Permitless Carry
Permitless Carry
Permitless carry is wrong for North Carolina
The gun lobby has undertaken a campaign to weaken state gun laws by eliminating the requirement that an individual obtain a license or permit before being allowed to carry concealed loaded guns in the community, and North Carolina is the next state in their crosshairs. If successful, this means that individuals in North Carolina would be able to carry a loaded, hidden firearm without meeting any common-sense requirements such as undergoing firearm safety training from a qualified instructor.
What’s at risk?
Permitless carry proposals would scrap current North Carolina law that requires applicants for a concealed carry permit to meet these common-sense, minimally burdensome requirements:
- Is a citizen of the United States or a lawfully admitted permanent resident.
- Is over the age of 21.
- Does not suffer from a physical or mental impairment that inhibits the safe handling of a handgun.
- Passes an instant criminal background check.
- Has completed an approved firearms safety training course which includes:
- The actual firing of handguns.
- Instruction in the state laws governing concealed carry and the use of deadly force.[i]
Permitless carry states are less safe
- After enacting permit less carry in 2010, the state of Arizona experienced a 44 percent increase in aggravated assaults committed with a firearm. That figure represents 1,519 more gun-related aggravated assaults committed in 2016 as compared to 2010.[ii]
- After Missouri passed a permit less carry statute in January 2017, aggravated assaults with a gun in the major city of St. Louis rose 23 percent. That’s 484 more gun-related aggravated assaults in 2017 as compared to 2016.[iii]
North Carolinians support the current law
A 2017 poll found that 89 percent of North Carolina voters supported the requirement to get a permit to carry a concealed handgun in public.[iv]
Law Enforcement OPPOSES permitless carry
Both the North Carolina Association of Police Chiefs and the North Carolina Sheriffs Association have opposed the repealing of the permit requirements in our state.[v]
North Carolina’s lawmakers should OPPOSE permitless carry, too, rather than disregard the will of North Carolinians and the state’s law enforcement leaders to the detriment of public safety.
[i] http://lawcenter.giffords.org/concealed-weapons-permitting-in-north-carolina/
[ii] https://everytownresearch.org/permitless-carry/; https://www.azdps.gov/about/reports/crime
[iii] https://everytownresearch.org/permitless-carry/; http://www.slmpd.org/crime_stats.shtml
[iv] http://www.surveyusa.com/client/PollReport.aspx?g=57141808-441f-496d-a63a-6a8fef8c9473