Win for Gun Rights
It’s not exactly a secret that I’ve had some serious disagreements with our new “super-majority” in Raleigh. The GOP has indeed let me down on a number of issues. (Ahem, toll roads, ahem.) That said, when something good happens, I’m just as happy to lavish praise as I am criticism. Frankly, I’d sleep better at night if the praise outweighed the criticism!
As this session of the general assembly winds to a close, we finally saw the movement on gun rights that we have been hoping for…mostly.
This from the News and Observer:
Legislation that expands the public places where people with permits to carry concealed handguns can bring their weapons, toughens the penalties for some gun crimes, and strengthens federal background checks passed the House and Senate on Tuesday night.
Missing from the compromise bill worked out between the two chambers was the Senate’s controversial provision that would have repealed the current law that requires county sheriffs to conduct background checks and issue handgun purchase permits.
The votes were largely along party lines. The House voted 73-41, and the Senate 32-14.
The bill allows those with concealed-carry permits to bring their guns onto school campuses – from kindergarten to college – if they keep the weapons in a closed compartment in their locked vehicles. Police chiefs from public university campuses across the state opposed the provision.
It also allows concealed-carry permit-holders to bring their weapons into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol, and to parades and funerals. And it restricts local government from banning concealed handguns in parks and greenways.
The state’s sheriffs dropped their opposition to House Bill 937 after the provision repealing the pistol permits was dropped. In its place is a provision allowing sheriffs to revoke the five-year licenses if someone subsequently becomes ineligible for qualifying for a permit, such as committing a serious crime.
Sheriffs will also be required to keep a list of the number of permits they deny and the reason for denying them; but the identities of the applicants will not be public.
The legislation also speeds up the requirement for court clerks to report to the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check System disqualifying mental health findings. The bill now goes to the governor.
Staff writer Craig Jarvis
Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/07/23/3052086/nc-gun-bill-compromise-keeps-background.html
All that’s lacking now is the signature of Governor McCrory, but that is (fingers crossed) sure to come.
We recently had a tussle here in Mecklenburg regarding gun rights when the Parks and Recreation Department decided to seek additional restrictions to concealed carry in public parks. Ultimately, 2nd amendment supporters scored a victory when the request was turned down by the County Commission.
That discussion made a clear distinction between any random person carrying a firearm and concealed carry permit holders who have taken it upon themselves to seek additional training and certification of their ability to safely exercise their rights to self-defense. As I argued at the time, one’s right to self-defense should never be dependent on the location that one happens to find oneself in.
Now, in a perfect world, we wouldn’t even need a permit to carry. That, however, is a separate discussion.
Thanks to this move by our legislators, the ability for a concealed carry permit holder to actually exercise his/her carry privileges is enhanced. No longer does a parent who carries risk breaking the law for picking up their child from school with a handgun in the car. No longer does a non-drinker have to disarm before joining friends in the local bar after work.
There were simply too many scenarios in which a best intentioned law abiding citizen could be guilty of a crime due to the complex nature of the law. The easing of those restrictions not only makes North Carolina safer, but it helps to reduce the possibility of “guilt by technicality”…creating criminals out of thin air.
The compromise that allowed this through, however, is abysmal. Dating back to Jim Crow era politics is the idea that the County Sheriff must issue a purchase permit for a non CCW holder seeking to purchase a firearm. Heaven forbid a “person of color” be allowed to own a firearm… This legislature attempted to remove the purchase permit procedure, but after being bullied into compliance by the Sheriff lobby, the system remains intact…though somewhat weakened. Denials by local sheriffs will need to include specific reasons for the denial on record. They can also no longer restrict the number of permits authorized in a year.
All things considered, this is a terrific move by our legislators. I give total credit where credit is due.
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