Gun Rights Group Calls for Override of NC Governor’s Veto

North Carolina is a rather strange place. It’s a rural state with a very purple lean, meaning that you don’t know if they’ll be conservative or liberal on just about any given day.

Those urban centers can get confusing, I tell ya.

Recently, though, the legislature passed a permitless carry bill. This was excellent news for people of the state, as it was a profound step away from the era of Jim Crow gun control measures.

Unfortunately, the governor vetoed it.

Now, lawmakers are being asked to override the veto.

The Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms recently sent letters to North Carolina lawmakers urging them to override Governor Josh Stein’s veto of their permit less carry bill. North Carolina SB 50 was passed in both legislative chambers and Governor Stein usurped the will of the people by vetoing it.

Lawmakers who should be sympathetic to the passage of the bill either did not show up to vote, voted against the measure, or are not in favor of an override. This needs to change.

Letters were sent to House Representatives Ted Davis, Jr., Stephen M. Ross, Howard Penny, Jr., and Jimmy Dixon.

“I’m writing concerning a decision that you are being tasked to make,” CCRKBA Director John Petrolino said in the letter. “I represent over 600,000 Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms members across the country. You have a chance to be part of meaningful change for all who live in and visit North Carolina.”

“You have a chance to do the right thing,” Petrolino further stated. “By continuing to support the need to have a permit in order to exercise a fundamental civil liberty, you are supporting Jim Crow era laws that keep people disarmed. There’s nothing noble about requiring a permit to exercise a constitutional right and you have the ability to help change an unjust law.”

Here’s the full letter, for those interested. And yes, that is our very own Bearing Arms contributor John Petrolino who penned the letter on behalf of CCRKBA (where Bearing Arms editor Cam Edwards also serves as a board member). 

The truth of the matter is that if you voted for the measure, you need to be in favor of an override. I just can’t reconcile support for a bill with opposition to overriding the veto. You either want the law or you don’t.

Those who voted against the bill, well, I get it then. You got the outcome you wanted. 

Yet those who didn’t vote at all are those who need to answer for that, and if nothing else, an attempt to override the veto would give these lawmakers a chance to step up and make a stand on the issue in an unambiguous way.

Why would you not want that? Unless you’re anti-gun and hope your constituents won’t learn that about you, that is.

I hope that there is an override vote and that the veto gets overridden. I’m not hopeful that it will happen, unfortunately, because it seems clear that there are too many timid lawmakers in the Tarheel State. That’s a shame, because people there deserve better. They shouldn’t have to ask the government for permission to carry a firearm, especially considering the state’s history of viewing the carrying of guns as more of a privilege than an actual right.

So here’s hoping.