imported post
Thinblue,
You might also want to print out the definition of the GAttTotP ruling as printed in the NC AG's "North Carolina Firearms Laws" booklet, which states:
6. Going Armed To The Terror Of The People
By common law in North Carolina, it is unlawful for a person to arm himself/herself with any unusual and dangerous weapon, for the purpose of terrifying others, and go about on public highways in a manner to cause terror to others.
Please notice that this is NOT a "Statutory Law", it is a NC "common law". Also note that this violation has THREE distinct stipulations, and all three MUST be met for the charge to be valid. This means you 1) must be armed, 2) must have the PURPOSE to terrify others, and 3) be going about on the public highways in a manner to cause terror to others. If your actions of Lawfully Carrying do not meet all three stipulations, then this charge is NOT valid...
Under State v. Huntly, simply carrying a firearm lawfully DOES NOT fit these requirements, and is not a violation, even if someone is upset by seeing you carrying. The following quote is from the final paragraph of the Huntley ruling:
But although a gun is an "unusual weapon," it is to be remembered that the carrying of a gun, per se, constitutes no offence. For any lawful purpose--either of business or amusement--the citizen is at perfect liberty to carry his gun.
LEO's are NOT lawyers or judges. We can't expect them to know ALL the laws--statutory AND common. However, if an LEO decides to charge people under a specific law, or hand out "legal advise" to the public, they SHOULD be aware of the nature, stipulations, limitations, and scope of the laws they are attempting to invoke.
If a law enforcement officer KNOWS the law and acts against it because of his personal opinions, then he is in violation of the "color of law" Codes under Federal Civil Rights law, and should be held responsible for his unlawful actions.
If an LEO doe NOT know the law, and makes something up because he thinks "there must be a law against that", then he should be sanctioned just the same, because for a "citizen", ignorance of the law is no excuse, and LEO's should at the VERY LEAST, be held to the same level of knowledge and civic responsibility as the People in matters of the law.
To give LEO's a "pass" on matters such as this is a gross miscarriage of our civic duty as Citizens, and also does a disservice to the Community at large because it allows "our trusted agents of the law" to continue to commit acts in direct violation of State and Federal Law, and as such, is the height of Civic Irresponsibility.