But as we all know, if the gun shop owners want to prevent improper use of the weapons, all they have to do is make sure the only customers they sell to are Caucasian males who happen to be ultra-conservative Christians.

What could possibly go wrong?

LAST EDITED ON 06-12-13 AT 09:54 AM (EST)

Permits to purchase?

We have concealed carry permits, but no permits are required to purchase a hand gun. All gun purchases (long guns and hand guns) are registered however, and background checks are required for all non-private purchases. I’d be interested to learn how many states have this requirement.

And frankly, this comes as a mild surprise to me, because I have relatives that live in your home state of NC, and no one has ever mentioned having to go to the sheriff to get a gun purchase permit. Maybe becasue everyone already has a CC gun permit? Gun ownership there, especially in rural NC, is pretty ubiquitous.

But yearly renewed CC pistol permits are still required in NC, right? The subject of this debate is just the one time permit to purchase the weapon if one doesn't already have a CC pistol permit?

Either way, you still need a permit of some kind that requires a background check, so you still have whatever safety that provides.

LAST EDITED ON 06-12-13 AT 11:55 AM (EST)

What it sounded like on the news was to ensure that you could buy a hand gun with no background check of any kind as long as it is a private sale.

I dunno if you have to register any gun you buy/sell in a private sale. At the gun store is different.

At least when the sheriff did the permit to buy for those without a CC that made sure that all handgun buyers had a background check of some kind.

Not sure what the rifle rules are, I though you could buy them with no permit, no background check, even at a gun store, but that may be when I moved here. I think the feds may have put some limits on what the people in business to sell guns do, even for rifles.

I thought they were trying to make it way easier to get a concealed carry permit. After all, if you don't make it easier and easier to buy a gun you can't have huge sales increases every year. I don't think this is about the second amendment, I think it is about sales. The stockholders need to see a gain in profit every quarter or they'll invest in something else.

There are rural areas in places with strict gun control where everyone owns at least a rifle or two. Gotta keep the foxes away from the chickens. Just because everyone has a gun doesn't mean there are no regulations in those states/countries.

ETA: It seems the more the people say background checks are needed the more the legislature is trying to get rid of any regulation on guns at all.

LAST EDITED ON 06-12-13 AT 02:13 PM (EST)

As I understand it, and I'm reasonably familiar with Alabama and Louisiana laws, is that firearm purchases from a licensed gun dealer always require a background check (usually a quick phone call by the seller to the sheriff dept. to verify the eligibility of the buyer), and that the CC pistol permits also require a background check. Yearly. So requiring a gun “purchase” permit doesn’t really add anything helpful in regard to pistols or gun dealer sales.

Private transactions (including gun show transactions) are exempt from the initial purchase check. But to legally carry around a pistol, even one bought at a gun show or from an in-law, it must be concealed and you have to have the CC permit.

There is no background check required for private sales involving long guns.

Some rural NC people (and I’ve witnessed this) aren’t too concerned with the conceal requirements of the pistol gun laws, so I assume the other aspects of gun laws are looked upon as an inconvenience too.

LAST EDITED ON 06-12-13 AT 02:49 PM (EST)

We are an open carry state, as long as people can see it and you aren't brandishing it you can carry around whatever weapon you want.

Thus the guy that had the big knife on his belt as back up for the really large pistol on the other hip at Home Depot. I mean you know what kind of dangerous element hangs out in the garden center.

Although people, especially in the Yankee enclaves, have been known to call the cops on people with a large semi-automatic rifle slung on their back and an extra clip or two on their belts when they go to supermarkets.

That pot roast may be a bit iffy, but the bacteria on it have not evolved to the point they require hunting.

The cops come, they explain that while one can't be arrested for being a jerk or for carrying something the are legally allowed to carry, it really is an inconvenience to have to be called out for this stupidity on a regular basis and if they do it often they are eventually going to jaywalk or something and it won't be overlooked.

NC is open carry. OK, that explains what I've seen there on that score. So you can openly carry a pistol without a permit, and if you got it from an in-law (or gun show) there wouldn't be a background check required at all. That does seem like a loophole.

And you can't be arrested for being a jerk? That sounds like another loophole to me.

A comprehensive list, including licensing and restrictions. They vary quite widely, although it seems that laws are more relaxed out West than in the East or South, but that's a poor generalization. Those states with mainly urban populations seem to have the strictest laws.

Honestly, I had no idea what my own state's gun laws are in Indiana. Open carry of long guns and handguns is permissible with a license and there is also a concealed carry license for handguns. And no short-barreled shotguns.