North Carolina Republicans override Democratic governor's gun law

March 30, 2023

North Carolina Republicans overcame a veto from the state's Democratic governor to successfully end the state's restrictive pistol permit law.

The humiliating defeat for Governor Roy Cooper means that pistol buyers will no longer have to get permission from a local sheriff to carry.

Republicans easily overcame the veto in the Senate, where they enjoy a supermajority. They are one member short of a veto-proof majority in the General Assembly, but three Democrats were absent for the 71-46 vote.

"This bill will become law notwithstanding objections of the governor," North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R) said.

Gun law overturned

Cooper claimed that the change would empower "known domestic abusers and mentally ill people to buy handguns puts communities at risk."

"Without any debate allowed by GOP leadership because the arguments were too compelling for them to hear, the House voted to override my veto and eliminate strong background checks for handguns in NC," Cooper wrote.

The bill would also allow guns to be carried on school grounds where religious services are held and would institute a gun storage education program.

Gun control groups lamented the change, citing the horrific anti-Christian mass shooting in Nashville that Democrats have blamed on guns.

"As America reels from the horrific school shooting in Nashville, gun lobby legislators in North Carolina are doubling down on a law that will make it even easier for people with dangerous histories to buy guns,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety.

2nd amendment win

The National Rifle Association cheered the news in North Carolina, saying the permitting law "served no public service."

"Law-abiding residents should not have to ask the government for permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights," the group said.

It's the latest rollback to restrictive gun control regimes since the Supreme Court's landmark decision last summer affirming the right to carry a handgun in public.

The new standard laid down in New York State Rifle & Pistol Association, Inc. v. Bruen requires regulators to tailor gun control to the nation's "historic tradition," leading to a flurry of court victories for gun rights.

Democrats have redoubled their efforts to circumvent the Supreme Court's ruling with new laws restricting the right to carry in public, with mixed success.

" A free people [claim] their rights, as derived from the laws of nature."
Thomas Jefferson
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