Getty Images/Luke Sharrett
Gun control advocates and faith leaders held a press conference at the state Legislative Building Wednesday urging lawmakers to oppose bills that would allow carrying concealed firearms without a permit.
It’s one of the biggest issues this session. Legislators are considering bills that would allow “constitutional carry,” or the idea that individuals should be able to carry concealed weapons without restrictions based on the Second Amendment.
Senate Bill 50, “Freedom to Carry NC,” allows North Carolinians who are U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age, and not otherwise prohibited by law, to carry concealed weapons without applying for a permit.
It’s backed by Republican leadership and would make North Carolina the 30th state to enshrine such a policy in state law. The bill has passed the Senate and is awaiting action in the House.
Its counterpart in the lower chamber, House Bill 5 or “NC Constitutional Carry Act,” has the same idea. This measure still needs approval from the House Rules Committee.
Rep. Phillip Rubin, a Democrat from Wake County, said the fact that either bill is even under consideration is a reflection of the troubled state of democracy in North Carolina.
North Carolina is one of the “most intensely” gerrymandered states in the country, he said, with Republicans earning less than 48% of the vote statewide but holding 59% of the seats in the legislature. At the congressional level, the North Carolina delegation went from an even 7-7 split to a 10-4 Republican majority following GOP-crafted redistricting.
“In a functioning democracy where elected representatives feel accountable to the people they represent, a bill this unpopular and this dangerous would never pass. It would never even come to a vote,” he said. “That is why I’m so sad to see common sense gun regulation measures that can’t get a vote, and dangerous measures like permitless concealed carry that repeatedly can.”
Polls released recently by Everytown for Gun Safety and Elon University found the bulk of North Carolina voters against loosening gun regulations.
Rev. Jennifer Copeland is the executive director of the North Carolina Council of Churches, which represents 19 denominations. She said owning or carrying a gun doesn’t make people safe.
“All of us are less safe when everyone around us has a gun tucked into their waistband or carries it around in their purse,” she said.
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