travelling requires homework

It is looking like Better Half and I will be headed to a small town in North Carolina for the Fourth of July weekend, and like all law-abiding handgun carry permit holders, I took it upon myself to research and understand the local laws concerning my carrying my firearm in NC. Unfortunately, the NC government’s webpages are… somewhat disjointed, and more than a little disfunctional, but I will try and post the important parts here.
Disclaimer: This weblog post, and the information contained therein, is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, and should not be considered legal advice. You are responsible for your own understanding of the laws of the state and country you are in, and I would strongly suggest you do your own research – I only provide this information here as a courtesy.
First, the question of reciprocity – according to what appears to be the North Carolina’s Department of Justice webpage, North Carolina has reciprocity with the following states:

Alabama
Alaska
Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Delaware
Florida
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Missouri
Montana
New Hampshire
North Dakota
Ohio
Oklahoma
Pennsylvania
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington
West Virginia

Basically, North Carolina honors the permit of any state that honors their permit. Fair enough, though I am not entirely sure how that works with Alaska not having a permit, but that is not really my problem…
Ok, now that we know North Carolina honors my Tennessee permit, how can I go about carrying my firearm? Well, concealed carry is legal, as is evidenced by the NCDOJ webpage’s reference to it, and open carry… well, open carry is kind of fuzzy. There appear to be no state laws dictating that open carry is illegal, so under the theory that “if something is not specifically prohibited, it is legal”, then open carry is good-to-go… HOWEVER, local governments can and do pass prohibitions against the “display of firearms”, and these prohibitions do not need to be publicly posted. Likewise, “going armed to the terror of the people” is a common-law offense in NC, and the NC Supreme Court has already ruled that firearms fall under that concept. Simply put, if you know exactly what the laws are in your exact region of NC, and you are willing to risk a “man with a gun” phone call to the police, open carry might work. Maybe. Me, I do not open carry anywise, and would not in NC.
Permit honored, concealed carry highly encouraged… so where, exactly, can I actually carry? Unfortunately, NC’s prohibitions are close enough to TN’s to be similar, but different enough to cause problems. Prohibited places include schools or any school-sponsored event, any assembly where a fee has been charged for admission, any establishment where alcoholic beverages are both sold and consumed, financial institutions (like banks), state or federal buildings, any law enforcement or correctional building or facility, events occurring in public places (like parades, funerals, picket lines, demonstrations, etc.), areas of emergency or riot, and any business that has any kind of sign banning concealed firearms (differences between TN and NC italicized, with the understanding that TN’s laws concerning establishments that serve alcohol will be changing on 14JUL09). And, as with TN, one cannot carry a firearm in NC while even the slightest amount of alcohol is in your system. The bank bit is not a significant problem for me, the restaurants are no different than TN is now, not being able to carry in a theater (a fee was charged for admission) seems silly, but the two important ones for this visit are the parades (the town we are visiting, like all good, small, American towns, will be throwing a Fourth of July parade) and the fact that all signs are binding. Bit annoying, those two.
While it does not relate to where you can carry, one important point is that handgun carry permit / CCW holders have a “duty to inform” in NC. Basically, what this means is that, if a police officer approaches you (for the purposes of questioning/arresting/etc.), you have to tell him that you have a permit and are carrying (if you are, of course). If you are in a car, you must place both hands on the steering wheel, and not remove them until directed to do so. This is effectively 100% different from TN, where informing is encouraged, but not required.
Alright, anything else one should be aware of? Buying a firearm in NC appears to be complicated, but that will not be a concern. It is illegal to carry a “Bowie Knife, dirk, dagger, slingshot, loaded cane, metallic knuckles, razor, shurikin, stungun, or other deadly weapon of like kind,” which basically boils down to “fixed blades bad”, at least in my mind. Pocket knives carried in a closed position are allowed, with “pocket knives” being defined as “a small knife, that is designed to be carried in a pocket or purse, which has its cutting edge and point entirely enclosed by its handle. The knife must not be capable of being opened by a throwing, explosive, or spring action.” I am not sure whether “spring action” means “automatic knife” or “assisted-opening knife”, but I will be carrying my non-assisted RAM, regardless. Also, short-barreled shotguns and rifles, automatic anythings (and any device that can make a firearm automatic), and silencers all appear to be illegal in NC (amusingly, and erroneously, those items are categorized as “weapons of mass destruction” by the state). Teflon-coated bullets are also a no-no (thanks to pointless and specious hysteria surrounding them).
Whew. Anything else? Well, if it is out there, I do not know about it, and did not dig it up. Feel free to leave additional concerns and regulations in the comments, if you are aware of them.
More firearm and weapon information for North Carolina can be found here.