Pistol permit repeal passes; reaction mixed

Mar. 31—HENDERSON — On March 29, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted 71-46 against Gov. Roy Cooper's veto of Senate Bill 41, also known as Guarantee Second Amendment Freedom and Protections, which eliminates sheriffs' office-conducted background checks for handgun permits.

"Effective immediately, pistol purchase permits will no longer be issued by any sheriff in North Carolina," said Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame. "The Vance County Sheriff's Office has stopped processing pistol purchase permit applications including pending applications."

The bill doesn't eradicate background checks entirely — but now, sheriffs' offices won't be the entities conducting them. It doesn't touch concealed handgun permits, so sheriffs' offices will continue to process those requests.

"Criminal penalties still apply for anyone that knowingly transfers a handgun to a person who may not lawfully possess the firearm (such as a convicted felon)," said Brame in the press release. "Therefore, it is important for citizens to remember that anyone wishing to obtain or transfer any firearm, including a handgun, must still comply with federal and state laws governing who may lawfully possess a firearm."

Brame shared his thoughts on the development on Friday.

"Myself and a great number of sheriffs do not appreciate it," said Brame. "We feel that they're taking the control from the sheriff that a lot of people are going to slip through the cracks and get these firearms.

"Because, the sheriffs do a lot more thorough check than the gun sellers. Not saying they're not doing their jobs, but we just do a much more thorough check because of local records that they don't have access to."

Cooper vetoed the bill last week on the grounds that it would "allow more domestic abusers and other dangerous people to own handguns and [reduce] law enforcement's ability to stop them from committing violent crimes," he said in a press release at the time.

"Second Amendment supporting, responsible gun owners know this will put families and communities at risk," the governor continued.

The governor's office continued, saying the "legislation removes sheriffs' authority to refuse a permit based on signs of mental illness, domestic abuse incidents that might not be captured in a national database, or other indicators that a person could be a danger to themselves or others."

On the other side, supporters of the bill cite the Second Amendment and personal protection.

"Ensuring that law abiding gun owners can purchase firearms is something I will always support," said Republican Rep. Frank Sossamon (Granville, Vance). "I was glad to have cast my vote for the first successful veto in years and finally end the unnecessary pistol purchase permit requirement in our state as well as allow citizens to be able to carry inside places of worship."

"This legislation preserves the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians by repealing the outdated pistol permit system," said Speaker of the House Tim Moore on March 29. "It also allows all churches and other place of religious worship to protect their parishioners and launches a statewide firearm safe storage awareness initiative. These have been long-standing goals of Second Amendment advocates in our state, and we have finally brought this legislation over the finish line."

The bill allows people to carry concealed handguns at places of worship that double as private schools, as long as they're legally allowed to own them.