Several N.C. Sheriffs Are Working Against Permitless Carry Bill

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina approved a permitless carry bill this session, but after Gov. Josh Stein vetoed the measure, the legislation has been stuck in a holding pattern. 

Despite being one vote shy of a veto-proof majority when the House is operating at full capacity, Republicans have been able to override several of Stein’s other vetoes. SB 50, though, has yet to be brought up for a vote in the House, though the Senate has voted to override the governor’s veto. 

The bill easily cleared the House during the regular session, but it did have a couple of Republican opponents and several more lawmakers who were absent and didn’t cast a vote the first time around. A veto override would be a lot easier if SB 50 enjoyed the full support of the GOP caucus, but North Carolina TV station News 34 reports there are two Republican House members who are not on board. While groups like Grassroots N.C. are lobbying lawmakers to get behind the bill, there are some sheriffs working against them.

Nash County Sheriff Keith Stone has applauded Stein for the veto. He expressed concerns about guns in the hands of young people.

“There are high school students who are 18 [and] going to be able to carry a gun concealed,” Stone said. “If they do it all summer, when they go back to school, they’re going to carry these guns.”

No, they’re really not. My guess is that any high school student who wants to carry a gun at school is already doing so, and it’s already a crime. That won’t change under SB 50. 

The sheriff is also worried about guns in the hands of people with little to no training, which puts law enforcement at a greater risk.

“People who take carry concealed classes know what to do when approached by law enforcement,” Stone said. “If everybody is carrying firearms, nobody knows what to do because they haven’t had training. They might reach for the weapon, they might attempt to hide the weapon, and the officer poses it as a threat.

“It’s like giving a kid a driver’s license without driver’s ed,” he said.

There are currently 29 states that don’t require a lawful gun owner to obtain a government-issued permit before exercising their right to bear arms. There are currently zero states that have repealed a permitless carry law because of situations like the one Stone imagines. 

As it turns out, the vast majority of people who want to carry a firearm for personal safety also want to stay on the right side of the law. Many of them will undergo training even if it’s not mandated, and honestly, you just need some common sense to know you don’t reach for a gun when a police officer is approaching you. 

Stone disagrees also disagrees that preventing people from carrying guns without a permit won’t make it harder for criminals to access them.

“It’s more difficult to get the weapon when there’s not as many weapons on the street to get,” he said. “Usually, we find that the criminal has to pay twice the amount of money to obtain a firearm.”

It sounds like Stone is advocating for less gun ownership in general, and if so, he can pound sand. The Constitution protects our right to keep and bear arms, and the sheriff took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution. If he can’t do that, he should step down.

And again, there are 29 permitless carry states at the moment. The United States is also experiencing record low homicide rates, and permitless carry states like Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho have some of the lowest homicide rates in the country. There is simply no reason to believe that permitless carry laws make it easier for criminals to get their hands on guns. 

You can bet that Charlotte-Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden is working to scare lawmakers away from supporting SB 50 as well. McFadden has already faced lawsuits over lengthy delays in processing concealed carry applications, so the thought of gun owners being able to bypass his office must have his blood boiling. 

Grassroots N.C., by the way, says there are four Republican lawmakers standing in the way: Ted Davis, Jr., Jimmy Dixon, Howard Penny, Jr., and Stephen Ross. If North Carolina gun owners want to live in the 30th permitless carry state, they need to be flooding those offices with emails, phone calls, and vows to replace these lawmakers with actual 2A supporters in the next primary. 

Editor’s Note: Most Republicans across the country are doing everything they can to protect our Second Amendment rights and right to self-defense.

Help us continue to report on their efforts and legislative successes, and to call out those Republicans who aren’t standing up for our 2A rights. Join Bearing Arms VIP and use promo code FIGHT to receive 60% off your membership.