GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1993 SESSION

CHAPTER 558
HOUSE BILL 1008

AN ACT TO MAKE IT A CLASS I FELONY TO POSSESS OR CARRY A FIREARM OR EXPLOSIVE ON EDUCATIONAL PROPERTY OR TO CAUSE, ENCOURAGE, OR AID A MINOR TO POSSESS OR CARRY A FIREARM OR EXPLOSIVE ON EDUCATIONAL PROPERTY, TO MAKE IT A MISDEMEANOR TO CAUSE, ENCOURAGE, OR AID A MINOR TO TAKE OR POSSESS OTHER TYPES OF WEAPONS ON EDUCATIONAL PROPERTY, TO MAKE IT A MISDEMEANOR TO FAIL TO STORE FIREARMS IN A REASONABLE MANNER FOR THE PROTECTION OF MINORS AND TO FAIL TO WARN A PERSON OF THIS LAW UPON THE SALE OR TRANSFER OF A FIREARM.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

Section 1.  G.S. 14-269.2 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-269.2.  Weapons on campus or other educational property.
(a)	The following definitions apply to this section:
(1)	Educational property. – Any public or private school building or bus, public or private school campus, grounds, recreational area, athletic field, or other property owned, used, or operated by any board of education, school, college, or university board of trustees, or directors for the administration of any public or private educational institution.
(2)	Student. – A person enrolled in a public or private school, college or university, or a person who has been suspended or expelled within the last five years from a public or private school, college or university, whether the person is an adult or a minor.
(3)	Switchblade knife. – A knife containing a blade or blades which open automatically by the release of a spring or a similar contrivance.
(4)	Weapon. – Any device enumerated in subsection (b) or (d) of this section.
(b)	It shall be a Class I felony for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm of any kind, or any dynamite cartridge, bomb, grenade, mine, or powerful explosive as defined in G.S. 14-284.1, on educational property.  However, this subsection does not apply to a BB gun, air rifle, or air pistol.
(c)	It shall be a Class I felony for any person to cause, encourage, or aid a minor who is less than 18 years old to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm of any kind, or any dynamite cartridge, bomb, grenade, mine, or powerful explosive as defined in G.S. 14-284.1, on educational property.  However, this subsection does not apply to a BB gun, air rifle, or air pistol.
(d)	It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any  BB gun, air rifle, air pistol, bowie knife, dirk, dagger, slungshot, leaded cane, switchblade knife, blackjack, metallic knuckles, razors and razor blades (except solely for personal shaving), and any sharp-pointed or edged instrument except instructional supplies, unaltered nail files and clips and tools used solely for preparation of food, instruction, and maintenance, on educational property.
(e)	It shall be a misdemeanor for any person to cause, encourage, or aid a minor who is less than 18 years old to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any BB gun, air rifle, air pistol, bowie knife, dirk, dagger, slungshot, leaded cane, switchblade knife, blackjack, metallic knuckles, razors and razor blades (except solely for personal shaving), and any sharp-pointed or edged instrument except instructional supplies, unaltered nail files and clips and tools used solely for preparation of food, instruction, and maintenance, on educational property.
(f)	Notwithstanding subsection (b) of this section it shall be a misdemeanor rather than a Class I felony for any person to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm of any kind, on educational property if:
(1)	The person is not a student attending school on the educational property;
(2)	The firearm is not concealed within the meaning of G.S. 14-269;
(3)	The firearm is not loaded and is in a locked container, a locked vehicle, or a locked firearm rack which is on a motor vehicle; and
(4)	The person does not brandish, exhibit, or display the firearm in any careless, angry, or threatening manner.
(g)	This section shall not apply to:
(1)	A weapon used solely for educational or school-sanctioned ceremonial purposes, or used in a school-approved program conducted under the supervision of an adult whose supervision has been approved by the school authority;
(2)	Armed forces personnel, officers and soldiers of the militia and national guard, law enforcement personnel, and any private police employed by an educational institution, when acting in the discharge of their official duties; or
(3)	Home schools as defined in G.S. 115C-563(a)."
Sec. 2.  Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended by adding the following new sections:
"§ 14-315.1.  Storage of firearms to protect minors.
(a)	Any person who resides in the same premises as a minor, owns or possesses a firearm, and stores or leaves the firearm (i) in a condition that the firearm can be discharged and (ii) in a manner that the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised minor would be able to gain access to the firearm, is guilty of a misdemeanor if a minor gains access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parents or a person having charge of the minor and the minor:
(1)	Possesses it in violation of G.S. 14-269.2(b);
(2)	Exhibits it in a public place in a careless, angry, or threatening manner;
(3)	Causes personal injury or death with it not in self defense; or
(4)	Uses it in the commission of a crime.
(b)	Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from carrying a firearm on his or her body, or placed in such close proximity that it can be used as easily and quickly as if carried on the body.
(c)	This section shall not apply if the minor obtained the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry by any person.
(d)	'Minor' as used in this section means a person under 18 years of age who is not emancipated.
"§ 14-315.2.  Warning upon sale or transfer of firearm to protect minor. 
(a)	Upon the retail commercial sale or transfer of any firearm, the seller or transferor shall deliver a written copy of G.S. 14-315.1 to the purchaser or transferee.
(b)	Any retail or wholesale store, shop, or sales outlet that sells firearms shall conspicuously post at each purchase counter the following warning in block letters not less than one inch in height the phrase:  'IT IS UNLAWFUL TO STORE OR LEAVE A FIREARM THAT CAN BE DISCHARGED IN A MANNER THAT A REASONABLE PERSON SHOULD KNOW IS ACCESSIBLE TO A MINOR.'
(c)	A violation of subsection (a) or (b) of this section is a misdemeanor."
Sec. 3.  This act becomes effective December 1, 1993, and applies to all offenses or acts of delinquency committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 24th day of July, 1993.

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Marc Basnight
President Pro Tempore of the Senate

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Daniel Blue, Jr.
Speaker of the House of Representatives