The North Carolina Senate has voted to override Governor Roy Cooper’s veto of a bill that would eliminate the requirement for people to obtain a permit from their local sheriff before purchasing a handgun. The Senate voted in favor of the override, following a similar vote in the House earlier this month. The bill will now become law, effective immediately.
Under the previous law, anyone who wanted to purchase a handgun in North Carolina had to obtain a permit from their local sheriff’s office. The permit requires a background check and character evaluations. Proponents of the bill argue that the permit requirement is unnecessary and burdensome for law-abiding citizens.
Opponents of the bill, including Governor Cooper, have raised concerns about public safety and the potential for more gun violence if people are allowed to purchase handguns without a permit. The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association has also opposed the bill, arguing that the current permitting process helps to keep guns out of the hands of people who should not have them. How does getting a background check before buying a firearm and then having to go through another one when you actually buy the gun help “guns from getting into the hands of people that should not have them?”
The bill’s supporters argue that the background checks and other safeguards will still be in place when people purchase handguns from licensed dealers and that the change will simply remove the requirement for an additional permit from the sheriff’s office. They also argue that the change will help to ensure that the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens are not infringed upon.
