In North Carolina, you cannot just buy a gun from a blanket in a parking lot

[obamanut2012]

Firstly: Liberals are gun owners too.

You can have someone buy a gun illegally, just like people buy legal drugs illegally, but laws do nothing to stop criminals, regardless of the crime.

Quite a few posters have stated you can buy a gun without ID, or a background check, etc. In some states you may be able to legally just "buy a gun" without ID, but you sure as hell can't here. I am not arguing about gun control or whether or not drum mags should be allowed (I think they shouldn't be), just dispelling some misconceptions.

In NC, to buy a handgun you need a pistol permit, and as per the law: "All handgun transfers in North Carolina, whether through a dealer or via private sale, or presented as a gift, require that the intended recipient of the handgun obtain a Pistol Purchase Permit from his/her local Sheriff. You must go to your Sheriff, apply for a Pistol Purchase Permit (one per handgun you wish to purchase), and pay a $5 fee. When you take possession of the handgun you must present the Permit to the seller, who is required to retain it forever. If a Pistol Purchase Permit is not presented, both the buyer and the seller can be convicted.

As of 8/10/04 a new law was enacted, which permits someone with a valid North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit to purchase a pistol without the need to obtain a Pistol Purchase Permit. "

Both a pistol permit and the CCW permit require a NICS and mental health background check. CCW also requires a course that includes a written and a practical test, where you are required to show competency with your handgun (loading, handling, a certain score in shooting).

Durham County has a State waiver and requires registration of all handguns. The other 99 counties do not require this.

I called the Sheriff's Department and asked about long guns: Long gun sales between private citizens require the seller to ask for ID and check the buyer is at least 18 and an NC resident. The ID MUST be one issued by the state of North Carolina. You have a legal obligation to NOT transfer long gun to someone prohibited to own a weapon.

Private sales are prohibited at the gun shows around here. You will be arrested.

Machine guns are illegal to own, unless you are an ATF-approved holder of one. Non-select-fire cosmetic look-alikes, that some people incorrectly call "assault rifles," are no different than any other non-select-fire rifle and are legal. This would include the AR-15 used in Colorado.

(Interesting fact about the NC pistol permit requirement: it is a piece of 1919 Jim Crow legislation, passed specifically to keep Blacks from owning handguns.)

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[LaurenG]

1. I too own guns, and a .22 rifle

I target practice and would never use them to harm another living thing unless it was my only choice of survival.

I am the daughter of a WWII Master Sargent who taught all of us to shoot. His reasoning was based on what Hitler did and the Cuban missile crises. He told us to fight should we ever find ourselves needing to choose between surrender and a fight.

[obamanut2012]

3. +1

[Bonhomme Richard]

2. Maybe we ought to make the .223 round illegal to own because...

of the damage that round can do, even compared to the AR .62 round.

[Marinedem]

4. Umm, what?

What in the name of God is a AR .62 round?

Please, elaborate on how much damage the .223 round does.

Maybe explain the ballistic properties that somehow make this round so deadly.

You know, if you know what you're talking about...

[Bonhomme Richard]

5. See below on the .223 Remington and the other was a typo, should be 7.62

"When loaded with a bullet that expands, tumbles, or fragments in tissue, this cartridge is capable of delivering devastating terminal performance."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.223_Remington