NC: Legislature reforms air gun law for five counties

Gun Watch ^ | 3 December, 2014 | Dean Weingarten

[marktwain]

The North Carolina legislature has seen fit to remove restrictions that forbid  children under the age of 12 from using BB guns and air rifles without supervision.  I am not sure when such a law was put into place;  it seems that such a decision is best left up to parents.  I learned to use an air rifle when I was 11, and was very responsible with it.  

What is peculiar about this law is that it only applies to some counties and not others.  There are 100 counties in North Carolina.  The statute formerly applied to 17 counties; now it applies to 12, removing 5 from the list.  The 12 counties that remain contain some of the most populous, but not all.  The counties that still have the restriction, and their populations (from wikipedia) are: Caldwell  82,395, Caswell 23,403, Chowan 14,831, Cumberland 324,885, Durham 273,392, Forsyth 354,952, Gaston 207,831, Haywood 119,256, Mecklenburg 944,373, Stokes 47,242, Union 205,463, and Vance 45,307.

Some of the more populous counties that do not have the restriction are:
Wake 929,789, Guilford 495,279, and New Hanover 206,189.

The author of the bill, Sarah Stevens, is credited with the accomplishment in mtairynews.com:

Sarah Stevens, a Mount Airy attorney who represents Surry in the N.C. General Assembly, didn’t know such a restriction existed until being contacted by a concerned constituent who lives in Elkin. That man was seeking to buy a BB gun for his grandson, Stevens has said, but learned that under the law its ownership or unsupervised access by the child would be illegal

Here is a Link to bill pdf.  The relevant paragraph and changes are below:

(b)
Air rifles, air pistols, and BB guns shall not be deemed "dangerous firearms" within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section except in the following counties: Anson, Caldwell, Caswell, Chowan, Cleveland, Cumberland, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Harnett, Haywood, Mecklenburg, Stanly, Stokes, Surry, Union, Vance."
SECTION 2. This act becomes effective December 1, 2014.

I am not sure why 12 counties in North Carolina have this restriction, and now 88 do not, but it seems positive that some slight level of parental discretion has been restored.  Perhaps the 12 counties have large numbers of feral children?

There may be some informed readers that can explain the history of this statute.   I have seen a general attempt to broaden the definition of firearms to include air guns across the nation, as a general movement to demonize and make illegitimate firearms and firearms training.  


©2014 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice is included.
Link to Gun Watch

[marktwain]

I am sure there is some reason why the state has the law apply to only a handful of counties, but I do not know what it is.

[Dick Bachert]

“YOU’LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT!”
Everyone knows that!!

[DemforBush]

That is odd (the 12 counties thing).

At any rate, when I got my first BB gun, the best law around was my mom (and dad’s) hand. I knew if I did something wrong like shoot at birds or my neighbor’s window, said hands would be vigorously applied to my backside early and often.

[DoodleDawg]

The North Carolina legislature has seen fit to remove restrictions that forbid children under the age of 12 from using BB guns and air rifles without supervision.

Keep them away from the Cleveland, Ohio Police Department then.

[smokingfrog]

There’s no reason for your typical BB gun to be considered as a dangerous firearm. However,some fairly inexpensive air rifles have almost as much power as a .22 rifle. I suspect that the population density of the county could be the determining factor, but I don’t think we need to have such restrictive laws.

[zeugma]

I am sure there is some reason why the state has the law apply to only a handful of counties, but I do not know what it is.

I'm sure it's nothing more than democrats continuing their racist ways.

[Still Thinking]

How does that not violate equal protection? To have different counties selectively fall under state laws?

[Still Thinking]

I suspect that the population density of the county could be the determining factor, but I don’t think we need to have such restrictive laws.

Then they should have written the law that way -- "Any county with a population of more than 10,000 persons per square mile on January 1 of the year.....". That way the reasoning would be clear, counties with rising or falling populations would be moved into or out of the law as needed, and it wouldn't look like they were discriminating in some improper way.

[marktwain]

We had a law declared unconstitutional in Arizona, because it discriminated between counties by population.

Likely, no one has ever challenged this law.