Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/616164
DECEMBER 16-22, 2015 UCW 11 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM The Second Amendment to t he U. S. Const it ut ion protect s t he right of law abiding cit izens to bear arms. The U. S. Supreme Cour t has ruled people may possess handg uns for self- defense in t heir homes. But just t his mont h t he high cour t ref used to hear a Second Amendment challenge to a local ordinance t hat banned semiautomat ic assault weapons and large-capacit y magazines. W hile federal law governs t he sale and possession of some weapons, handg un reg ulat ions for t he most par t are reg ulated by t he st ates. Unlike most sout hern st ates, Nor t h Carolina t akes a f irm st ance toward g un laws, which are perhaps t he st rictest in t he sout heastern United St ates. The most signif icant dif ference bet ween Nor t h Carolina and it s neighbors is what some say should be a nat ional requirement . Nor t h Carolina requires permit s for purchasing handg uns. Applicat ions for permit s to buy pistols are made at t he local sherif f 's of f ice, which t hen conduct s background check s. Nor t h Carolina f irearms laws are out lined in a publicat ion by t he St ate Depar t ment of Just ice updated just t his mont h. Permit s w ill not be issued to drug addict s, former conv ict s, persons who are ment ally incompetent or under a rest raining order. Milit ar y veterans w ill be denied permit s if t hey cannot verif y t hat t hey were honorably discharged. If t he sherif f 's of f ice is sat isf ied w it h it s f indings, a permit is issued. The st ate legislat ure recent ly considered changing g un laws because of some ambig uit y in local applicat ions for purchase permit s. Sherif fs in each of t he st ate's 100 count ies have some discret ionar y powers, so t here are slight variat ions in t he procedures. Some sherif fs require w it nesses to vouch for an indiv idual's character, while ot hers may require longer wait ing periods. Nor t h Carolina g un possession laws are unique because t hey var y based on count y. Regist rat ion of handg uns is not required by st ate law, but can be found in some count ies such as Durham. Cumberland Count y does not require g un regist rat ion. Concealed possession of any f irearm is unlaw f ul except on one's ow n proper t y, or if t he indiv idual has a concealed carr y g un permit . Like t he permit to purchase, a license to carr y a concealed weapon is administered by t he local sherif f. Basic requirement s for a concealed carr y permit under st ate include: residence in t he st ate for at least 30 days, 21 years of age, successf ul complet ion of an approved f irearms and safet y t raining course, t he complet ion of a shoot ing test, ment al competence, a background check and a physical exam. The applicat ion it self w ill include a f ull set of f ingerprint s, a st atement under oat h and a fee of $100. Openly carr y ing f irearms also varies based on tow n and jurisdict ion. "Open carr y " refers to display ing f irearms in public. St ate polic y regards it as legal, but tow ns like Car y and Chapel Hill have adopted ordinances t hat rest rict it depending on t he size of t he weapon. There's also a st ate law t hat grew out of t he 1968 Federal Omnibus Crime Cont rol Act . It applies to folk s who "go around armed to t he terror of t he public" like carr y ing a shotg un on cour t house grounds. Gun shows are ver y popular in t he st ate, and it 's nearly impossible to reg ulate such a popular indust r y. Gun shows create an oppor t unit y for anyone to buy a g un w it hout a background check . "That alone creates an underly ing problem of people who are not law f ully allowed to have a f irearm, to include some v iolent criminals," says Earl Woodham, spokesman for t he Charlot te of f ice of t he Bureau of A lcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Tar Heel Gun Laws Are Tough by JEFF THOMPSON Social Security numbers are being removed from soldiers' dog tags, the Army has announced. The change is the first update to the official identification tags in more than 40 years. What goes around, comes around! A soldier's Social Security number will be replaced by a 10-digit, randomly-generated number. That's the way identity tags used to identify their wearers. Historically, a tag would be emblazoned with either R.A. or U.S. followed by an eight-digit number. R.A. stood for Regular Army. U.S. identified draftees. Dog tag is an informal term for the identification tags worn by military personnel because of their resemblance to animal registration tags. While the tags are primarily used for the identification of dead and wounded soldiers; they have personal info about the soldiers and convey basic medical information, such as blood type and history of inoculations. The tags indicate religious preference as well. They're usually fabricated from a corrosion-resistant metal and commonly come in identical pairs. According to Army tradition, this duplication allows one tag to be collected from a soldier's body for notification. The other would remain with the fallen soldier. In the 1990s the Army stopped using the term dog tag, replacing it with ID tags. Information on the ID tags varies little from branch to branch of service. Only the Marine Corps includes a Marine's gas mask size. The updates will be implemented on an as-needed basis, Michael Klemowski, of the U.S. Army Human Resources Command, said in a statement released by the Army. "This change is not something where soldiers need to run out and get new tags made," he said. "We are focusing first on personnel who are going to deploy." They are the first ones who will have to have new ID tags made, he added. The change is in accordance with new Defense Department guidelines calling for less use of Social Security numbers. "Removing Social Security numbers from dog tags is one of the ways the Army is trying to safeguard personal information," Klemowski said. Dog Tags Are Changing by ERINN CRIDER The Fayetteville City Council will hold its inauguration welcoming Kirk deViere to the board on Dec. 7. DeViere is replacing Kady Ann Davy, center, the current Mayor Pro Tempore. NEWS ERINN CRIDER, Staff Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcom- ingweekly.com.