The GOP-controlled legislature in North Carolina sent Governor Josh Stein (D) a permitless/constitutional carry bill to protect the state’s gun owners, but the governor vetoed the bill. Now the North Carolina General Assembly has the opportunity to override the veto with a three-fifths majority vote in each chamber.
North Carolina could become the nation’s 30th state with permitless carry, and likely the only new addition to the list this year, after South Carolina and Louisiana joined it last year.
That Stein vetoed the bill is not surprising, but it was already a compromise as the NRA points out, writing:
“This bill makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsible gun ownership. Therefore, I am vetoing it,” said Stein in a press release.
This is a strange and untrue statement, as no data shows that the 29 states that have passed constitutional carry have become less safe as a result. Indeed, Vermont, which is often called the original constitutional-carry state, often ranks at the top or near the top of the “safest” states in the union.
The bill, if passed, would have eliminated the requirement that law-abiding gun owners obtain a permit to carry without seeking government permission. It is, however, not without its flaws and, as such, is not a true constitutional-carry bill.
“The NRA strongly supports constitutional/permitless carry; however, S.B. 50 still has pitfalls that could entrap well-intentioned gun owners despite NRA efforts to amend it,” reported the NRA Institute for Legislative Action (ILA). “S.B. 50, as written, creates scenarios in which a person could lawfully purchase and possess a firearm but would still be prohibited from carrying that firearm for self-defense purposes. While S.B. 50 is a step towards North Carolina becoming the 30th constitutional-carry state, the NRA stands firm in its belief that if an individual is lawfully allowed to purchase and possess a firearm, that person should be allowed to carry that firearm for self-defense without a permit under a true Constitutional Carry bill.”
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