overheard convo at gun show

I was at the C & E gun show today in Charlotte. walking around getting prices and ooh and ahhing like everyone else. As I walked past the GRNC booth I heard one of their reps/volunteers/workers say to a person "if you have a CCW then you MUST conceal the gun."

I was more taken back in disbelief than anything else. I didnt hear the entire conversation, so I wasnt going to jump in and correct him. As far as I know they could have been talking about something else, or I heard that sentence way out of context. I tried telling myself that I had heard wrong, but I am 100% sure that is what I heard.

I'm posting this on here to hopefully see if anybody else was there today and can verify this. I hope I'm wrong about this because I would hate to know that a respected organization like the GRNC was spouting such wrong info to the uneducated public....

If you have a NCHP then you can choose open or concealed maybe they were talking about somewhere else who knows. I was gonna go to the show but I dont have any money to buy anything and I spend enough time online looking at everything I want

I will bet that the booth person was quoting a misinformed non-booth person who they heard speaking earlier.
*crossing fingers*

Did you step in, and hand them one of the "NC Gun Rights" brochures that we made up?

When I go to gun shows, I usually have a few dozen in my pockets...

I dont have a problem with someone being ignorant about the laws, lord knows I dont know them all , but when someone acts like they know and dont really know and gives someone the wrong info it kind of chaps me. I hope you just didnt get the whole story. I probably would have poked my nose in. You would be surprised with all the people who says OC is a "grey" area. What ??

Always take the short moment it takes to step in politely. Nip it in the bud before it becomes well rooted in disinformation. With practice anyone call learn to do it effectively.

I sometimes stick around and listen for context, and politely ask a question to join the conversation.

What he said is basically correct for SC and FL (to name two), but the same is also a too-common misrepresentation of NC law. Like someone else said, it's well worth helping nip it in the bud.

Incidentally, for the upcoming Greensboro gun show, I'm considering working the GRNC booth.

aosailor said:

I was at the C & E gun show today in Charlotte. walking around getting prices and ooh and ahhing like everyone else. As I walked past the GRNC booth I heard one of their reps/volunteers/workers say to a person "if you have a CCW then you MUST conceal the gun."

I was more taken back in disbelief than anything else. I didnt hear the entire conversation, so I wasnt going to jump in and correct him. As far as I know they could have been talking about something else, or I heard that sentence way out of context. I tried telling myself that I had heard wrong, but I am 100% sure that is what I heard.

I'm posting this on here to hopefully see if anybody else was there today and can verify this. I hope I'm wrong about this because I would hate to know that a respected organization like the GRNC was spouting such wrong info to the uneducated public....

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Chances are you heard what you thought you heard. The volunteers at the table are not "experts" on gun laws. The GRNC gun show coordinators are the "experts" if you will. Their job is to train the volunteers and that is something that takes time. There were at least two new volunteers at the show this weekend.

You should have politely entered the conversation and maybe gotten the coordinator involved.

I'll pass word on to the Charlotte coordinator and let him investigate. We (GRNC) don't want to be passing on bad information.

xdfan said:

I sometimes stick around and listen for context, and politely ask a question to join the conversation.

What he said is basically correct for SC and FL (to name two), but the same is also a too-common misrepresentation of NC law. Like someone else said, it's well worth helping nip it in the bud.

Incidentally, for the upcoming Greensboro gun show, I'm considering working the GRNC booth.

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That is also a misleading statement for SC and was challenged in court and resulted in an unneeded law to be passed. In SC there are some places that you cannot carry without a CWP and in those places you must conceal as you stated. However there are many places that you may carry in SC without a CWP and there is no requirement for it to be concealed or open. The case I referenced in my first sentence involved some that were charged for carrying a gun in the glove compartment of their car after obtaining a CWP. As you stated the LEO thought that if you had a CWP you had to have your gun concealed in your car but that was not the case at all. In SC the CWP allows you to carry in certain places without being arrested as long as you keep it concealed.

i sent this thread to GRNC and got this response ;


Thank you for bringing this to our attention. It is a little difficult to determine what the full conversation may have been but most of our volunteers understand that open carry is legal in NC, unless otherwise restricted by specific county or city ordinances (see statues below). We are pretty careful not to give out legal advice or to portray our organization as an authoritative resource. For that I keep a copy of Firearm Laws of North Carolina by: Thomas Faulk on my desk and refer to it constantly.


