Repealing N.C.’s handgun permit requirement will drive up homicides and suicides

As rates of gun violence rises across the United States, some lawmakers in Raleigh are trying to quietly sneak through legislation that would make North Carolina a more dangerous place for families and communities. With conversations taking place mostly in back rooms and out of the public eye, senators and representatives are seeking a dangerous and irresponsible repeal of the state’s handgun licensing system by trying to pass House Bill 398. Let me be perfectly clear, the repeal of this system will drive up gun death rates in our state and must be defeated.

Evidence shows that firearm licensing is one of the most effective policies in reducing both gun homicide and suicide. By requiring a permit for the purchase of a handgun, a process that goes through North Carolina sheriffs and requires a background check, the permitting system helps ensure that guns are not falling into the hands of individuals who have a history of violence or are at risk of future violent behavior. Federal law only requires that licensed firearms dealers conduct background checks, leaving ample opportunity for people who should not own guns to attain them without a background check through gun shows, online and private sales. This law is an effective tool in addressing gun violence in North Carolina, and we have real world data to prove that.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University attribute Connecticut’s passage of a 1995 firearm licensing law to a significant decrease in gun violence in the state. From 1995 to 2017, Connecticut saw a 28% decrease in firearm homicide and a 33% decrease in firearm suicide. Evidence also shows that a repeal of such a policy would have the opposite impact, with devastating and deadly consequences. The 2007 repeal of Missouri’s firearm licensing law resulted in a 25% percent increase in gun homicides and a 16% increase in gun suicides. Today, Missouri has the 7th highest gun death rate in the country and has the county (St. Louis) with the 3rd highest gun homicide rate.

But the evidence doesn’t stop there – research shows that the presence of firearms licensing laws brought down the gun homicide rate by 11% in cities and large urban counties and had a positive effect on reducing the flow of illegal guns, with fewer crime guns recovered in the state with a licensing law and fewer crimes guns that originated in that state than in other states. And as Americans have seen a rise in mass shootings across the country, it is important to remember that these laws have a great effect in reducing both these horrific mass tragedies and the number of victims from these tragedies.

The evidence is clear to me and hundreds of thousands of other citizens in North Carolina. Our state, while lacking other key gun violence prevention policies, does have this tool. It is a big reason why many of our neighboring states, with the exception of Virginia, which has passed some of the strongest gun violence prevention laws in the country, have higher rates of gun homicides and gun suicides than North Carolina. But the repeal of this system could have a devastating effect. If North Carolinians wake up five or 10 years from now and learn that their state has higher rates of gun violence than in the past, we can point to the repeal of our handgun licensing system this session as a major reason why.

This story was originally published April 25, 2021 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Repealing N.C.’s handgun permit requirement will drive up homicides and suicides."