Open carry is pretty much standard in North Carolina, though most of us have opted for a concealed carry permit just to avoid trouble.
So check this story out from Palm Beach, Florida:
A customer expecting to see great deals waved down authorities after she saw something else: a man packing a gun while waiting in line at a Black Friday sale.
Police arrested Christopher D. Scott, 49, just after midnight Friday in a checkout line at the Walmart at 3200 Old Boynton Road.
Officers had been doing an extra patrol at the store because of the large Thanksgiving Night crowd seeking early bargains.
Scott is charged with two counts of carrying a concealed firearm and three counts each of carrying a prohibited weapon and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription.
Scott lives out of state and was visiting his ill mother, he said Friday afternoon. He said he was in the store buying her supplies.
He expects the charges will be dropped, he said.
"I've just never been so humiliated in my life," Scott said.
A police log said Scott wore a .40-caliber Glock handgun with a 30-round magazine in a holster at his hip, as well as two concealed knives and a "pepper grenade."
He also had prescription pills but no label or paperwork, the police log said.
Scott said he had a proper weapon permit in Arizona and believed it was reciprocal in Florida.
He also didn't understand why he was charged with carrying a concealed weapon when he wore the gun in plain sight, as advised by colleagues.
And he said he had proper documents for the prescription drugs.
A police report wasn't available Friday because the department was closed.
In court Friday, prosecutors told Palm Beach Circuit Judge Krista Marx that Scott had five previous arrests, for a misdemeanor and four felonies.
Scott leaned to Assistant Public Defender Juan Fernandez-Barquin and revealed he was retired from law enforcement positions with both the U.S. Department of Interior and the Department of Justice.
"I find it hard to believe, with the felony (arrests)," Judge Marx said. Scott then said he'd been a victim of identity theft.
Assistant State Attorney Rob Melchiorre later said he'd checked and the arrest record was in fact for a different person.
Marx ordered Scott held in lieu of $15,000 bail, with the option to instead leave jail on supervised release, which he did around 12:20 p.m. Friday.
Because of the long holiday weekend, Scott's federal résumé couldn't be confirmed Friday.
Kendra Barkoff, spokeswoman for the Department of Interior, said via e-mail that she "can't comment one way or the other." Justice Department spokespersons didn't return calls.
But over the weekend it was confirmed that Scott was indeed a retired law enforcement officer with 25 years service and an exemplary record.
However he is still in hot water as Florida unlike North Carolina and Arizona prohibits "open carry" and besides the misdemeanor charge and fine his may have also forfeited his weapon.
Wikipedia is a good place to check out before you travel with a weapon on your person or in your car, the link is here.
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