North Carolina lawmakers voted earlier this year to make the state the 30th in the nation to adopt a permitless carry law, but the bill was vetoed by anti-gun Gov. Josh Stein.
Legislators are headed back to Raleigh at the end of the month, and Republicans are looking to override Stein’s veto (and several others) when they return. Whether or not they have the votes to do so, however, is an open question.
The law now requires concealed carry permits for those age 21 and older, along with firearms safety training and a background check. “Freedom to Carry NC,” Senate Bill 50, would allow anyone age 18 and older to carry a concealed handgun.
If the veto is overturned, anyone age 18 and older would be able to carry a concealed gun without a permit, background check and firearms training.
Two Republicans voted against the bill in the House, while the vote fell along party lines in the Senate. And another 10 Republican House members were absent for the vote. It is unlikely that every single Republican in the House, plus a Democrat, would vote to override the veto.
The Senate has a veto-proof majority, so the House is the real issue. The lower chamber is one Republican shy of a veto-proof majority, and as the Charlotte Observer notes, two GOP House members voted against SB 50 the first time around. If every state representative is present for the override vote, it would likely most likely fail. In fact, it probably wouldn’t even be brought up for a vote at all. The best chance of SB 50 becoming law is if some of its opponents are absent.
Sometimes lawmaker absences are strategic.
Another strategy at play is the notion that a lawmaker will “take a walk” during an override vote. That means the lawmaker will leave the chamber floor for the purpose of missing the vote rather than having to vote for or against a bill, or an override.
A second gun bill that Stein vetoed, House Bill 193, would allow private school staff and volunteers to carry guns. One Democrat, Rep. Shelly Willingham of Rocky Mount, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the bill.
Ideally, Reps. Ted Davis and William Brisson would change their “no” votes and help override Stein’s veto, but failing that, House leadership may be able to pressure them to take a potty break instead. That still might not be enough to get to a veto-proof majority though. Democrats would have to have at least one absence as well, and the ten Republicans who were absent during the first vote for SB 50 would all have to back the bill.
The prospects of overriding Stein’s veto of HB 193 are much better. As the Observer notes, the bill had the backing of the GOP caucus as well as Democratic Rep. Shelly Willingham, who’s on the record stating he would also vote to override the governor’s veto. Provided every Republican is on hand for the vote, there should be enough supporters to enact it into law over the governor’s objections.
North Carolina gun owners should be contacting Davis and Brisson to encourage them to switch their vote and get behind permitless carry, and it might not be a bad idea to reach out to Willingham on the issue as well. Again, there are already 29 other states that have removed the requirement for a state-issued permission slip in order to carry concealed, so this isn’t some bold new experiment. North Carolina also already allows for open carry without a permit, so this would simply provide a uniform standard for bearing arms.
The Second Amendment shouldn’t be treated as a second-class right, and no other civil liberty requires pre-approval by the State before it can be exercised. Enacting SB 50 is the right thing to do from both a common sense and constitutional standpoint, and though it’s going to take a lot of work (and maybe a little bit of luck) to override Stein’s veto, the change that would result is worth the effort.
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