by The NRA-ILA released a statement today on the North Carolina House of Representatives vote to send HB 937 to a conference committee instead of concurring with the Senate version of the bill. They state that they don’t see this necessarily as an anti-gun vote as the bill was stalled due to the intransigence of the North Carolina Sheriffs Association and pistol purchase permits.
Today, the North Carolina House of Representatives voted 100-14 to not concur with the Senate version of an omnibus firearms reform bill, House Bill 937. H 937 will now be sent to a House-Senate Conference Committee to resolve the differences between the two versions of this bill. This was not an anti-gun vote, as H 937 had stalled due to the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association objecting to the provision that would repeal the outdated and unnecessary state law requiring anyone who wishes to purchase a handgun to first obtain a permit from her or his county sheriff. The non-concurrence vote was necessary to move H 937 forward since there was some confusion among state legislators regarding this particular provision.
Now that H 937 will be considered in a conference committee, the NRA will continue to work directly with state legislators to ensure that this bill is passed and enacted this year. The NRA will oppose any efforts to weaken any provision of H 937. While we remain committed to repealing this obsolete and inefficient requirement, our primary goal for this year is to pass and enact the most comprehensive pro-gun version of H 937 possible.
As I stated earlier, the conference committee does have a number of pro-gun leaders such as Sen. Buck Newton on the committee so we can still get a good, if not perfect, gun bill passed.
