A “Welcome to North Carolina” sign includes a warning about concealed weapons by its citizens, but is it real?
It’s not real.
Much like the “Welcome to Wisconsin” and “Welcome to Idaho” signs which have also circulated on social media in recent years, it’s unclear if this graphic was merely created as a joke, to make a statement, or if it was meant to be passed off as real. A cursory examination of the graphic yields obvious clues that the text below the sign was not part of the original photograph. The sign in the graphic reads:
Welcome to North Carolina
Nation’s Most Military Friendly State
Our citizens have concealed weapons
If you kill someone, we will kill you back!
We have “0” jails, and 513 cemeteries
Enjoy your stay!
It should be noted that the bottom of the graphic above appears to have been lifted and added to a “Welcome to West Virginia” sign, as seen below:
This is one of many state “welcome” signs which has been altered and circulated on social media recently. If you see a sign like this circulating online, drop us a comment below. If you have more information about the signs above, please let us know.
Bottom Line
The “Welcome to North Carolina” concealed weapons sign is not real. It isn’t clear if it was intended as a joke or meant to be passed off as real. Several similar doctored “welcome” state signs have circulated in recent years as part of gun control debate.
Updated December 8, 2015
Originally published March 2013