If you live in Johnston County, NC go here and send your inquiry. If you live in any of the other 38 counties (Beaufort, Bertie, Bladen, Brunswick, Camden, Carteret, Chowan, Columbus, Craven, Cumberland, Currituck, Dare, Duplin, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Harnett, Hertford, Hyde, Johnston, Jones, Lenoir, Martin, Nash, New Hanover, Northampton, Onslow, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Pender, Perquimans, Pitt, Robeson, Sampson, Tyrrell, Washington, Wayne, Wilson) where the state of emergency has been declared, then find your Sheriff’s office contact information and ask them, in your own words, what their policy will be.
Here’s what I sent:
Sheriff Bizzell,
I note that Governor Bev Perdue’s Executive Order 103 has this in Section 7:
“This order is adopted pursuant to my powers under Article 1 of Chapter 166A of the General Statutes and under Article 36A of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes. It does not trigger the limitations on weapons in G.S. § 14-288.7 or impose any limitation on the consumption, transportation, sale or purchase of alcoholic beverages.”
Unfortunately, there are many who are of the opinion that the Governor has no legal authority to invoke Article 36A of Chapter 14 in an a-la-carte fashion. She can invoke Article 1 of Chapter 166A, which has done with some previous Executive Orders if she so chooses, and I note she has in the past.
I typically go armed everywhere I can, as it is within my rights, and often carry openly. I carry openly when I shop for groceries. I plan to do so tonight to be sure I’m well supplied for Hurricane Irene.
Could you please clarify for me how your deputies will be informed regarding encounters with legally armed citizens during this state of emergency that on the one hand makes it illegal to possess arms off of our own property, but on the other hand, the Governor has unilaterally modified a codified statute declaring that she is not invoking the prohibition on firearms portion of it?
h/t to John for the info on the Executive Order.
Update: Although I am appreciative that I got a fairly quick call back from Chief Deputy Bengie Gaddis regarding this matter, assuring me that the Sheriff’s office has got much more important things to do than go around looking for people carrying guns and that they pride themselves on respecting citizens right to keep and bear arms, it does raise an important question. And that is, why is the Sheriff’s Department choosing to selectively enforce the law?
Admittedly, this is the fault of the governor for putting Sheriffs’ Departments in the above 39 counties in this position. Hence, my next action: contacting the governor’s office.