Lawmakers Pass North Carolina Gun Law Expanding Carry Rights

Lawmakers passed a new North Carolina gun law that expands concealed carry rights across the state that allows weapons into bars and restaurants, as well as other places where alcohol is served, as long as the businesses don’t forbid it.

The bill, passed Tuesday by North Carolina’s House and Senate, is now on the desk of Republican Gov. Pat McCrory, who is expected to sign it. Backed by Republican lawmakers elected in the red sweep in 2010, and retained in 2012, the law would also allow concealed-gun permit holders to bring weapons on hiking trails, playgrounds and other public recreation areas where more and more violent crimes have been occurring.

The new North Carolina gun law would also allow gun owners store weapons in their cars on the campuses of public schools or colleges.

Un fortunately, that provision was opposed by police chiefs at all 17 liberal campuses in the University of North Carolina system, who said they feared car break-ins and an increase in gun violence on campus. That claim, of course, is absolutely ridiculous, because the North Carolina requirements to carry a concealed weapon and store it on campus are incredibly thorough. Criminals would not follow such provisions, thus if they were going to commit a crime, then the law will make it no easier for them to do so.

Student government associations, in a proclamation also opposed the bill. Dylan Russell, the student president at Appalachian State even wrote a personal letters to lawmakers. Russell wrote, according to the Winston-Salem Journal.

College is a time filled with many new experiences, and sometimes it can be a bit overwhelming. I personally do not believe that by having guns more accessible to college students we will be making campuses safer.

Nothing like a young and ignorant college student who has never handled a gun in his life to offer his worthless opinion. Many students, including veterans, are completely proficient and responsible with firearms, would never show them in public, may just be older than typical students, and could contribute greatly in the event of a crisis.

In an editorial, the Charlotte Observer called the bill, “The wrong direction in gun legislation,” and said polls show people in North Carolina have “expressed the desire for tightening, not loosening, gun laws.” That is not exactly true, as North Carolina favors concealed carry laws by a 64% – 32% margin.

Backers of the expanding gun rights said the new rules were appropriate given the training and background checks involved in getting a concealed-gun permit, and Senator Thom Goolsby phrased it perfectly. “They’re the people we don’t have to worry about,” Senator Thom Goolsby told WRAL TV.

The National Rifle Association’s lobbying arm, the Institute for Legislative Action, also urged passage of the bill, and have been lobbying for more gun laws that would allow responsible and knowledgable to be empowered in the unfortunate event that something tragic occurs. Why allow the tragedy to go farther than it has to, or even at all.