluted, labyrinthine system of cascading statutes, really...

I'm DEFINITELY calling the NCAG office tomorrow to clear this up, as to whether or not this latest EO applies statewide, and if it does, in fact, activate § 14-288-7, and what sort of chance we have of getting this EO rescinded or ammended ASAP if it is.

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JDriver1.8t wrote:

I think this is one of 'those laws' that they would tout as under the discression of the officer.

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I don't like "those laws"...

Leaving "interpretation" of the law to agents of the Executive branch is not only unconstitutional, but also technically it is illegal in NC, since it is illegal to "practice" law in NC without passing the State Bar Exam.

Not to mention that such discretionary laws throw open a VERY dangerous doorway to abuses involving profiling, civil rights violations, and "color of the law" violations.

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This is how you guys need that statute to be reworded:

18 Pa.C.S. § 6107: Prohibited conduct during emergency No person shall carry a firearm, rifle or shotgun upon the public streets or upon any public property during an emergency proclaimed by a State or municipal governmental executive unless that person is: (1) Actively engaged in a defense of that person's life or property from peril or threat. (2) Licensed to carry firearms under section 6109 (relating to licenses) or is exempt from licensing under section 6106(b) (relating to firearms not to be carried without a license).

Exception #2 being key...

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Every historical thing I could find when I looked at this last year stated that only a county sheriff or a mayor could "declare" an emergency. The governor's powers under state law is to "proclaim" an emergency.

I do not know how that would play out in court, but under the widely accepted interpretation, if my house was hit by a tornado and my guns were laying all over the lawn, it would be a crime for me to move them to another place to store them securely if the area were declared an emergency area. I cannot fathom that standing up in court.

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I talked to the NC AG's Legal Council office AND the Governors Legal Council today, and was advised thusly:

The NC-AG said that §14-288.7 automatically kicks in whenever a state of emergency is declared. Depending on the wording of the declaration, this cn either be effective state-wide, or by county, municipality, or region. The would not give me an interpretation of EO27 and referred me to the Governor's Office.

The Governors LC told me that EO27 was still in effect, and would be until it was declared to be over. They also said that it ONLY covers Haywood county, the location of the landslide. So technically, carrying, transporting, or possessing firearms outside of your personal property or place of business is currently, under state law (per §14-288.7) prohibited in that county.

If the local officials (Sheriff, City Counsel, Mayors, etc) decide to enact further restrictions (prohibiting sales of firearms and/or ammo, restricting sales of alcohol, establishing curfews, etc) they may under state law.

But the enforcement of the §14-288.7 ban is up to the descretion of local LEOs. Since this is not really a "state of emergency" that would result in civil unrest or rioting, the Governor's LC said that the carry ban would most likely not be enforced, but it IS legal for local LEO's to do so if they choose.

FYI...