IS this legal in the great state of North Carolina?

I live in Nevada and I have this setup in my car. My sister lives in NC and wants to do something similar but doesn't know if it's legal or not. Can anyone tell me yeh or ney? Heres the photos:

Considering that its in the open, I want to say it is legal. As far as I know, the gun only has to be in the open to be safe from requiring a CCP.

Its legal in Virginia too.

What is that the holster is mounted onto?

What does and does not constitute "legal open carry" is generally open to "officer discretion" in NC.

The general rule is that it must be clearly visible by an approaching officer on the drivers side. If, when someone is sitting in the driver's seat, you CAN see it standing at the driver's side window on the outside, then it IS legal OC.

If you CAN'T see it from that position, then it is NOT generally considered legal OC.

Your setup is very clever, and undeniably secure. But I think whether or not is it legal for OC in NC is going to be highly dependent on the particular officer you're dealing with...

Sahib0120 said:

What is that the holster is mounted onto?

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That is a Serpa holster, mounted on a Blackhawk Serpa Quick Disconnect mount...

http://www.blackhawk.com/product/SERPA-Quick-Disconnect-Kit-2-Female1-Male,1239,82.htm

That is a really nice setup. NC law is like Dreamer said. It has to be out in the open enough that the officer can see it and be able to determine that it is a fire arm.

Nevada carrier said:

I live in Nevada and I have this setup in my car. My sister lives in NC and wants to do something similar but doesn't know if it's legal or not. Can anyone tell me yeh or ney? Heres the photos:

Click to expand...

Dreamer said:

What does and does not constitute "legal open carry" is generally open to "officer discretion" in NC.

The general rule is that it must be clearly visible by an approaching officer on the drivers side. If, when someone is sitting in the driver's seat, you CAN see it standing at the driver's side window on the outside, then it IS legal OC.

If you CAN'T see it from that position, then it is NOT generally considered legal OC.

Your setup is very clever, and undeniably secure. But I think whether or not is it legal for OC in NC is going to be highly dependent on the particular officer you're dealing with...

Click to expand...

+1 on what Dreamer said!Considering that it will be up to that particular officer's interpretation I wouldn't try it without a CHP,but if your sister does have a CHP it shouldn't be an issue I believe.Nice setup by the way!!!!!!!!!

My understanding of the Virginia law is that if it is worn/carried/placed in such a manner that is in itself openly carried and not truly hidden in all aspects - then it is OC.

Example: in a holster on my right hip, even when seated in a vehicle where the officer cannot directly see it from his perspective is still OC.

If seated strong side to the wall in a restaurant, it is still OC.

Said another way, it is the placement of the gun outside of your clothing in an open, exposed holster that constitutes OC. It is not where the viewer is standing or what may be obstructing his ability to see the gun.

In addition, there is no requirement to "inform" an officer that you are carrying when stopped. It is really not about officer safety and that becomes especially obvious when you consider that a bg is NOT going to volunteer that information anyway.

I would hope that at some future time NC would adopt a similar philosophy.

Nice rig! Might have to get one. Is there anywhere else in your sisters car to mount this? That's definitely the most convenient spot it seems. Anywhere on the vertical part of the console maybe? Another option may be to rig some sort of riser to get the gun up in plain sight a bit more. Just thinking out loud. Although it might look silly, technically it's legal to mount on to the dash. Now THAT would be in the open. Might turn a few heads though. That's the only way I have seen that dash mounting might work, lol.

#1 - i would err on the side of caution. if you are having trouble (due to the open-ended nature of NC law) figuring out if something is concealed or open, just assume the worst. if an officer approaches your vehicle from the passenger side, then i think your weapon is obviously "open". however, i can see a cop getting into a tizzy if he/she approached your vehicle from the driver's side.

#2 - man, that's a nice setup! i am going back and forth right now on buying one! i was hesitant until i realized that they offer this in different colors (my car interior is tan). SWEEEEET

Nice setup. I do not know the in and out of NC law but I myself would not worry about it as you have it.
Would be to easy to get any potential suit throw out on the grounds of the charge being retarded.
It is actually reasonably cheap to wire your personal vehicle with video/audio recording.
If you ever felt it might be an issue should consider that.

I've got the exact same setup in my car. It works great and allows me to remove the gun/holster together for safety. I'm not happy about the way the quick disconnect works while used on my gun belt. It adds a little width to the holster and with my heavy 92FS it causes a little droop no matter how tight I have my belt. I modified a second Serpa holster so I could sit comfortably in the car with it on and not worry about using the disconnect on my hip.

As others have said, the weapon is not concealed by itself, so if everyone was logical and following the law she'd be fine. However, with someone in the driver's seat, an approaching officer could easily miss it sitting there. When an officer doesn't see something, they tend to consider it concealed. Don't ask me how that makes any sense. Every time they close their eyes the entire world becomes concealed! Regardless, their concern is their safety. They want to know if there are guns around, and you can't much blame them for that, as long as they don't violate rights in the process.

I think she'll be fine carrying in her car like this, with two stipulations. 1, don't get pulled over. That should be a no brainer, but she should use the firearm as a reminder to watch her speed and pay attention. 2, if she does see blue lights, just set the weapon in the passenger seat, or on the dash. That way there's absolutely no question when the officer approaches. It would also help for her, at that point, to pleasantly point out that she is openly armed. She's not required to, but the friendly gesture goes a long way. Again, he's worried about his safety more than anything.

This set up SHOULD be considered open, and those of you down in NC should be doing your part to help get the little things like this recognized. Good luck!

DreQo said:

if she does see blue lights, just set the weapon in the passenger seat, or on the dash

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I would be careful with this, as the cop may see you moving around and assume the worst. Add this to a gun sitting in the seat, things may go badly.

its actually recommended to have the gun on the passenger seat or the dash, that way the officer can't say it wasn't in plain view. Her actions for reaching over to put the gun on the seat doesn't mean anything, and for all the cop knows, she could be getting her registration out of the glove compartment.

My thoughts:

1) If the officer doesn't see the weapon because it is obstructed by the drivers body, how will he charge her? (he never saw it)

2) If he sees it how could he possibly say it was concealed?

i know of local LE using the "concealed by body" trick.

papa bear said:

i know of local LE using the "concealed by body" trick.

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Location and result of court cases?

It greatly benefits those reading your posts to have your location shown in your profile - at least the state.

Nice Setup!

I'm considering a setup similar to this.... not a fan of the serpa quick release because of the added bulge like someone has mentioned but I did love the Beretta Serpa thigh rig I used while deployed. Especially after I bought the paddles in order to mount the holster in a way to go on my belt...