Howdy,
Well, if you are moving to Durham County, then you are going to the worst county in the Triange area when it comes to gun ownership. I used to work at a gun shop in Raleigh and I heard a lot of horror stories about trying to get handgun purchase permits in Durham County. They included "lost paperwork", months of waiting for the permit, only being able to get two at a time or five in a year, etc.
I don't recall any character references required on my NC CCW application when I lived there. I wouldn't be surprised however if Durham County is requiring them.
More great news: Durham County has the only handgun registration in the state. There is a state law that allows Durham county to require handgun registration. Failing to register is a misdemeanor. I suppose it is possible that has changed. The law was still in effect in 2001 when I moved back to Virginia, but there was some talk about repealing it. I don't know if that happened, but given the political climate in Durham, I'd say it is unlikely.
Is there any way possible that you can live in Wake County? Wake County is the most reasonable in the Triange area when it comes to gun ownership and obtaining purchase and carry permits.
Orange County is better than Durham County, but it is still not what I would reccomend for a gun owner. The Orange County sheriff's office will not issue a pistol purchase permit to anyone who has not lived in Orange County for at least a year prior to application and provides three character references who are also Orange County residents and not related by blood or marriage to the applicant.
The good news is that there is a bill pending to exempt CCW permit holders from having to obtain pistol purchase permits.
The NC pistol purchase permit law has been around for years, and as such, it gives the issuing authority (the county sheriff) a lot of power to delay or restrict the issuance of purchase permits. The CCW law being only eight years old was written to force the county sheriff to process the paperwork and get the permit issued in a set amount of time. Even Durham and Orange Counties will issue the CCW, often with less hassle than getting a purchase permit, because the law forces them to.
I guess the NC legislature finally saw that problems with the purchase permit law and decided to try and change it some. Hopefully it will pass.
On the bright side, the Triange is a really nice place to live (excepting the gun laws). There is lots to do there, cost of living is fairly reasonable (outside Chapel Hill), and most of the people are nice. I miss living there, but I don't miss the gun laws.
Landric