Serious question about minors and guns

This is not a political discussion, though the question does come about because of recent events where Kyle can't remember last name) brought a rifle to the protest/riot.

When we were teens, we regularly would grab the folks guns, rifles and handguns, and walk to the dump and blast stuff. We would go camping and do the same. Also, remember gun racks etc in our vehicles in high school. (70's - 80's)

The question is, is it now illegal for a teen to have in his possession a firearm without the presence of an adult?

I’m curious about this as well.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

So here's what I was able to find.

Last updated November 6, 2019.


North Carolina law prohibits any person under the age of 18 from willfully and intentionally possessing or carrying a handgun, unless the minor:

• Possesses the handgun for educational or recreational purposes while supervised by an adult who is present;

• Is emancipated and possesses the handgun inside his or her residence; or

• Possesses the handgun while hunting outside the limits of an incorporated municipality and has written permission from a parent or guardian.1

There is no minimum age to possess rifles and shotguns in North Carolina.

It is a misdemeanor in North Carolina for any person to knowingly permit a child under age 12 to have access to, or possession, custody, or use in any manner of any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded, unless the person has the permission of the child’s parent or guardian, and the child is under the supervision of an adult.2

Additionally, North Carolina prohibits any person from causing, encouraging, or aiding a minor who is less than age 18 to possess or carry, whether openly or concealed, any firearm on educational property.3 Moreover, subject to very limited exceptions, North Carolina imposes a felony on any person who sells, offers for sale, gives or transfers a handgun to a person under the age of 18.4

So handguns not under 18 unless one of those caveats.

Rifles and shotguns no age limit.

And you can't let other peoples kids have access without permission from their parents.

Chdamn said:

So handguns not under 18 unless one of those caveats.

Rifles and shotguns no age limit.

And you can't let other peoples kids have access without permission from their parents.

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Can’t speak for SC but NC ...

The words “under supervision of an adult” and “unsupervised minor” are contained in the NC Statutes ... and basically breaks it down to knowing allow access and unsafely stored type statutes ...

14-315.1. Storage of firearms to protect minors.
(a) Any person who resides in the same premises as a minor, owns or possesses a firearm, and stores or leaves the firearm (i) in a condition that the firearm can be discharged and (ii) in a manner that the person knew or should have known that an unsupervised minor would be able to gain access to the firearm, is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor if a minor gains access to the firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parents or a person having charge of the minor and the minor:
(1) Possesses it in violation of G.S. 14-269.2(b);
(2) Exhibits it in a public place in a careless, angry, or threatening manner;
(3) Causes personal injury or death with it not in self defense; or
(4) Uses it in the commission of a crime.
(b) Nothing in this section shall prohibit a person from carrying a firearm on his or her body, or placed in such close proximity that it can be used as easily and quickly as if carried on the body.
(c) This section shall not apply if the minor obtained the firearm as a result of an unlawful entry by any person.
(d) "Minor" as used in this section means a person under 18 years of age who is not emancipated. (1993, c. 558, s. 2; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 14, s. 11.)

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14-316. Permitting young children to use dangerous firearms.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly permit a child under the age of 12 years to have access to, or possession, custody or use in any manner whatever, of any gun, pistol or other dangerous firearm, whether such weapon be loaded or unloaded, unless the person has the permission of the child's parent or guardian, and the child is under the supervision of an adult. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
(b) Air rifles, air pistols, and BB guns shall not be deemed "dangerous firearms" within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section except in the following counties: Caldwell, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Haywood, Mecklenburg, Stokes, Union, Vance. (1913, c. 32; C.S., s. 4441; 1965, c. 813; 1971, c. 309; 1993, c. 539, s. 218; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2013-369, s. 4; 2014-119, s. 10(a).)

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Every class I taught with minors under 18, I had parent (not grandparent/guardian) sign a waiver in my presence. For children under 12, parent remained with child throughout the class. I also had as many adult volunteers as possible with me on the range for live shooting exercise.

In a few years I may, or may not allow my preteen grandkids to head 8nto our woods with a handgun or rifle. Its dependant upon their level of responsibility.
My sons got 10/22's when they were 10-11years old.

I have a 15 year old who routinely possesses an AR15 or Remington 11-87 or Ruger 10/22 while hunting. And he's usually not under my direct supervision. And it's completely legal.

I started shooting at the age of six. Legally hunted at the age of 10.
Whenever I left the house I had a gun or bow with me 100% of the time. Wandered miles from the house. Rode my bike 10’s of miles to fish and hunt and explore. All as a kid.
Trapped animals. Ran traplines miles long all thru my preteen and teenage years.
When I left the house, it was always with the see you at dark thirty.

I am saddened that my grandkids will never know that freedom.

Expect much from kids, receive much. Expect little, receive less.

