(A) Except as provided in division (D) below, all persons are prohibited from carrying on or about his or her person handguns, whether concealed or not concealed, as defined in G.S. 14-415.10, unless carried under the authority of a lawful concealed handgun permit, and any other firearm, or any weapon as defined in G.S. 14-269(a), in or upon town parks or recreation areas, with the exceptions of divisions (B) and (C) below, and the public vehicular areas of the park property; in which case, any such weapon must be physically contained within a motor vehicle. For the purpose of this section, a MOTOR VEHICLE is defined as “a self-propelled wheeled conveyance, such as a car or a truck that does not run on rails.”
(B) Except as provided in division (D) below, in accordance with G.S. 14-415.23, all persons are prohibited from carrying on or about his or her person lawfully permitted concealed handguns at the following town recreational facilities (facilities used for athletic events including, but not limited to, a gymnasium) and athletic fields (including any appurtenant facilities such as restrooms) during an organized athletic event if the field had been scheduled for use with the Parks and Recreation Department:
(1) The athletic fields and tennis courts inside Winterville Recreation Park located at 324 Sylvania Street;
(2) The baseball field, multipurpose field and basketball courts located inside Hillcrest Park located at 3418 Cannon Street.
(C) Except as provided in division (D) below, in accordance with G.S. 14-269.2, all persons are prohibited from carrying on or about his or her person lawfully permitted concealed handguns at any town recreation facilities during school-sponsored curricular or extracurricular activities.
(D) This prohibition shall not apply to the following persons:
(1) Officers and enlisted personnel of the armed forces of the United States when in the discharge of their official duties as such and acting under orders requiring them to carry arms and weapons.
(2) Civil officers of the United States while in the discharge of their official duties.
(3) Officers and soldiers of the militia and the National Guard when called into actual service.
(4) Sworn law enforcement officers while in the discharge of their official duties.
(5) Instances where weapons are being used solely for instructional classes or for officially sanctioned ceremonial purposes.
(E) A conspicuous notice shall be posted at each entrance to any property set forth in divisions (A) and (B) above.
(F) Any person in violation of this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, shall be fined $500 or imprisoned for six months or both. In addition to said punishment, any person convicted under this section will be prohibited from entering on park property of the town or participating in parks and recreation activities for a period of up to one year.
(G) Handguns or weapons possessed in violation of this section are hereby declared contraband. The Chief of Police, or his or her designee, shall hold such handgun or weapon for disposal pursuant to court order. In the absence of any court order, the handgun or weapon shall be destroyed.
(Ord. 11-O-248, passed 1-10-2011; Am. Ord. 14-O-308, passed 4-14-2014)