North Carolina’s Permitless Carry Bill Clears Another Hurdle

The North Carolina Senate has already signed off on allowing lawful gun owners to be able to bear arms without the need for a government-issued permission slip, and the House of Representatives could soon follow suit after the legislation passed out of a key committee on Tuesday. 

According to Grassroots NC, however, the vote in the Judiciary 2 Committee was a lot closer than it should have been. In an alert to members, GRNC head Paul Valone explained what happened:

Democrats offered strong resistance to the permitless carry bill, SB 50, today in the NC House Judiciary 2 Committee. In addition to Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover, GRNC 0-star) citing the usual dubious and unsubstantiated “statistics,” and Rep. Laura Budd (D-Mecklenburg, 0-star) using the typical false driver’s license analogy.

The bad news is that the DEMS in an allowed, but unusual and underhanded tactic, brought in an “ex-officio” committee member (Robert Reives) to the J2 Committee to try and stack the deck against you. Minority Leader Robert Reives (D-Chatham, Randolph, 0-star) was there to bolster their attempt to defeat the bill in committee. (Party leaders are “floaters” who can vote on any committee, although the tactic is not often used.

Regardless of the usual leftist subterfuge, SB 50 passed the NC House J-2 Committee in a 6-5 party-line vote and now heads for the NC House Rules Committee. GRNC Legislative Action Team members Ken Stallings and Scott Jackomin represented GRNC at the meeting, with Stallings addressing the committee in favor of the bill.

SB 50 still needs to win approval from the House Rules Committee before it can be sent to the floor for a vote by the entire chamber, but that could happen as early as tomorrow, according to Valone. 

With this year’s session scheduled to end on July 31 there’s still plenty of time for the bill to be heard and approved by both chambers, but after that things are likely to get pretty interesting. SB 50 will undoubtably be vetoed by anti-2A Gov. Josh Stein, the state’s former Attorney General who was a reliable signature on anti-gun amicus briefs submitted to the courts in various cases before he was elected governor last November. Republicans lost their veto-proof majority in that same election (in a race decided by less than 300 votes, incidentally), and are now one vote shy of being able to override Stein so long as the caucus stands together. 

There’s been no indication that SB 50 will get the support of a single House Democrat, and if it comes down to a party-line vote House leadership will have to get creative to get the bill across the finish line; waiting, for instance, until one or more opponents aren’t on the floor before attempting an override. Adoption of permitless carry is far from guaranteed this year, so gun owners in the state need to keep up the pressure and urge their representatives to get on board. Grassroots NC has even provided a sample letter for 2A activists to send to Rules Committee members.

Dear House Rules Committee Member: 

I am writing because I understand that SB50 (“Freedom to Carry NC”) is to be considered in your committee this week, and I want to voice my full support for this bill and encourage you to vote for it. 

About three-fifths of our country’s states already have constitutional concealed carry in some form or another, and it is long past due for North Carolina. I am calling on you to make sure our state lives up to its “First in Freedom” moniker, and to not leave us languishing on this matter once again. We were promised Constitutional Carry in 2024. We’re expecting it in 2025. 

In large part, gun voters are responsible for the majorities Republicans currently enjoy in the General Assembly, and I expect you to live up to the promise of conservative leadership that we voted for, including and especially when it comes to the Second Amendment. Vote to move SB50 forward.  

I will be monitoring your actions on this important matter through legislative alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina.  

Respectfully,

Remind them of the importance of this bill, and the importance of gun owners in giving Republicans their majority in both chambers. With a lot of pressure and a little bit of luck, North Carolina could become the 30th state in the nation to adopt permitless carry, but the clock is ticking and now’s not the time to sit on our hands.