Guns and the law: How many gun laws have you broken today?

October 5, 6:32 PMCharlotte Gun Rights ExaminerPaul Valone

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In all likelihood, you’re a felon and don’t even know it. Despite your best efforts to be a law-abiding gun owner, the vast number of arcane, misinterpreted and sometimes misdirected gun laws in state and federal statutes means that almost inevitably, you are a law-breaker.

Maybe you drove to your favorite hunting spot, rifle in your trunk, and unwittingly passed within 1,000 feet of a school. Oops. You just violated the federal “Gun Free School Zones Act.” Maybe you just went leaf-peeping on the Blue Ridge Parkway, unknowingly bringing a gun into a national park.

One of the most laughable assertions made by gun control advocates is that guns are “unregulated.” In truth, with (by some estimates) as many as 30,000 gun laws on the books, navigating the minefield they create becomes nearly impossible.

But don’t worry, you aren’t alone. Quite often, cops don’t understand gun laws either. A few weeks ago, I got an e-mail from someone in Durham, NC who was accosted and threatened with arrest for simply walking down the street with a holstered handgun on his hip, never mind that absolutely nothing in North Carolina law prohibits him from so doing. Adding insult to injury, I have seen even a state Attorney General’s office willfully misinterpret the law.

As demonstrated below, some laws have unintended consequences which render them all but unenforceable … until an ambitious, anti-gun district attorney decides to prosecute.

While directing my state’s primary gun rights organization, the questions roll in daily:

“I live here but have an out-of-state Florida concealed handgun permit. Is it valid here?”

“Is tracer ammunition legal here?”

“Do I need a pistol purchase permit for a private sale, or just when buying from a dealer?”

“I had a conviction for a [fill-in-the-blank] misdemeanor when I was a teenager. Can my sheriff deny me a concealed handgun permit?”

To you I say the same thing I tell them: I am not a lawyer, and nothing herein should be construed as legal advice. What I can tell you with certainty is that ignorance is peril. If you fail to have at least a basic knowledge of gun laws, you could end up among unlucky gun owners whose guns are confiscated or, worse, whose lives are wrecked spending tens of thousands of dollars defending themselves in court.

INTERSTATE TRANSPORTATION OF FIREARMS

Once hazard-laden, the 1986 McClure-Volkmer Act greatly simplified interstate transportation of firearms. Generally speaking, firearms carried in locked compartments, with ammunition separate, keep you within the law. For specifics, check with the NRA at: http://www.nraila.org/GunLaws/Federal/Read.aspx?id=59

CONCEALED HANDGUN RECIPROCITY

Concealed handgun reciprocity agreements give permit-holders the opportunity to protect themselves when travelling in other states, but present unique hazards when state laws vary. Among question to consider: Are you required to identify yourself to police during a traffic stop? Where are you prohibited from carrying? Restaurants? Parks?

An excellent summary of state laws, with links, can be found at: http://www.handgunlaw.us/

COMMONLY BROKEN LAWS

To give examples of laws you might accidentally break, I asked Charlotte, North Carolina attorney Thomas Faulk, author of the book Firearms Law of North Carolina. Although the violations listed are specific to NC law, the issues raised should be checked whatever your state of residence.

Among common North Carolina violations listed by Faulk:

Gun-Free School Zone Act of 1996: This federal law prohibits firearms within 1000 feet of a school zone, with exceptions. School “zones” are ill defined; when are you in a school zone? Many people pass or travel within 1000 feet of school without ever knowing that the school exists.

Carrying a concealed rifle without a permit: Carrying a rifle in a gun bag or carry box to the rifle range is a violation of law. No permit system exists for concealed rifles. Most people do not just throw their rifle in the backseat loose and unprotected.

Carrying firearms into assemblies of people where an entrance fee was charged: Specifically prohibited under NC law, it is commonly construed to include places such as theaters, but what about gun shows and pistol ranges?

Firearms at extracurricular school activities: NC law prohibits firearms at extracurricular school activities. If you are going into Chick-Fil-A to get a sandwich, how do you know that a school is having a “Food Night” activity there? If you are already eating at Chick-Fil-A, and a school starts up an extracurricular activity there, do you have to leave or be illegal?

Local Ordinances: Most people could not tell you state law on firearms, much less the city and county ordinances regarding firearms for every city/county they regularly travel through, much less the “crazy quilt patchwork” of local gun laws.

[Writer's note: Like many states, NC has a “preemption law” prohibiting local governments from enacting ordinances more stringent than state law. However, cities and counties vary widely in firearm discharge ordinances, bans on firearms in public parks, and the open display of certain types of handguns. The city of Durham also has an Jim Crow-era gun registration law which survived preemption because it was originally passed as a local bill by the General Assembly and which could be construed to apply to anyone passing though the city.

Transporting a handgun without a concealed handgun permit: People sometimes decide to take a handgun they have at home to their workplace, for storage at their workplace, for self-defense at the workplace. No concealed carry permit is needed at home or at the workplace. But, transporting the gun concealed in a box or bag between the two places is illegal. Ditto for transporting a handgun to a firing range or repair shop.

Concludes Faulk: “Most of these laws are not enforced because the police never find out about the violation. Even if a person were caught technically illegal, it is expected that most police officers would exercise some intelligence about the “violation” and ignore it, or warn the citizen and tell them to move along. The time for concern comes when enforcement becomes arbitrary or random, and the government starts selectively enforcing laws to achieve some perceived government goal, such as enforcing the law against blacks, but not against whites.”