I'll look into it.

153A‑129. Firearms.

A county may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the discharge of firearms at any time or place except when used to take birds or animals pursuant to Chapter 113, Subchapter IV, when used in defense of person or property, or when used pursuant to lawful directions of law‑enforcement officers. A county may also regulate the display of firearms on the public roads, sidewalks, alleys, or other public property. This section does not limit a county's authority to take action under Chapter 14, Article 36A. (1973, c. 822, s. 1; 2006‑264, s. 16.)

160A‑189. Firearms.

A city may by ordinance regulate, restrict, or prohibit the discharge of firearms at any time or place within the city except when used in defense of person or property or pursuant to lawful directions of law‑enforcement officers, and may regulate the display of firearms on the streets, sidewalks, alleys, or other public property. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit a city's authority to take action under Article 36A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. (1971, c. 698, s. 1.)



Thanks,

David Regnery, Director Volunteer Services
Grass Roots North Carolina


A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed!

wethepeople said:

I dont have a problem with someone being ignorant about the laws, lord knows I dont know them all , but when someone acts like they know and dont really know and gives someone the wrong info it kind of chaps me. I hope you just didnt get the whole story. I probably would have poked my nose in. You would be surprised with all the people who says OC is a "grey" area. What ??

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OC is a "grey" area. All you have to do is read the threads on here abut encounters with LEO's that "know the law"

Very few people outside this forum have a clue about gun laws.

I have heard back from some of the volunteers this weekend and no one is certain what transpired. The only apparent conversation anyone recalls involving "open carry" centered around transporting in a vehicle. Apparently someone asked about transporting a handgun in there car and were told to make sure it was in plain sight unless they had a CCW permit, a brief conversation ensued.

Again, we are careful not to give legal advice but do encourage people to purchase Faulk's book Firearm Laws of North Carolina (we carry the book and sold several copies this weekend in Charlotte). As a conceal carry instructor, I refer to it often and take it with me when I teach because someone will ask me a question that I don't know the answer to. When I'm volunteering at a gun shows I refer to it as well.

Thanks for your interest, I notice you are from Mt. Airy. There is a gun show in Winston-Salem this weekend so if you happen to attend please stop by the GRNC table, if you are not a member I would encourage you to consider it.

Best wishes,

David Regnery

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed!

There is no OC in SC. I don't know why people apparently think it is legal, but I assure you, you must have a permit and it must be concealed.

cricketdad said:

OC is a "grey" area. All you have to do is read the threads on here abut encounters with LEO's that "know the law"

Very few people outside this forum have a clue about gun laws.

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Just because we hear too often of encounters with ignorant LEOs does NOT mean that OC is a grey area. There is nothing grey about it in the law; There is no statute prohibiting OC in NC.

jerz_subbie said:

Just because we hear too often of encounters with ignorant LEOs does NOT mean that OC is a grey area. There is nothing grey about it in the law; There is no statute prohibiting OC in NC.

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Look at the quotation marks in my post. I meant exactly what you said.

sultan62 said:

There is no OC in SC. I don't know why people apparently think it is legal, but I assure you, you must have a permit and it must be concealed.

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With the exception of your residence and your fixed place of business (so long as you don't sell alcohol for on-premise consumption), that statement is true.

Hef said:

With the exception of your residence and your fixed place of business (so long as you don't sell alcohol for on-premise consumption), that statement is true.

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Not only your residence but any property you own or any other private property where you have permisssion. Also you can OC while hunting or fishing or on the way there and back. You may also OC while carrying from your car to your motel room. If you take the amount of privately owned land in SC, add in the amount owned by the government but permits hunting and fishing this amounts to about 90% of the land in SC is OC friendly. But the CC requirements only cover handguns so you can carry a long gun openly on most other property. Other than a few places where guns are prohibited by the DNR I haven't been able to find any real restrictions on long gun carry so I can't really say where they are prohibited. I know I see them just about everywhere other than schools where all guns are banned.

cricketdad said:

Look at the quotation marks in my post. I meant exactly what you said.

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Sorry I misunderstood your post. I still don't get it haha but that's besides the point; I'm glad we agree!

jerz_subbie said:

Sorry I misunderstood your post. I still don't get it haha but that's besides the point; I'm glad we agree!

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I posted that at 2 am, maybe I didn't know what I meant