My old man would drop my brother and I off at the hunting grounds and would always tell us if only one comes back, that is the one he is going to shoot. We were probably 12-13

My High School darn near every truck had a gun rack full in the rear window. We used to go hunt then go to class lol. Admittedly this was before school shootings and zero tolerance policy

I think it should come down to parent Discretion

ps ... it really depends on the kids. There are a ton of them nowadays I wouldn’t let with in 10 miles of a gun. People have changed drastically.

SnowRooster said:

I think it should come down to parent Discretion

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I unanimously agree!

I grew up with guns in every closet, no safes. I knew I was not to touch them without Daddy's permission and with him in attendance. And I did that without question. My kids were raised the same way. The BB guns did not come out without me there and the munchkins complied.

Today's parents are whimps.

Miss Lily said:

I unanimously agree!

I grew up with guns in every closet, no safes. I knew I was not to touch them without Daddy's permission and with him in attendance. And I did that without question. My kids were raised the same way. The BB guns did not come out without me there and the munchkins complied.

Today's parents are whimps.

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exact same for me! If I even touched one without dads permission I got my reared tore up with a belt.

SnowRooster said:

exact same for me! If I even touched one without dads permission I got my reared tore up with a belt.

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If we so much as pointed our cap-guns at anything living we got our backsides tore up and lost our toys for an indefinite time, depending on the offense.

I had access to all of my dads gun at a young age. He even showed me where he kept his 1911 at in his bedside table and told me if I ever touched it without asking he would whip my tail. Around 12-13 I got a glass cased gun cabinet he built when he was young and got to put my guns in it. I knew to never take them out or never let my friends touch them without asking first. I am only 34 so it wasnt like it was that long ago

Miss Lily said:

If we so much as pointed our cap-guns at anything living we got our backsides tore up and lost our toys for an indefinite time, depending on the offense.

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Pointed my guns at plenty of living things.

Tailhunter said:

Pointed my guns at plenty of living things.

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Perhaps I should have specified siblings or pets. Squirrels, snakes and mice were in another category alltogether.

Oh man.... I screwed up as a Parent: (this was in 2010)

Tailhunter said:

I started shooting at the age of six. Legally hunted at the age of 10.
Whenever I left the house I had a gun or bow with me 100% of the time. Wandered miles from the house. Rode my bike 10’s of miles to fish and hunt and explore. All as a kid.
Trapped animals. Ran traplines miles long all thru my preteen and teenage years.
When I left the house, it was always with the see you at dark thirty.

I am saddened that my grandkids will never know that freedom.

Expect much from kids, receive much. Expect little, receive less.

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That sounds like an amazing childhood.

VA_GENTLEMAN said:

Oh man.... I screwed up as a Parent: (this was in 2010)

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Bless you!

Miss Lily said:

Bless you!

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Was even worse in 2011:

Sorry. had to.

So we are say that, at least in NC, a minor could walk down the street with a rifle and that would be perfectly legal?

From about 10 y/o, myself, my cousin & a couple of friends routinely wandered the sections around my grandparents' farm with .410s, .22s & fishing poles & no one blinked an eye. We knew all the surrounding families & as long as you didn't tear anything up, nobody cared. Be home by dark or when grandma honked the horn for supper.

Best part was I was an in-between generation & nobody hunted or fished & didn't mind if we did. All the tree rat, rabbit, quail, dove, frog, crappie, bream & catfish we wanted.

dad owned all the guns in the house until I was 13, then he gave me his Stevens 94 .410 he got when he was 13. I bought my 1st gun, with my own money, at 15....a Ruger Mini14-GB I bought from a Newton , NC, cop who was working for my dad. I was working and had some cash to spend, lol. This was in 1979, but I bought the rifle, 3 mags(5, 20, 30rd), and 150rds 556 on strippers for $150

I still have both of them,

Goofyfoot2001 said:

So we are say that, at least in NC, a minor could walk down the street with a rifle and that would be perfectly legal?

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No.........
Permitting young children to use dangerous firearms.
(a) It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly permit a child under the age of 12 years to have access to, or possession, custody or use in any manner whatever, of any gun, pistol or other dangerous firearm, whether such weapon be loaded or unloaded, unless the person has the permission of the child's parent or guardian, and the child is under the supervision of an adult. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor.
(b) Air rifles, air pistols, and BB guns shall not be deemed "dangerous firearms" within the meaning of subsection (a) of this section except in the following counties: Caldwell, Durham, Forsyth, Gaston, Haywood, Mecklenburg, Stokes, Union, Vance. (1913, c. 32; C.S., s. 4441; 1965, c. 813; 1971, c. 309; 1993, c. 539, s. 218; 1994, Ex. Sess., c. 24, s. 14(c); 2013-369, s. 4; 2014-119, s. 10(a).)

Goofyfoot2001 said:

So we are say that, at least in NC, a minor could walk down the street with a rifle and that would be perfectly legal?

