North Carolina § 14-402 - Sale of certain weapons without permit forbidden.

§ 14-402. Sale of certain weapons without permit forbidden.

It is unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation in this State to sell, give away, or transfer, or to purchase or receive, at any place within this State from any other place within or without the State any pistol unless: (i) a license or permit is first obtained under this Article by the purchaser or receiver from the sheriff of the county in which the purchaser or receiver resides; or (ii) a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit is held under Article 54B of this Chapter by the purchaser or receiver who must be a resident of the State at the time of the purchase. This section does not apply to an antique firearm or an historic edged weapon. The following definitions apply in this Article: Antique firearm. - Defined in G.S. 14-409.11. , (3) Repealed by Session Laws 2011-56, s. 1, effective April 28, 2011. It is unlawful for any person or persons to receive from any postmaster, postal clerk, employee in the parcel post department, rural mail carrier, express agent or employee, railroad agent or employee within the State of North Carolina any pistol without having in his or their possession and without exhibiting at the time of the delivery of the same and to the person delivering the same the permit from the sheriff as provided in G.S. 14-403 . Any person violating the provisions of this section is guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor. (4) Historic edged weapon. - Defined in G.S. 14-409.12 . (5) through (7) Repealed by Session Laws 2011-56, s. 1, effective April 28, 2011. History (1919, c. 197, s. 1; C.S., s. 5106; 1923, c. 106; 1947, c. 781; 1959, c. 1073, s. 2; 1971, c. 133, s. 2; 1979, c. 895, ss. 1, 2; 1993, c. 287, s. 1; c. 539, s. 284; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2004-183, s. 1; 2004-203, s. 1; 2009-6, s. 2; 2011-56, s. 1.) Applicability of This Article. - This Article is applicable to every county of this State except Warren and Watauga. Session Laws 1959, c. 1073, s. 2, amended this and other sections of this Article by striking out the word "clerk" and the words "clerk of the superior court" wherever they appeared and substituting therefor the word "sheriff," it being the intent and purpose of the amendatory act to transfer to the sheriffs the duties theretofore performed by the clerks of the superior court in issuing permits for the purchase of weapons and keeping the records of issuance of such permits and all other duties incident to the purchase, sale and ownership of weapons. Session Laws 1959, c. 1073, s. 4, as amended from time to time, excepts the following counties from the application of the 1959 amendments to this article: Pender, Warren and Watauga. Ashe was deleted from the list of counties by Session Laws 1995, c. 304; Avery was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1977, c. 35; Bertie was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1983, c. 151; Bladen was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1977, c. 35; Caswell has been deleted from the list pursuant to Session Laws 1977, c. 347; Cherokee was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1977, c. 35; Clay was added to the list by Session Laws 1969, c. 276, and deleted from the list by Session Laws 1979, c. 134; Currituck was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1981, c. 196; Davie was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1977, c. 72; Duplin was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1993, c. 106, effective June 2, 1993; Franklin was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1975, cc. 139, 173; Greene has been deleted from the list pursuant to Session Laws 1977, c. 223; Halifax was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1975, cc. 173, 374; Harnett was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1967, c. 470, and Session Laws 1969, c. 658; Haywood was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1969, c. 6; Hertford was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1967, c. 903; Iredell was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1971, c. 410; Jackson was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1975, c. 173; Johnston was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1967, c. 122; Jones was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1969, c. 109; Lee was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1967, c. 470, and Session Laws 1969, c. 658; Lincoln was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1983 (Reg. Sess., 1984), c. 962; Macon was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1975, c. 173; Madison was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 634; Mecklenburg was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1969, c. 1305; Mitchell was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1993, c. 48, effective May 18, 1993; Moore has been deleted from the list pursuant to Session Laws 1977, c. 235; Pamlico was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1967, c. 6; Pender was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1989 (Reg. Sess., 1990), c. 910, effective July 13, 1990; Perquimans was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1993, c. 64, effective May 24, 1993; Person was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1975, c. 134; Polk was deleted from list by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 634; Rockingham was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1979, c. 323; Sampson has been deleted from the list pursuant to Session Laws 1977, c. 347; Stokes was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1975, c. 173; Tyrrell was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 581; Union was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1973, c. 421; Vance was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1969, c. 396; Washington was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1971, c. 192; Wilson was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1963, c. 537; Yancey was deleted from the list by Session Laws 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 634. Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2015-195, s. 10.5, provides: "The Department of Public Safety, in consultation with the Office of Information Technology Services and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, shall study the development of a system to allow a background check to be conducted in private transfers of firearms. The study shall consider methods that would allow the seller or transferor to access the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Services (CJLEADS), the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), or another similar system that would provide information to the seller or transferor regarding the purchaser or transferee's eligibility to purchase a pistol. "The Department shall report its findings and any recommended legislation to the Joint Legislative Oversight Committee on Justice and Public Safety on or before January 1, 2019." Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2004-183, s. 1, effective August 10, 2004, in subsection (a), substituted "is" for "shall be" preceding "unlawful," deleted "a" following "unless," inserted ": (i) a" preceding "license or permit," substituted "is" for "therefor has" preceding "first," deleted "been" preceding "obtained," inserted "under this Article" preceding "by the purchaser," substituted "the" for "that" preceding "purchaser," and added "; or (ii) a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit is held under Article 54B of this Chapter by the purchaser or receiver who must be a resident of the State at the time of the purchase" at the end; and substituted "is" for "shall be" two times in the paragraph following subsection (a). Session Laws 2004-203, s. 1, effective August 17, 2004, in subdivision (c)(3), substituted "device" for "devise" and "that" for "which." Session Laws 2009-6, s. 2, effective March 19, 2009, in subsection (c), substituted "Article" for "section" in the introductory language, and added subdivisions (c)(5) through (c)(7). Session Laws 2011-56, s. 1, effective April 28, 2011, in the first and last paragraphs in subsection (a), deleted "or crossbow" following "pistol"; deleted subdivisions (c)(2) and (c)(3), which were the definitions for "Bolt" and "Crossbow," respectively; and deleted subdivisions (c)(5) through (c)(7), which were the definitions for "Manufacturer of crossbows," "Retail dealer of crossbows," and "Wholesale dealer of crossbows," respectively. Legal Periodicals. - For comment, "A Fighting Chance for Outlaws: Strict Scrutiny of North Carolina's Felony Firearms Act," see 32 Campbell L. Rev. 333 (2010).