imported post
I'm starting to feel like a scratched record.
If you want to know why CHP instructors continue to spew this false information about Open Carry, you need to:
FOLLOW THE MONEY...
CHP instructors have a vested interest in promoting CONCEALED carry, and convincing people that CC is the "only way" to carry a firearm legally. If everyone who wanted to carry knew about OC, and practiced it, there would be a LOT of CHP instructors who would be filing for unemployment. By convincing people that OC will get you in trouble with the police, they are creating an artificial reality wherein you will actually believe that OC is morally wrong, illegal, socially unacceptable, or otherwise bad.
Nothing could be further from the truth, at least in about 95% of the state of NC. Unless you live in one of the cities with notoriously heavy-handed LEA's or Unconstitutional laws (like Jacksonville, Durham, or Cary), the fact of the matter is that OC is perfectly legal in most locations, and in most venues (with a few exceptions like places that serve alcohol, or charge admission, or are posted, etc).
Walking down the street in most of NC with a firearm properly holstered is NOT illegal, and DOES NOT constitute GAttTotP. That violation isn't even a statutory law--it is common law, based on a VERY old English Common Law from the 1400's. It is rarely applied to someone who is simply OCing, and in the VERY few instances where it is, it is almost ALWAYS thrown out by the judge because the case almost never meets the requirements of the violation.
You see, the key facet of the GAttTotP violation is the INTENT of the person carrying the weapon. It's not HOW you are carrying it, or even what you are carrying. It is the INTENT of the person carrying on which the applicability of the GAttTotP violation hinges.
If you are carrying for self-defense, or because it is your right under the US and NC State Constitutions, or because you are heading to the range, or because you just like the way it balanced the weight of the wallet or keys you're carrying in your back pocket, then GAttTotP DOES NOT apply.
ONLY if you are carrying with the expressed INTENT of causing terror in a specific person or the general public, does GAttTotP apply.
And just because some worked-up soccer mom doesn't like the idea of a citizen being able to protect themself and makes a MWAG call because your OC'd firearm makes her "uncomfortable", as long as you are polite, conducting yourself in a cordial and lawful manner, and are just minding your own business, GAttTotP DOES NOT apply. Even if she IS terrified, it was not your INTENT to terrorize her (or anyone else). You cannot be held responsible for the misguided, hysterical perceptions of other people, or for the ignorance of the law of other people, and you cannot control how some brainwashed nanny-state sheeple will interpret your lawful, Constitutionally-protected activity. Their anti-gun hysteria DOES NOT constitute a valid GAttTotP charge. Period.
Here is an illustrative parallel:
A lot of gang members wear black pants, white t-shirts, and red hats. If I was to walk down the street dressed in black jeans, a white t-shirt, and a red baseball cap, and some soccer mom thought (after reading some overblown article about gangs on the internet) that I just MUST be a gang-banger because I was dressed in similar "colors", and she dialed 911 and told the dispatcher that she just saw a gang member walking down the street, they would ask her how she knew I was a gang member. When she described my clothes, the dispatcher would then ask her if I was dealing drugs, or waving a gun around, or flashing gang signs, or whatever. When she said "no" the dispatcher would probably laugh at her and tell her to up her Prozac prescription.
The same SHOULD go for OC. It's all about INTENT. If you do not INTEND to create terror or fear, or present a menacing presence, then GAttTotP DOES NOT APPLY.
Period. End of discussion.
Cops will throw around the GAttTotP charge when they don't like OC. They are ESPECIALLY prone to use this tactic if you are young, or by yourself, or you are non-white. DON'T believe it. If they REALLY thought you were guilty of GAttTotP, you would have been ordered onto the ground when they first showed up for the encounter. If a LEO approaches you and doesn't have his weapon drawn, then he doesn't REALLY feel like you are dangerous. He may not LIKE the fact that you are carrying, and he may throw around the GAttTotP charge to try and convince you to stop OCing. But if he REALLY thought you had done something illegal, you would be in handcuffs within a few seconds of the initial encounter, not standing around discussing the nuances of the wording and interpretation of NC Case Law and Statutory Law.
All this said, it should be remembered that an encounter with an LEO over a MWAG call is NOT the time or the place to discuss your rights. The cop has an immutable position of power in such encounters. Don't volunteer information. If you are on-foot (not driving a vehicle) all you are required to do under NC law is identify yourself verbally. If he asks for an ID, it's probably a good idea to show him your DL, but there is NO legal requirement for you to do so. And remember this is an investigative stop, NOT a courtroom. Cops don't know the law well enough to argue it, and will generally only get pissed off if you try. That's what lawyers and judges get paid the big bucks (and go to Law School) for.
If a cop wants to overstep his bounds and charge you with a bogus violation, then that is what the courts are for. And that is DEFINITELY what Federal Civil Rights lawsuits are for...
I think just about EVERY person who does CHP training (not just in NC, but in MOST states) tells people that OC will get you in trouble. But you need to remember that they have a vested interest in promoting CC-only carry. They have spent several hundred dollars to get their NRA Instructors Certifications, and about $100 for the NC State CHP Instructor certification (and that is an ANNUAL fee to maintain). They need people to be afraid of OC, to keep their businesses going, and the CHP-training business can be VERY lucrative if you are a well-know and respected instructor.
Don't get me wrong. I have a NC CHP and a PA non-res LTCF. I'll probably be getting a VA CHP this summer as well, and maybe a UT permit too, if I can afford it and can scedule a class between grad school and family activities. But I don't have those permits because I prefer CC. I only CC when the weather is nasty, or when my wife is acting cranky about me OCing (which is becoming less and less often, thank god), or when I'm "dressed up" and wearing a suit, or a sports coat. I also have those permits because I travel a lot, and it makes life easier for interstate travel while carrying in my vehicle. And it also is my way of boosting the statistics regarding the number of issued permits in the states where I regularly travel, because the more permits that are issued, the stronger our position is. Ever single CC permit that gets issued helps our cause! I recommend that EVERYONE who carries and can afford it get their CHP, if for no other reasons that 1) it makes carrying in a car MUCH easier, 2) it boosts the permit stats, and 3) the training DOES have a lot of good legal info that you should know anyway, with regard to self-defense and your rights and legal obligations.
But I OC about 90% of the time. And I've NEVER had a problem with an LEO. I've OCed in Raleigh, Fayetteville, Jacksonville, Washington, Greenville, Dunn, all up and down I-95, as well as in WV, PA, VA and OH. And I have never once had an issue with a cop.
Because in NC (and VA, and PA, and WV, and a whole mess of other states), OC is perfectly legal. Period. End of discussion...
