Republicans say permitless concealed carry will make NC safer. Here are the facts. | Opinion
A bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly last week could severely loosen gun restrictions across the state.
Senate Bill 50 would allow most adults in North Carolina to carry a concealed weapon without a permit, as long as they meet all the legal requirements for owning a gun. Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the bill Friday. If Republicans override his veto and the bill becomes law, it would make North Carolina the 30th state to enact what’s known as “constitutional carry.”
The bill would be unnecessarily dangerous for North Carolina. Current state law requires a permit for concealed carry, and the permits are only available to those who are at least 21 years of age. Removing that requirement lowers the minimum age for concealed carry, but it also removes the safeguards that the permitting system puts into place, including background checks and a required training course. It requires people to show they can safely and reliably fire a handgun and prove that they understand state laws regarding firearms.
Studies have shown that allowing permitless carry is associated with notable increases in homicides and violent crime. That contradicts the bill’s sponsors, who claim that allowing more people to carry firearms could keep communities safer, because “good people with guns stop bad people with guns.”
Sen. Danny Britt, one of the bill’s primary sponsors, said that victims of domestic violence, for example, may want to start carrying a concealed handgun to protect themselves. The current law already allows that, so long as the person obtains a permit. More importantly, the current law also allows the state to proactively block domestic abusers from carrying guns, and allows police to intervene if they believe someone dangerous may be carrying a gun illegally. Changing the law might allow “good” people to carry concealed weapons without any obstacles, but what lawmakers fail to acknowledge is that it would allow bad people to do so, too. Does that really leave us any safer?
Allowing concealed carry for teenagers is an even more questionable decision. While 29 other states allow permitless concealed carry, North Carolina would be just the 10th state to allow it for individuals 18 and older. At 18, you can’t legally drink, rent a car or buy cigarettes. You can’t even legally purchase a handgun from a licensed dealer, although you are allowed to purchase them through private sales. Why should you be allowed to carry a concealed weapon without a background check or training?
Opponents of the bill say that lowering the age invites unnecessary risk, as data shows that people between the ages of 18 and 20 commit gun homicides at over triple the rate of adults 21 years and older. Some point to the mass shooting that killed one and injured 11 others in Catawba County earlier this month. Most of the eight suspects charged in connection with the shooting are under the age of 21.
It’s unclear whether Republicans will have the votes to override Stein’s veto. Two Republicans voted against the bill in the House, with one telling The News & Observer, “I don’t see what the problem is requiring somebody, number one to get a permit, number two to access training to make sure they know what they’re doing with the gun that they’re buying.”
That’s the right position to take, especially given that the general public does not support the bill. An Elon University poll conducted earlier this year found that 54% of North Carolinians oppose dropping the concealed carry permit requirement, and just 34% support it. Even among Republicans, support for the change is less than 50%, the poll found.
The move to eliminate concealed carry permits comes after Republicans already repealed the state’s permit requirement for pistol purchases in 2023. Prior to the repeal, anyone buying a handgun would first have to obtain a permit from their local sheriff’s office, which subjected them to a background check and helped prevent guns from ending up in the wrong hands.
That repeal wasn’t without its consequences. In the 12 months after the requirement was repealed, handgun sales in North Carolina increased nearly 11-fold. Reporting from The News & Observer found that the campus shooting that killed a UNC-Chapel Hill professor in 2023 might have been prevented if the permit process had remained in place, as a background check could have prevented the perpetrator from purchasing a gun.
It doesn’t seem like lawmakers learned their lesson then, because now they’re attempting to loosen restrictions even further. That, too, could have dangerous consequences for our state.
