2005 North Carolina Code - General Statutes Article 52A - Sale of Weapons in Certain Counties.

Article 52A.

Sale of Weapons in Certain Counties.

§ 14‑402.  Sale of certain weapons without permit forbidden.

(a)       It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation in this State to sell, give away, or transfer, or to purchase or receive, at any place within this State from any other place within or without the State any pistol or crossbow unless: (i) a license or permit is first obtained under this Article by the purchaser or receiver from the sheriff of the county in which the purchaser or receiver resides; or (ii) a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit is held under Article 54B of this Chapter by the purchaser or receiver who must be a resident of the State at the time of the purchase.

It is unlawful for any person or persons to receive from any postmaster, postal clerk, employee in the parcel post department, rural mail carrier, express agent or employee, railroad agent or employee within the State of North Carolina any pistol or crossbow without having in his or their possession and without exhibiting at the time of the delivery of the same and to the person delivering the same the permit from the sheriff as provided in G.S. 14‑403. Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.

(b)       This section does not apply to an antique firearm or an historic edged weapon.

(c)       The following definitions apply in this section:

(1)       Antique firearm. – Defined in G.S. 14‑409.11.

(2)       Bolt. – A projectile made to be discharged from a crossbow. The bolt differs from an arrow in that the bolt is heavier and shorter than an arrow.

(3)       Crossbow. – A mechanical device consisting of, but not limited to, strings, cables, and prods transversely mounted on either a shoulder or hand‑held stock. This device is mechanically held at full or partial draw and released by a trigger or similar mechanism that is incorporated into a stock or handle. When operated, the crossbow discharges a projectile known as a bolt.

(4)       Historic edged weapon. – Defined in G.S. 14‑409.12. (1919, c. 197, s. 1; C.S., s. 5106; 1923, c. 106; 1947, c. 781; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1971, c. 133, s. 2; 1979, c. 895, ss. 1, 2; 1993, c. 287, s. 1; c. 539, s. 284; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2004‑183, s. 1; 2004‑203, s. 1.)

 

§ 14‑403.  Permit issued by sheriff; form of permit; expiration of permit.

The sheriffs of any and all counties of this State shall issue to any person, firm, or corporation in any county a license or permit to purchase or receive any weapon mentioned in this Article from any person, firm, or corporation offering to sell or dispose of the weapon. The license or permit shall expire five years from the date of issuance. The license or permit shall be in the following form:

North Carolina,

______________ County.

I, ______________, Sheriff of said County, do hereby certify that I have conducted a criminal background check of the applicant, ______________ whose place of residence is ______________ in ______________ (or) in ______________ Township, ______________ County, North Carolina, and have received no information to indicate that it would be a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase, transfer, receive, or possess a handgun. The applicant has further satisfied me as to his, her (or) their good moral character. Therefore, a license or permit is issued to ______________ to purchase one pistol from any person, firm or corporation authorized to dispose of the same.

This license or permit expires five years from its date of issuance.

This ____ day of ____________, ________.

                                                                        _____________________________________

Sheriff.

 (1919, c. 197, s. 2; C.S., s. 5107; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1395, s. 3; 1995, c. 487, s. 1; 1999‑456, s. 59.)

 

§ 14‑404.  Issuance or refusal of permit; appeal from refusal; grounds for refusal; sheriff's fee.

(a)       Upon application, the sheriff shall issue the license or permit to a resident of that county unless the purpose of the permit is for collecting, in which case a sheriff can issue a permit to a nonresident when the sheriff has done all of the following:

(1)       Verified by a criminal history background investigation that it is not a violation of State or federal law for the applicant to purchase, transfer, receive, or possess a handgun. The sheriff shall determine the criminal history of any applicant by accessing computerized criminal history records as maintained by the State Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, by conducting a national criminal history records check, and by conducting a criminal history check through the Administrative Office of the Courts.

(2)       Fully satisfied himself or herself by affidavits, oral evidence, or otherwise, as to the good moral character of the applicant.

(3)       Fully satisfied himself or herself that the applicant desires the possession of the weapon mentioned for (i) the protection of the home, business, person, family or property, (ii) target shooting, (iii) collecting, or (iv) hunting.

(b)       If the sheriff is not fully satisfied, the sheriff may, for good cause shown, decline to issue the license or permit and shall provide to the applicant within seven days of the refusal a written statement of the reason(s) for the refusal. An appeal from the refusal shall lie by way of petition to the chief judge of the district court for the district in which the application was filed. The determination by the court, on appeal, shall be upon the facts, the law, and the reasonableness of the sheriff's refusal, and shall be final.

(c)       A permit may not be issued to the following persons:

(1)       One who is under an indictment or information for or has been convicted in any state, or in any court of the United States, of a felony (other than an offense pertaining to antitrust violations, unfair trade practices, or restraints of trade). However, a person who has been convicted of a felony in a court of any state or in a court of the United States and who is later pardoned may obtain a permit, if the purchase or receipt of a pistol or crossbow permitted in this Article does not violate a condition of the pardon.

(2)       One who is a fugitive from justice.

(3)       One who is an unlawful user of or addicted to marijuana or any depressant, stimulant, or narcotic drug (as defined in 21 U.S.C. section 802).

