Firearms in Emergencies bill in North Carolina

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LAR-15

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GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2007

H 1

HOUSE BILL 310









Short Title: No Seizure of Lawful Firearms in Emergency.
(Public)

Sponsors:
Representatives Cleveland, Hilton, Moore (Primary Sponsors); Barnhart, Blackwood, Brown, Current, Folwell, Frye, Holloway, Justus, Killian, Langdon, Lewis, McGee, Neumann, Pate, Samuelson, Setzer, Thomas, Tillis, and Walend.

Referred to:
Judiciary II.



February 22, 2007

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT clarifying that lawfully possessed firearms, ammunition, and ammunition components may not be seized during a declared state of emergency.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. G.S. 166A‑3 reads as rewritten:

"§ 166A‑3. Limitations.

Nothing in this Article shall be construed to:

(1) Interfere with dissemination of news or comment on public affairs; but any communications facility or organization, including but not limited to radio and television stations, wire services, and newspapers, may be requested to transmit or print public service messages furnishing information or instructions in connection with an emergency, disaster or war; orwar.

(2) Limit, modify modify, or abridge abridge, except as provided in subdivision (3) of this section, the authority of the Governor to proclaim martial law or exercise any other powers vested in him under the Constitution, statutes, or common law of this State independent of, or in conjunction with, any provisions of this Article.

(3) Authorize the taking, confiscation, or seizure, of lawfully possessed firearms, ammunition, or ammunition components."

SECTION 2. Article 36A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding a new section to read:

"§ 14‑288.1A. Limitation.

Nothing in this Article shall be construed to authorize the taking, confiscation, or seizure of lawfully possessed firearms, ammunition, or ammunition components."

SECTION 3. G.S. 14‑288.7 reads as rewritten:

"§ 14‑288.7. Transporting dangerous weapon or substance during emergency; possessing off premises; exceptions.

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, it is unlawful for any person to transport or possess off his own premises any dangerous weapon or substance in any area:

(1) In which a declared state of emergency exists; exists, unless the dangerous weapon transported or possessed is a firearm, ammunition, or an ammunition component; or

(2) Within the immediate vicinity of which a riot is occurring.

(b) This section does not apply to persons exempted from the provisions of G.S. 14‑269 with respect to any activities lawfully engaged in while carrying out their duties.

(c) Any person who violates any provision of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor."

SECTION 4. G.S. 14‑288.12(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b) The ordinances authorized by this section may permit prohibitions and restrictions:

(1) Of movements of people in public places;

(2) Of the operation of offices, business establishments, and other places to or from which people may travel or at which they may congregate;

(3) Upon the possession, transportation, sale, purchase, and consumption of alcoholic beverages;

(4) Upon Subject to G.S. 14‑288.1A, upon the possession, transportation, sale, purchase, storage, and use of dangerous weapons and substances, and gasoline; and

(5) Upon other activities or conditions the control of which may be reasonably necessary to maintain order and protect lives or property during the state of emergency.

The ordinances may delegate to the mayor of the municipality the authority to determine and proclaim the existence of a state of emergency, and to impose those authorized prohibitions and restrictions appropriate at a particular time."

SECTION 5. This act becomes effective December 1, 2007.
 
re:

Pay close attention to the wording of that document. "Lawfully Owned" firearms...placing the burden of proof on the possessor. How many of us hang onto our receipts and/or bills of sale?

"Sir, can you prove that you obtained that firearm in a legal manner prescribed by law? No? Give it up."
 
Sounds like an effort to put into law what the police chief of New Orleans did after Katrina.

Or it could just be poorly worded. Or worded to avoid liberal knee-jerk reactions... "What about criminals? We can't take away THEIR firearms"?

BTW 1911Tuner: Thanks for helping out Collie Rescue. My family have been members of English Shepard Rescue for years. There are few acts more rewarding than helping an abandoned dog become a happy pet.:)
 
Words

I would much rather see it worded:

"No firearms will be seized during an emergency without just cause."
With a list defining "just causes" as roaming in gangs, looting, etc. If a man is at home, he is in his castle. No searches for "unlawful" weapons may be performed without a warrant...and the warrant should be issued with probable cause. i.e. Suspicion of illegal activity in which firearms play a role.

"Knock Knock.'

"Yes?"

Any weapons on the premesis?"

"None of your business."

"Yes sir. If you need us for anything, just call. Have a nice day."

"Bye now."

"Unlawful Firearms" just leaves it too open-ended.
 
Link to the bill's text, since it's a little hard to figure out without the proper underline and strikethru formatting.

http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2007/Bills/House/HTML/H310v1.html

Maybe I'm missing it (and I'm known to do so, quite often), but it seems like a good bill to me. The two big things it seems to do are:

1) modify our emergency management and riot/civil defense laws to state that they shall not be construed to "authorize the taking, confiscation, or seizure, of lawfully possessed firearms, ammunition, or ammunition components." (Same language for both the emergency management and the riot laws.)

2) modify our "carrying of dangerous weapons or substances during emergencies" law. Currently it's unlawful to carry a weapon off-premises during a declared emergency. The bill adds "unless the dangerous weapon transported or possessed is a firearm, ammunition, or an ammunition component".

IANAL, so someone help me out here. To me, it corrects a major flaw in our carry law: concealed carry permits become meaningless and citizens have no lawful method of carry anytime and anyplace the Governor declares a state of emergency.
 
Agreed, it sounds like they are attempting to change 14.288.7 to allow off-premises carrying of firearms (but prohibit carrying of other dangerous weapons?) during declared states of emergency.

I always wondered why no one seemed too wound up about this clause during our numerous declared state emergencies (9/11, hurricanes, ice storms, etc.) I guess it's just one of those statutes that could be invoked on a discretionary basis, though that is not how the statute reads. An ardent gun grabber in office, could play havoc, according to the law as it now stands.

:confused:
 
1911:
Don't know about the 'roaming in gangs' part. That could leave a lot to interpretation on the part of LE that might not bode well. For example a roving guard force in a subdivision or a group setting out to acquire food from a legal source. Or even a group trying to leave a blighted area on foot. All of these occurred after Katrina.
 
NC concealed carry sucks. i'm in the liberal northeast adjoining PRNYC and our state has only ONE restriction (schools) apart from posted areas (which are NOT common).

Under NC law, there's no CCW during "times of emergency." And you're subject to the vagaries of municipal law when it comes to Open Carry.

The NC carry law needs an enema ... and at the very least one should be able to carry openly in times of emergency (via state pre-emption).
 
It sounds okay to me, assuming that during an "emergency" it is assumed any firearm is lawfully possessed unless there is actual physical evidence to the contrary.

But, I think any intelligent person after seeing what happened in New Orleans, would absolutely refuse to hand over their guns anyways in any emergency.
 
Grassroots NC does a good job keeping up with this legislation.
http://www.grnc.org/alerts/alert_3_4_07.htm

I thanked the supporting representatives for this bill, hb310, and the HB476 castle doctrine bill. Philip Frye responded personally. Hopefully decent legislation like this continues and we avoid any new 'feel good' laws at the same time.
 
I still have a problem with the old law and this new bill:

I own several houses, all of which may need my immediate attention after a hurricane. When I go to check damages or do quick repairs at the other houses, I can not take the firearms that I legally possess at my residence.

While there has not been a looting problem in my neighborhoods in the past (much richer pickings just down the road), after Katrina, it seems anything is possible.
 
This new bill allows the carry of firearms and ammo during an emergency which is currently ILLEGAL in NC.

Remember ice storms and Hurricane Floyd??

Hurricane Hugo?
 
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