This has been an interesting discussion. One thing I like to say to my students , is that just because you have enough money to buy a airplane doesn't mean you can fly it. Just to clear up one often asked question, in NC for years we had ( and still have) a law that permits citizens to carry openly. The CCW law did not change the open carry law. Most reasonable gun owners would not carry openly. We have a law that addresses "going armed at the terror of the public". A law abiding gun owner wears his .22 in a hip holster for all to see, and some kid in the walmart parking lot says "MAMA that man has a gun!" The mama is distraught, and afraid for her and her kid. The gun owner has no intention or any wrong doing, but he has just terrorized the public. (just an example) That law did permit carrying a weapon in a vehicle as long as it was in plain sight, such as laying on the front seat,etc. Also, in NC the act of pointing a gun at a person, be it loaded or not
is defined as assualt with a deadly weapon. I like to think of it as the samauri warrior mentality. Don't draw it unless you intend to use it, and use it if you draw it. No scare tactics, no "just wanna run them off, etc" In NC the only reason to draw your weapon is to defend yourself against an attack that cannot be avoided and is an attack that uses deadly force. You can't shot someone because they cuss at you or slap you, or spit on you, etc. Violince usually escalates from strong words to pushing to hitting and so on. Hopefully, the gun owner will first, avoid the situation all together, talk his way out of it, or have the good sense just to leave. As some one said earlier, any case of a self defense shooting will cost you thousands of dollars and many nights of worry even if you are justified. It's just not worth it unless there is no other choice. Massad Ayoob did say that NC's course and requirements were some of the best in the county. There are about 3 hrs of video included that show typical "shoot and don't shoot" situations. A complete knowledge of the law and a range time that shows that a person is capable of handling his weapon is required before the course can be passed.
