North Carolina's Pistol Purchase Permitting System Works

North Carolina's Pistol Purchase Permitting System Works

For decades, this Permit-to-Purchase (PTP) law has been the backbone of public safety in North Carolina, keeping handguns out of the hands of felons, domestic abusers, and people experiencing a mental health crisis. With gun violence surging in nationally1 and in NC,2 now is not the time to dismantle a system that works and saves lives.

Why State Handgun Purchaser Licensing Laws are Critical

  • Federal law requires prospective firearm purchasers to pass a background check verifying that they meet all eligibility requirements – but only if the seller is a federally licensed firearm dealer.3
  • In states without permit/license to purchase laws, prohibited persons or anyone who does not want records linking themselves to a gun can acquire firearms from unlicensed private sellers, who have no legal obligation to verify that the prospective purchaser can legally possess a firearm. This includes private sellers at gun shows, private online purchases, and private transfers to an individual. This change would be dangerous for NC: An estimated 22 percent of firearms are purchased without a background check.4
  • It gets worse: The same study found that in states without regulations on private firearm sales, 57% of firearms purchases from a private seller did not include a background check.5 If we repeal our Pistol Purchase Permit system, many people in NC who now undergo background checks could buy handguns at gun shows or online – no questions asked.
  • In states with PTP laws, like North Carolina, both licensed and unlicensed firearm sellers can only legally sell a handgun to someone if the purchaser has a valid permit or license.6,7

Purchase permitting laws reduce the amount of guns trafficked within states and diverted for criminal misuse:

  • A study of 2006-2016 ATF data on crime guns showed that states with PTP laws were associated with a lower percentage of in-state crime guns recovered by police, meaning that fewer of the guns recovered by police after a crime had been trafficked from an in-state source.8
  • A study with 25 cities found that “States with… licensing systems appear to do a better job than other states of keeping guns initially sold within the state from being recovered in crimes.”9

Handgun Purchaser Licensing Linked to Lower Gun-Related Deaths

  • After Missouri repealed its handgun purchaser licensing law in 2007, the state’s firearm homicide rate increased 47% and their firearm suicide rate increased 24% from 2007 – 2016, compared to the rate expected had they not repealed their law.10
  • Connecticut’s PTP law, passed in 1995, was associated with a 40% homicide decline in the first 10 years.11A more recent study over a longer period (1995 – 2017) and using a slightly different methodology found the state’s law was associated with a 28% decline in the firearm homicide rate and a 33% decline in the firearm suicide rate, compared to rates expected without this law.12
  • States with the strongest gun laws – including states with PTP laws – tend to have lower firearm death rates than states without these laws, after controlling for economic, demographic, and other differences across states.13
  • States with strong handgun purchaser licensing laws are associated with 56% lower rates of fatal mass shooting incidents, and 67% fewer mass shooting victims.14
  • A study of homicide in large urban counties found that PTP laws were associated with an 11% reduction in firearm homicide.15

Public Support for Laws Licensing Handgun Purchasers

  • Public support of these laws is high, especially in states like NC that have them: 84% of adults and 77% of gun owners in states with licensing laws support this policy.16
  • ·A 2022 poll found that 90% of North Carolinians support background checks for all gun purchases.17

References

1 Simon TR, et al. Notes from the Field: Increases in Firearm Homicide and Suicide Rates — United States, 2020–2021. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2022 Oct 7;71(40):1286–1287. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/71/wr/mm7140a4.htm

2Fowler H. Gun deaths in US surged in 2020, data shows. North Carolina’s spike was even bigger. Charlotte Observer. 2021 Mar 29. https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/state/north-carolina/article250197690.html

3 Aldrige J. Firearms Laws and Permits. North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. 2018 Nov. https://ncdoj.gov/download/98/concealed-carry- handgun/16346/firearms-publication-november-2018

4 Miller M, et al. Firearm acquisition without background checks. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2017 Feb 21; 166(4):233-239. https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M16-1590

5 Ibid.

6 Aldrige J. Firearms Laws and Permits. North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. 2018 Nov. https://ncdoj.gov/download/98/concealed-carry- handgun/16346/firearms-publication-november-2018

7 MNC GS 14-402. Sale of certain weapons without permit is forbidden. https://www.ncleg.net/enactedlegislation/statutes/html/bysection/chapter_14/gs_14-402.html

8 Collins T, Greenberg R, Siegel M, Xuan Z, Rothman EF, Cronin SW, Hemenway D. State Firearm Laws and Interstate Transfer of Guns in the USA, 2006-2016. Journal of Urban Health. 2018 Jun;95(3):322-336. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5993697/

9 Webster DW, Vernick JS, Hepburn LM. Relationship between licensing, registration, and other gun sales laws and the source state of crime guns. Injury Prevention. 2001 Sep;7(3):184-9. https://injuryprevention.bmj.com/content/7/3/184

10 McCourt A, Crifasi C, Vernick J, Kagawa R, Wintemute G & Webster D. Purchaser licensing, point-of-sale background check laws, and firearm homicide and suicide in 4 US states, 1985–2017. American Journal of Public Health. 2020. https://ajph.aphapublica-tions.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305822

11 Rudolph KE, et al. Association between Connecticut’s Permit-to-Purchase handgun law and homicides. American Journal of Public Health. 2015 Aug;105(8):e49-54. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4504296/

12 McCourt A, Crifasi C, Vernick J, Kagawa R, Wintemute G & Webster D. Purchaser licensing, point-of-sale background check laws, and firearm homicide and suicide in 4 US states, 1985–2017. American Journal of Public Health. 2020. https://ajph.aphapublica-tions.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2020.305822

13 Fleegler EW, et al. Firearm legislation and firearm-related fatalities in the United States. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2013 May 13;173(9):732-40. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23467753/

14 Webster DW, et al. Evidence concerning the regulation of firearms design, sale, and carrying on fatal mass shootings in the United States. Criminology & Public Policy. 2020. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1745-9133.12487

15 Crifasi CK, et al. Correction to: Association between Firearm Laws and Homicide in Urban Counties. Journal of Urban Health. 2018 Oct;95(5):773-776. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6181823/

16 Crifasi CK, et al. Differences in Public Support for Handgun Purchaser Licensing. Injury Prevention. 2020 Feb;26(1): 93–95. (epub ahead of print 2019) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7040850/#R16.

17WRAL News Poll finds most in NC want stricter gun laws. June 13, 2022. www.wral.com/wral-news-poll-finds-most-in-nc-want-stricter-gun-laws/20328749/