Just wanted to let you guys know about the latest attempt in Comunist Government.  Chjarlotte, NC is attempting to pass a law against open carry, which the state recognises.  While thsi may not seem like a big thig, and while there are a lot of places where this is already a lost cause, this is another attemp to infringe on citizens to protect themselves.  PLEASE take a minute to read and then think exactly what this could mean and how easy it is to loose something if we turn our heads.
               Charlotte City Council to consider banning open display of firearms

On Monday, October 10, 2005, the City Council of Charlotte, NC will entertain an ordinance to ban the open display of firearms in public.  The proposal, being pushed by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Chief of Police, will be discussed at the dinner briefing held at 5:00pm at the Conference Center, immediately prior to the 7:00pm council meeting in Room 267 at the Charlotte Mecklenburg Government Center, 600 E. Fourth Street.  The proposed ordinance is patterned after a similar ordinance passed 12 years ago in Chapel Hill, NC.  The Chapel Hill ordinance bans the display of handguns on public streets and sidewalks and allows police to charge the offender with a misdemeanor.  In other words, the City of Charlotte wants to turn its citizens who are taking responsibility for their own protection into criminals.  

Interestingly, the city’s attorney admits they haven’t seen misuse of firearms, just reports of people carrying openly in compliance with the law.  Apparently, the police “recently received several reports of people walking around uptown, wearing guns openly, said Mark Newbold, a police attorney.  No one was threatening anyone with the weapons, police said. And officers checked out the calls, making sure felons weren't carrying the guns.”  

Open carry of firearms has long been a tradition here in the south.  GRNC sees this as a tool to “liberalize” the city of Charlotte, making it more like its crime ridden neighbors in the north, since by the city’s own admission, there have been no problems.  

What this would do to you as a gun owner:

If you have a concealed handgun permit, police could harass you and charge you with a misdemeanor if your jacket blows open on a windy day.  The sheriff could then use that as grounds to revoke and deny your concealed handgun permit.

If you draw your handgun in self-defense in a public area, the perpetrator could run away and then have police charge you with a crime for displaying.

If you are entering an area where carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited, such as a movie theater or sports arena, and you remove your handgun to store it in the trunk of your car, you could be charged under this law for unlawful display, even though you are complying with the broader statewide law!

If you don’t have a concealed handgun permit, you could not wear a weapon when you take your dog for a walk at night, carry a weapon if your business causes you to go into dangerous areas, or even carry the weapon exposed in your vehicle, as has been the legal means of vehicle carry, on a public street.  You could even be charged if you carried a newly purchased weapon from the store to your car!