GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
1989 SESSION
CHAPTER 680
AN ACT TO PROVIDE A DEFINITION OF MACHINE GUN AND SUBMACHINE GUN.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
Section 1. G.S. 14-409 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-409. Machine guns and other like weapons.
(a) As used in this section, 'machine gun' or 'submachine gun' means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
(b) It shall be
unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to manufacture, sell, give away,
dispose of, use or possess machine guns, submachine guns, or other like weapons:
weapons as defined by subsection (a) of this section: Provided,
however, that this section subsection shall not apply to the
following:
Banks, merchants, and recognized business establishments for
use in their respective places of business, who shall first apply to and
receive from the sheriff of the county in which said business is located, a
permit to possess the said weapons for the purpose of defending the said
business; officers and soldiers of the United States Army, when in discharge of
their official duties, officers and soldiers of the militia and the State guard
when called into actual service, officers of the State, or of any county, city
or town, charged with the execution of the laws of the State, when acting in
the discharge of their official duties; the manufacture, use or possession of
such weapons for scientific or experimental purposes when such manufacture, use
or possession is lawful under federal laws and the weapon is registered with a
federal agency, and when a permit to manufacture, use or possess the weapon is
issued by the sheriff of the county in which the weapon is located. Provided,
further, that automatic shotguns and pistols or other automatic weapons that
shoot less than 31 shots shall not be construed to be or mean a machine gun or
submachine gun under this section; and that any bona fide resident of this
State who now owns a machine gun used in former wars, as a relic or souvenir,
may retain and keep same as his or her property without violating the
provisions of this section upon his reporting said owenrship ownership
to the sheriff of the county in which said person lives.
(c) Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or imprisoned for not less than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court."
Sec. 2. G.S. 14-409.9 reads as rewritten:
"§ 14-409.9. Machine guns and other like weapons.
(a) As used in this section, 'machine gun' or 'submachine gun' means any weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger. The term shall also include the frame or receiver of any such weapon, any combination of parts designed and intended for use in converting a weapon into a machine gun, and any combination of parts from which a machine gun can be assembled if such parts are in the possession or under the control of a person.
(b) It shall be
unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to manufacture, sell, give away,
dispose of, use or possess machine guns, submachine guns, or other like weapons:
weapons as defined by subsection (a) of this section: Provided,
however, that this section subsection shall not apply to the
following:
Banks, merchants, and recognized business establishments for
use in their respective places of business, who shall first apply to and
receive from the clerk of the superior court of the county in which said
business is located, a permit to possess the said weapons for the purpose of
defending the said business; officers and soldiers of the United States Army,
when in discharge of their official duties, officers and soldiers of the
militia and the State guard when called into actual service, officers of the
State, or of any county, city or town, charged with the execution of the
laws of the State, when acting in the discharge of their official duties; the
manufacture, use or possession of such weapons for scientific or experimental
purposes when such manufacture, use or possession is lawful under federal laws
and the weapon is registered with a federal agency, and when a permit to
manufacture, use or possess the weapon is issued by the sheriff of the county
in which the weapon is located. Provided, further, that automatic shotguns
and pistols or other automatic weapons that shoot less than 31 shots shall not
be construed to be or mean a machine gun or submachine gun under this
section; and that any bona fide resident of this State who now owns a
machine gun used in former wars as a relic or souvenir, may retain and keep
same as his or her property without violating the provisions of this section
upon his reporting said ownership to the clerk of the superior court of the
county in which said person lives.
(c) Any person violating any of the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500.00), or imprisoned for not less than six months, or both, in the discretion of the court."
Sec. 3. This act shall become effective October 1, 1989, and shall apply to offenses committed on or after that date.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 26th day of July, 1989.