(4)       One who has been adjudicated mentally incompetent or has been committed to any mental institution.

(5)       One who is an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States.

(6)       One who has been discharged from the armed forces under dishonorable conditions.

(7)       One who, having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced his or her citizenship.

(8)       One who is subject to a court order that:

a.         Was issued after a hearing of which the person received actual notice, and at which the person had an opportunity to participate;

b.         Restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner of the person or child of the intimate partner of the person, or engaging in other conduct that would place an intimate partner in reasonable fear of bodily injury to the partner or child; and

c.         Includes a finding that the person represents a credible threat to the physical safety of the intimate partner or child; or by its terms explicitly prohibits the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the intimate partner or child that would reasonably be expected to cause bodily injury.

(d)       Nothing in this Article shall apply to officers authorized by law to carry firearms if the officers identify themselves to the vendor or donor as being officers authorized by law to carry firearms and state that the purpose for the purchase of the firearms is directly related to the law officers' official duties.

(e)       The sheriff shall charge for the sheriff's services upon issuing the license or permit a fee of five dollars ($5.00).

(f)        Each applicant for a license or permit shall be informed by the sheriff within 30 days of the date of the application whether the license or permit will be granted or denied and, if granted, the license or permit shall be immediately issued to the applicant. (1919, c. 197, s. 3; C.S., s. 5108; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1969, c. 73; 1981 (Reg. Sess., 1982), c. 1395, s. 1; 1987, c. 518, s. 1; 1995, c. 487, s. 2.)

 

§ 14‑405.  Record of permits kept by sheriff.

The sheriff shall keep a book, to be provided by the board of commissioners of each county, in which he shall keep a record of all licenses or permits issued under this article, including the name, date, place of residence, age, former place of residence, etc., of each such person, firm, or corporation to whom or which a license or permit is issued. (1919, c. 197, s. 4; C.S., s. 5109; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2.)

 

§ 14‑406.  Dealer to keep record of sales.

Every dealer in pistols and other weapons mentioned in this Article shall keep an accurate record of all sales thereof, including the name, place of residence, date of sale, etc., of each person, firm, or corporation to whom or which such sales are made, which record shall be open to the inspection of any duly constituted State, county or police officer, within this State. (1919, c. 197, s. 5; C.S., s. 5110; 1987, c. 115, s. 1.)

 

§ 14‑407:  Repealed by Session Laws 1997‑6.

 

§ 14‑407.1.  Sale of blank cartridge pistols.

The provisions of G.S. 14‑402 and 14‑405 to 14‑407 shall apply to the sale of pistols suitable for firing blank cartridges. The clerks of the superior courts of all the counties of this State are authorized and may in their discretion issue to any person, firm or corporation, in any such county, a license or permit to purchase or receive any pistol suitable for firing blank cartridges from any person, firm or corporation offering to sell or dispose of the same, which said permit shall be in substantially the following form:

North Carolina

______________ County

I, ______________, Clerk of the Superior Court of said county, do hereby certify that ______________, whose place of residence is ______________ Street in ______________ (or) in ______________ Township in ______________ County, North Carolina, having this day satisfied me that the possession of a pistol suitable for firing blank cartridges will be used only for lawful purposes, a permit is therefore given said ______________ to purchase said pistol from any person, firm or corporation authorized to dispose of the same, this ________ day of ____________, ________.

                                                                        _____________________________________

Clerk of Superior Court

The clerk shall charge for his services, upon issuing such permit, a fee of fifty cents (50¢). (1959, c. 1068; 1999‑456, s. 59.)

 

§ 14‑408.  Violation of § 14‑406 a misdemeanor.

Any person, firm, or corporation violating any of the provisions of G.S. 14‑406 shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. (1919, c. 197, s. 7; C.S., s. 5112; 1969, c. 1224, s. 6; 1993, c. 539, s. 285; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1998‑217, s. 3(a).)

 

§ 14‑409.  Machine guns and other like weapons.

(a)       As used in this section, "machine gun" or "submachine gun" means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.

(b)       It shall be unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to manufacture, sell, give away, dispose of, use or possess machine guns, submachine guns, or other like weapons as defined by subsection (a) of this section: Provided, however, that this subsection shall not apply to the following:

Banks, merchants, and recognized business establishments for use in their respective places of business, who shall first apply to and receive from the sheriff of the county in which said business is located, a permit to possess the said weapons for the purpose of defending the said business; officers and soldiers of the United States Army, when in discharge of their official duties, officers and soldiers of the militia when called into actual service, officers of the State, or of any county, city or town, charged with the execution of the laws of the State, when acting in the discharge of their official duties; the manufacture, use or possession of such weapons for scientific or experimental purposes when such manufacture, use or possession is lawful under federal laws and the weapon is registered with a federal agency, and when a permit to manufacture, use or possess the weapon is issued by the sheriff of the county in which the weapon is located. Provided, further, that any bona fide resident of this State who now owns a machine gun used in former wars, as a relic or souvenir, may retain and keep same as his or her property without violating the provisions of this section upon his reporting said ownership to the sheriff of the county in which said person lives.

(c)       Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class I felony. (1933, c. 261, s. 1; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1965, c. 1200; 1989, c. 680, s. 1; 1993, c. 539, s. 1243; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 1999‑456, s. 33(b).)