SB 50 – Freedom To Carry NC – Passes House

The permitless concealed carry bill, SB 50 – Freedom to Carry NC, has passed the North Carolina House of Representatives and now will be sent to Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) for his consideration. Odds are that Stein will veto the bill.

The vote was 59 aye and 48 nay on the 2nd Reading and it passed the 3rd Reading on a voice vote. Every Democrat and two Republicans voted against the bill. Rep. Ted Davis (R-New Hanover) and Rep. William Brisson (R-Bladen, Sampson) had voted against the bill in House Rules Committee and voted against it today on the floor. 13 representatives were given excused absences today.

I listened to the full debate on the bill in real time. Both sides had their moments and both sides tried to make their points. Much was made about 18 year olds not being responsible enough to carry a firearm. Rep. Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort) made an excellent rebuttal to this by noting that it is perfectly legal in North Carolina for an 18 year old to open carry a firearm.

Rep. Brian Echevarria (R-Cabarrus) made a very good speech in favor of the bill. He said a lot of statistics were being pushed in the debate but the one statistic he pointed to was the Second Amendment and the right to keep and bear arms. He said it was 100%. Echevarria who is African-American pointed out that this bill would not have been supported by Jim Crow! It was a great line. Echevarria also pointed to all those forbidden to possess a firearm saying the bill still would not allow them to carry.

The argument made by Rep. Ted Davis (see above) was really weak. His argument was that those who had North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permits had their privacy invaded by having to provide fingerprints and undergo a background check. He contended by allowing permitless concealed carry that it wasn’t fair to those who had undergone the permit process. I have to disagree as holding a permit does provide some advantages that those without a permit will not have. The two main ones are that it substitutes for a NICS background check when making a firearm purchase and that it allows you to carry concealed in a number of other states.

You can watch the full debate in the video below. It starts at the 4:20:25 mark and continues through 5:22:25.

I would like to note that both the NRA-ILA and Grass Roots North Carolina will be scoring this bill. Opposition will be noted and will be reflected in the grades earned by legislators.