NC Lawmakers will vote on allowing people to carry a gun without a permit

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It could soon be legal to carry a concealed gun without a permit in North Carolina. Senators are scheduled to vote on the Freedom To Carry NC Thursday morning.

North Carolina law currently requires gun owners to get a permit from their local sheriff’s office and spend a minimum of eight hours of training to carry a concealed handgun.

Paul Valone from Grass Roots North Carolina has been pushing for Freedom to Carry NC. If passed, it would legalize permit-less concealed carry for anyone over the age of 18 with some exceptions for people with mental illness or felonies. Valone’s group sued the Mecklenburg and Wake County Sheriffs over their backlog of pistol permit applications. Freedom to Carry NC would eliminate that step.

“The crux of the permit-less carry bills is that they remove the need for governmental permission to exercise a fundamental civil right,” Paul Valone, NC Grass Roots said. “Depending on where you live, you might not be able to get [a permit] even though you qualify. We want people to be able to protect themselves and their families at all times.”

The bill is sponsored by Republican Senators Britt, Daniel and Settle. District 41 Democratic Senator Caleb Theodros says he will vote no.

“If you look at violent crime, even for juveniles, everything has been going up,” Senator Theodros said. “So, why would we decide to put even less sort of restrictions on somebody’s ability to go out and just get a concealed carry?”

Senator Theodros says several advocates spoke out against the bill as is circulated in the panel and rules committee with concerns about how increasing gun accessibility could threaten public safety.

“You have multiple law enforcement members speaking out against it as well,” Senator Theodros said. “Ultimately, this is going to negatively impact people, but especially our police officers.”

Valone says removing the need for a permit will eliminate barriers people face when exercising their civil rights and match the rules in neighboring states like South Carolina and Tennessee.

“We are the 30th state to consider this. 29 states have adopted it and it has caused problems in none of those states. That’s what people need to understand,” Valone said.

Senators are scheduled to vote Thursday morning at 11:30. Senator Theodros says he believes some of his colleagues will introduce amendments to the bill that they believe could reduce harm.

Valone says he believes senators will vote in favor of Freedom to Carry and it will go to the house where there’s already a similar bill.