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I'm not a lawyer or LEO, but I'm guessing the answer lies in the fact that we have enough contradictory laws it gives cops and prosecutors a lot of wiggle room based on how far they want to push what outcome when it comes to guns (and a lot of other things for that matter). This is based on discussions I've had with LEO friends. "Armed to the terror" is always something they can fall back on. So it's a yes no maybe. I guess.

VA_GENTLEMAN said:

Was even worse in 2011:

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Now that is what makes her parents proud.

SnowRooster said:

My High School darn near every truck had a gun rack full in the rear window. We used to go hunt then go to class lol. Admittedly this was before school shootings and zero tolerance policy

I think it should come down to parent Discretion

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I graduated from a very rural high school in '94 and it was VERY common for us to roll out after school to go deer hunting or to roll in during the Spring right after turkey hunting. We couldn't have anything visible or in racks, but there was an unspoken acceptance by the school staff that there routinely were firearms on school grounds. I even recall walking out on an instance of two teachers working out a rifle sale between them in the back parking lot, zero issue. That ended for everybody in '99 after Columbine.

I feel bad for anybody that has gone through school in the past 20 years, they have no idea how free they should be.

VA_GENTLEMAN said:

Was even worse in 2011:

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I hope you got her a nice suppressor for that rifle by now. You know it "for the children" and all.

Let me clarify, would it be legal for a TEEN to walk down the street with a rifle in NC?

Bunsen said:

I hope you got her a nice suppressor for that rifle by now. You know it "for the children" and all.

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You know it... that rifle is at Uncle Apache's getting reworked into a J Allen with a Kreiger

I was actually pondering this the other day actually. By all accounts, my friends and I growing up would likely have been arrested, placed into juvenile detention, therapy, and our parents arrested.

I can remember being probably 10 or so, asking for a BB gun and getting a pump action Crossman pellet rifle, a Crossman BB pistol that looked like a 1911 and a gross of pellets and BBs. I got turned loose outside and told "don't shoot anything you shouldn't" for the summer. Before that it was cap guns will the paper caps on a roll or the little plastic ring you'd load like a moon clip.

I think I always had a knife in my pocket since around age 12 or so.

Would travel back and forth to friends houses and we'd storm around each other's property like a well armed miniature militia. There were weekends we didn't even come inside, we'd camp, build fires and eat MREs from the Army Navy store that we thought were the best thing in the world.

At some point we evolved to paintball guns and would embark on epic battles, later probably when I was 14 or 15 I was allowed access to real firearms...by allowed access I mean I was allowed to keep them in my room, I had a rack on my wall with 2 or 3 shotguns, a 30/30, a 22 rifle, and a 22 pistol. I can remember my friends coming over to our property and going through 4-5 cases of clay pigeons, blasting away until our shoulders were absolute hamburger.

It wasn't uncommon for us to go deer hunting for a weekend and have our friends grandfather sit in the cabin smoking cigars and drinking coffee while we froze in the PA winter trying to bag a deer.

Nobody died, no one went to jail or got in trouble.

NCMedic said:

I was actually pondering this the other day actually. By all accounts, my friends and I growing up would likely have been arrested, placed into juvenile detention, therapy, and our parents arrested.

I can remember being probably 10 or so, asking for a BB gun and getting a pump action Crossman pellet rifle, a Crossman BB pistol that looked like a 1911 and a gross of pellets and BBs. I got turned loose outside and told "don't shoot anything you shouldn't" for the summer. Before that it was cap guns will the paper caps on a roll or the little plastic ring you'd load like a moon clip.

I think I always had a knife in my pocket since around age 12 or so.

Would travel back and forth to friends houses and we'd storm around each other's property like a well armed miniature militia. There were weekends we didn't even come inside, we'd camp, build fires and eat MREs from the Army Navy store that we thought were the best thing in the world.

At some point we evolved to paintball guns and would embark on epic battles, later probably when I was 14 or 15 I was allowed access to real firearms...by allowed access I mean I was allowed to keep them in my room, I had a rack on my wall with 2 or 3 shotguns, a 30/30, a 22 rifle, and a 22 pistol. I can remember my friends coming over to our property and going through 4-5 cases of clay pigeons, blasting away until our shoulders were absolute hamburger.

It wasn't uncommon for us to go deer hunting for a weekend and have our friends grandfather sit in the cabin smoking cigars and drinking coffee while we froze in the PA winter trying to bag a deer.

Nobody died, no one went to jail or got in trouble.

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Exactly... we had CMP at our school and shot on the football field. Racks in our trucks... Squirrel hunting before and after school.. We even cleared out squirrels on the trees around the football field after and before school!!!!.. Skinned them and put them in baggies in the fridge in our Locker Room!

Never had an issue...

Miss Lily said:

I unanimously agree!

I grew up with guns in every closet, no safes. I knew I was not to touch them without Daddy's permission and with him in attendance. And I did that without question. My kids were raised the same way. The BB guns did not come out without me there and the munchkins complied.

Today's parents are whimps.

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Some of us are trying