Forest City Gun Ordinance Draws Second Amendment Scrutiny

This article first appeared in Cops and Congress by Annie Dance.

Urban archery’ ordinance carries broader gun restrictions. Forest City proposal would do more than regulate deer hunting, including making firearm discharge a misdemeanor without stating the self-defense exception found in state law. 

Forest City residents looking at an ordinance labeled around urban archery may want to read well beyond the title. The proposal before the Town Council on Monday, Sept. 14, does not simply set rules for bow-hunting deer inside town limits. It also rewrites firearm discharge rules, adds misdemeanor penalties of up to $500 to multiple sections of the town code and, as drafted, says no private citizen may discharge a firearm inside Forest City. 

The proposed Section 13.3 states: 

“No person except a law enforcement official acting in the course of duty shall discharge any firearm within the town.” 

It then says a person convicted of violating the section would be guilty of a misdemeanor and subject to penalties under North Carolina law, including a fine of up to $500. The ordinance does not state an exception in that section for a private citizen lawfully using a firearm to defend a person or property. That omission matters.  North Carolina law gives municipalities authority to regulate firearm discharge, but the statute authorizing that power expressly provides an exception when a firearm is used to defend a person or property. The proposed Forest City language includes an exception for law enforcement. 

It does not expressly include the state-law self-defense exception.  That leaves an obvious accountability question for commissioners before they vote: Why is a provision affecting the defensive use of firearms being included in an ordinance publicly framed around urban archery, and why does the proposed town language not spell out the self-defense protection contained in state law? 

The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms.”  North Carolina also generally reserves firearms regulation to the state, while allowing municipalities narrower authority over where and when guns may be discharged. 

Forest City is therefore not being asked merely to decide whether bows can be used to reduce the deer population. Commissioners are being asked to approve language governing when residents can fire firearms and what criminal consequences may follow.  The urban archery portion of the ordinance would allow deer hunting with qualifying bows and crossbows during the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s Urban Archery Season. 

Hunting would be limited to private property totaling at least five acres. Hunters would need to own the land or carry written permission from the property owner. Contiguous tracts could be combined to reach the acreage requirement if permission is obtained from every property owner involved. An arrow could not be discharged within 500 feet of a home, school, church, commercial building, government building, occupied structure, public street, park, or recreational area. 

The ordinance would impose another 500-foot setback from the boundary of the property or combined properties where hunting is authorized. Hunters would also have to use an elevated stand at least 8 feet above ground. Those are straightforward urban hunting regulations. 

The broader portions of the ordinance are what deserve closer scrutiny.  The proposal would also classify violations involving nonfirearm weapons, public alcohol consumption, begging, interference with town property and certain after-hours parking-lot activity as misdemeanors subject to penalties that can include fines of up to $500. 

The nonfirearm weapons section covers air rifles, spring guns, bows, crossbows, blowguns, slingshots and similar devices. It also authorizes police to seize covered devices, subject to a court order. 

The ordinance is titled, in part, “An Ordinance to Allow Deer Archery Hunting in the Town of Forest City and to Ensure That All Chapter 13 Offenses Are Classified as Misdemeanors.” 

That title itself signals that the proposal goes considerably further than deer hunting. Residents reading only the words “deer archery hunting” could miss changes dealing with guns, criminal penalties, begging, alcohol, trespassing and other conduct. That is why Monday’s discussion matters.  One caveat: The Thermal Belt Rail Trail allows lawful concealed carry, and it goes through the town. It’s unclear how the ordinance would impact a lawful gun owner’s choice to conceal carry and, if needed, defend themselves. 

Commissioners should explain exactly what is changing, why the firearm section does not expressly reproduce the state-law self-defense exception, and whether residents could reasonably read the town code and understand their rights without consulting state statutes. 

Residents may attend the Forest City Town Council meeting on Monday, Sept. 14 ant 6:00 p.m. to speak during public comment if they wish, subject to the town’s meeting rules. 

If approved, the ordinance says it would become effective upon adoption. The draft also contains another issue requiring clarification: Its signature page lists an adoption date in 2027, although the ordinance is scheduled for consideration in September 2026.