2012 North Dakota Century Code Title 62.1 Weapons Chapter 62.1-01 Definitions - General Provisions
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TITLE 62.1
WEAPONS
CHAPTER 62.1-01
DEFINITIONS - GENERAL PROVISIONS
62.1-01-01. General definitions.
As used in this title, unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Dangerous weapon" includes any switchblade or gravity knife, machete, scimitar,
stiletto, sword, dagger, or knife with a blade of five inches [12.7 centimeters] or more;
any throwing star, nunchaku, or other martial arts weapon; any billy, blackjack, sap,
bludgeon, cudgel, metal knuckles, or sand club; any slungshot; any bow and arrow,
crossbow, or spear; any stun gun; any weapon that will expel, or is readily capable of
expelling, a projectile by the action of a spring, compressed air, or compressed gas,
including any such weapon, loaded or unloaded, commonly referred to as a BB gun,
air rifle, or CO2 gun; and any projector of a bomb or any object containing or capable
of producing and emitting any noxious liquid, gas, or substance.
2. "Direct supervision of an adult" means that an adult is present in such close proximity
so as to be capable of observing and directing the actions of the individual supervised.
3. "Firearm" or "weapon" means any device which will expel, or is readily capable of
expelling, a projectile by the action of an explosive and includes any such device,
loaded or unloaded, commonly referred to as a pistol, revolver, rifle, gun, machine gun,
shotgun, bazooka, or cannon. For a felon who is not sentenced under section
12.1-32-09.1, the term does not include a firearm or weapon that is a rifle that has a
barrel sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] or longer or a shotgun that has a barrel
eighteen inches [45.72 centimeters] or longer and which is one of the following:
a. A firearm, including any firearm with a matchlock, flintlock, percussion cap, or
similar type of ignition system, manufactured before 1899.
b. A replica of any firearm described in subdivision a, if the replica is not designed or
redesigned for using rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition or uses
rimfire or conventional centerfire fixed ammunition that is no longer manufactured
in the United States and which is not readily available in the ordinary channels of
commercial trade.
c. A muzzleloading rifle or muzzleloading shotgun that is designed to use black
powder, or a black powder substitute, and cannot use fixed ammunition.
4. "Gaming site" means any room or premises licensed by the attorney general or by a
city or county governing body to conduct legal gaming operations.
5. "Government building" means a building which is owned, possessed, or used by or
leased to the state of North Dakota, or any of its political subdivisions.
6. "Handgun" means any firearm that is not designed to be fired from the shoulder, which
has a barrel less than sixteen inches [40.64 centimeters] long, and which is capable of
firing, by the energy of an explosive in a fixed metallic cartridge, an exposed projectile
through a rifled bore. The term includes the Thompson contender forty-five caliber
single-shot center-fire with a pistol grip or similar firearm, if in compliance with the
National Firearms Act [26 U.S.C. 5801-5872].
7. "Law enforcement officer" means a public servant authorized by law or by a
government agency or branch to enforce the law and to conduct or engage in
investigations or prosecutions for violations of law.
8. "Machine gun, submachine gun, or fully automatic rifle" means a firearm, mechanism,
or instrument not requiring that the trigger be pressed for each shot, and having a
reservoir, belt, or other means of storing and carrying ammunition which can be loaded
into the firearm, mechanism, or instrument and fired therefrom at a rate of five or more
shots to the second.
9. "Plain view" means the handgun is placed in such a location or carried in such a
position as to be easily discernible by the ordinary observation of a passerby. In a
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motor vehicle, this includes being placed on the seat, dashboard, or in a gunrack as
long as the handgun is not covered or is in any other way concealed from view.
"Rifle" means any firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to
be fired from the shoulder and using the energy of the explosive in a fixed metallic
cartridge to fire only a single projectile through a rifled bore for each pull of the trigger.
"Secured" means the firearm is closed into the trunk or nonpassenger part of the
vehicle; placed into a closed and secure carrying device; rendered inoperative by the
use of a trigger, hammer, cylinder, slide, or barrel-locking device that renders the
firearm incapable of firing until the device is unlocked and removed; or so
disassembled or disabled as to be rendered incapable of firing.
"Short-barreled rifle" means a rifle having one or more barrels less than sixteen inches
[40.64 centimeters] in length and any firearm made from a rifle, whether by alteration,
modification, or otherwise, if the firearm, as modified, has an overall length of less than
twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters].
"Short-barreled shotgun" means a shotgun having one or more barrels less than
eighteen inches [45.72 centimeters] in length and any firearm made from a shotgun,
whether by alteration, modification, or otherwise, if the firearm, as modified, has an
overall length of less than twenty-six inches [66.04 centimeters].
"Shotgun" means a firearm designed or redesigned, made or remade, and intended to
be fired with one hand below or behind and one hand in front of the breach, which
uses the energy of the explosive in a fixed shotgun shell to fire through a smooth or a
rifled bore either a number of ball shot or a single projectile for each single pull of the
trigger.
"Silencer" means any device for or attached to any firearm which will silence or
deaden the sound or natural report of the firearm when it is discharged.
"Unloaded" means the chamber of the firearm does not contain a loaded shell. If the
firearm is a revolver, then none of the chambers in the cylinder may contain a loaded
shell. Handguns with a removable magazine or clip must have the magazine or clip
removed from the firearm if the magazine or clip contains any loaded shells.
62.1-01-02. Forfeiture of dangerous weapon or firearm by person arrested and
convicted of crime.
Any firearm or dangerous weapon used or possessed while in the commission of a felony or
a misdemeanor involving violence or intimidation must be seized and, upon conviction and by
motion, forfeited to the jurisdiction in which the arrest was made or the jurisdiction in which the
charge arose. Except as provided in chapter 29-01 for stolen property, the forfeited firearm or
dangerous weapon may be, pursuant to court order, sold at public auction, sold or traded to
other law enforcement agencies or authorized firearm dealers, retained for use, or destroyed.
62.1-01-03. Limitation on authority of political subdivision regarding firearms.
No political subdivision, including home rule cities or counties, may enact any ordinance
relating to the purchase, sale, ownership, transfer of ownership, registration, or licensure of
firearms and ammunition which is more restrictive than state law. All such existing ordinances
are void.
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