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29 <br /> 7 <br /> • a prohibition on possession of all handguns within the <br /> Town limits. <br /> Comment: Based on the reported decisions of the North <br /> Carolina Appellate Courts, I do not believe any of these three <br /> regulations would be found to be authorized by the North <br /> Carolina General Statutes and to be consistent with the North <br /> Carolina Constitution. <br /> 3 . Regulation With Resoect! To Who May Possess Firearms <br /> The Court in Earner, said it would be "a reasonable regulation and <br /> not an infringement of the right to bear arcs to prohibit the <br /> carrying of deadly weapons when under the influence of intoxicating <br /> drink . . . . 71 The Council may wish to consider: <br /> a) a prohibition on the possession, on the streets, <br /> sidewalks, and alleys, of a firearm while <br /> consuming, or under the influence of, drugs or <br /> alcohol. <br /> Comment: Based on the Berner decision this is clearly a <br /> reasonable regulation. Because this regulation does not <br /> restrict who may display firearms, but only regulates the <br /> circumstances under which they can display firearms, arguably <br /> it is within the Town's statutory authority. <br /> b) a prohibition on the possession of a firearm <br /> without a permit issued by the Town Police <br /> Department. <br /> Comment: This would appear to be inconsistent with both the <br /> Town's statutory authority and with the opinion of the Court <br /> in State v. Kerner. <br /> c) a prohibition on the display of a firearm by <br /> persons under a certain age, or by persons who have <br /> been convicted of certain crimes, or by persons who <br /> have not received some type of government-sponsored <br /> training program. <br /> Comment: To a certain extent the State and Federal <br /> Governments have already enacted laws in these areas. (In <br /> addition to those statutes mentioned in the March, 1990, <br /> memorandum, the General Assembly in 1993 enacted a new law <br /> prohibiting possession of handguns by persons under eighteen <br /> years of age.) Additional Town regulations in this area would <br /> likely be challenged as being beyond our statutory authority. <br /> d) a requirement that a person possessing a firearm <br /> meet all state and federal regulations which now <br /> apply to the purchase and sale of firearms. <br />