GRNC

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GRNC Releases 2024 Remember In November Ratings

February 8, 2024 by 2 Comments

Grass Roots North Carolina, the state’s independent gun rights group, has released their latest version of Remember in November. It is a rating of all candidates for Council of State, US Congress, State House, and State Senate in North Carolina on where they stand on gun rights.

From GRNC on their star ratings:

“Remember in November” candidate evaluations estimate where candidates stand on gun issues by comparing their views with those of a control group of gun owners. As noted below, a “4-STAR” candidate agrees with control group on at least 90% of gun issues, a 3-STAR agrees on least 80%, a 2-STAR on at least 70%, a 1-STAR on at least 60%, and a 0-STAR candidate agrees on less than 60% of gun issues.

Every candidate was sent a survey to their address of record with the NC State Board of Elections. Their responses were compared to a control group of gun owners on issues ranging from concealed handguns to safe storage to the Second Amendment. If a candidate did not return a survey, their response was rated a zero. When it comes to ratings, the voting record, if any, should be considered more important than survey results. In other words, action speak louder than words.

Candidate evaluations sorted by name are here.

Meanwhile, candidate evaluations by office and district sought are here.

If you look at the candidate evaluations, you will note that Republicans who blew off the survey receive the same score as Democrat anti-gun politicians. For example, in the race for Governor of NC, Republican attorney Bill Graham who has blanketed the airwaves with ads blew off the survey and has no voting record received a zero star rating. Likewise, Attorney General Josh Stein (D-NC) blew off the survey but had a negative voting record from his time in the General Assembly received the same zero star rating.

Meanwhile, in my own State Senate district, both the Republican and Democrat blew off the survey which is a shame. I already know that St. Sen. Julie Mayfield (D-Buncombe) is anti-gun but it would be nice to know that Republican Kristie Sluder believes in the Second Amendment. Her Facebook page says she stands with Trump but what does that mean in terms of gun rights?

My State House district is the same with neither the Democrat or Republican responding to the survey. If you are a Republican running in a district with a Democrat incumbent, you just might pick up a few extra votes if you stake out your position as pro-gun rights. The GOP is not called the Stupid Party without reason.

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Be Aware When Renewing Your NC CHP

December 3, 2023 by

Grass Roots North Carolina recently sent out an alert on an issue that has come with renewals on North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permits. It seems some mental health organizations are trying to bill the permit holder for the mental health records check. This violates state law.

Here is what GRNC has to say about it:

It has come to our attention that some Mental Health Companies have been billing individuals that are renewing permit a fee for doing a records check.

Don’t fall for it.

Submitting the bill is a violation of NC law.

In the 2015 Legislative Session GRNC was instrumental in changing the NC CHP statute pertaining to the renewal of Conceal Handgun Permits. It reads as follows:

NCGS § 14-415.15 “The sheriff shall make the request for any records concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant within 10 days of receipt of the items listed in G.S. 14-415.13. No person, company, mental health provider, or governmental entity may charge additional fees to the applicant (emphasis mine) for background checks conducted under this subsection.”

Send the invoice back and tell them to submit it to your sheriff’s office. 

So if you are renewing your permit, be aware and don’t be conned into paying for the records check when state law forbids it.

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Asheville Gun Show AAR

July 10, 2023 by 1 Comment

This was a decent gun show in terms of both attendance and the traffic at the Grass Roots North Carolina booth. We had asked to move the location and the promoter graciously agreed to let us move. Given he donates the booth space as a way to support gun rights, this was not a given. Our new location was along the side wall with one of the main aisles ending right in front of the booth.

We definitely were more visible. Unlike the last show, we picked up a few new members. We also handed out a number of brochures as well as answered questions about the state of constitutional carry in North Carolina. HB 189 is alive but could use some help.

Given it was a nice day in July and people had other things to do, attendance was not what you might find in one of the winter shows. Still it was decent on both days.

I didn’t buy any new firearms but I did buy a couple of canisters of smokeless powder. I picked it up from the Redeye Reloading booth at a price that was lower than Sportsman’s Warehouse. I was really pleased to both find it and to get a good price on it. I have dealt with Redeye both online and at the show. They are a good company.

It is always interesting to see what people bring to the show to sell privately. This show it seemed to be heavy on the lever action rifles. I saw a lot of Marlins and Winchesters along with one or two Henrys. The only Savage 99s for sale were at the dealer’s tables. All in all, I would say the lever actions actually outnumbered the bolt actions this time.

Finally, if you are a North Carolinian who believes in gun rights you need to belong to Grass Roots North Carolina. We are the ones who get stuff done in Raleigh most of the time. To join, go to this website.

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Asheville Gun Show!

July 7, 2023 by

If you live in western North Carolina or are visiting the area this weekend, stop by the Asheville Gun Show. It is being held Saturday and Sunday in the Davis Event Center at the WNC Ag Center. For those attending from out of town, it is at the corner of Fanning Bridge Road and Airport Road in Fletcher just across from the Asheville Regional Airport.

It open at 9am on Saturday and runs until 5pm. On Sunday, it opens at 10am and runs until 4pm. If you got to the promoter’s website, you can get a coupon for $1 off the $10 admission. With 400 tables, it is one of the larger gun shows in the region.

If you do come to the show, stop by the Grass Roots North Carolina booth and say hello. I should be there most of the weekend. We will be in a new location that should give us more visibility.

More importantly, if you are not a member, take advantage of the gun show discount and join! We are still pushing hard on getting HB 189 – Freedom to Carry NC – through this session of the General Assembly. With enough pressure Tim Moore and Phil Berger plus the Republican supermajority in both houses, it is doable. More members means more pressure on those two.

I hope to see you there!

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Good News For A Friday Afternoon

June 9, 2023 by 1 Comment

I come bearing good news on this Friday afternoon. That is if you hold the North Carolina Concealed Handgun Permit. Both the states of Nevada and Minnesota now allow holders of the NC CHP legally to carry concealed in their states. Of course, if Nevadans and Minnesotans wish to carry in North Carolina, we will recognize that permit as well as the permit of any other state as we offer universal reciprocity.

At one time, Nevada had stopped offering reciprocity to North Carolinians. However, Grass Roots North Carolina worked with state level groups there providing information on the NC CHP and its standards which led to a re-evaluation by that state.

From the GRNC Alert:

We have some good news to announce, in that Minnesota and Nevada added North Carolina permit reciprocity. GRNC worked regularly for a multi-year period with the state gun rights organization in NV to help inform NV’s state attorney’s office on the rigor and standards involved in North Carolina’s permit process.

After thorough analysis, NV finally restored reciprocity for North Carolina’s Concealed Carry Handgun permit.

We can also tell you that we’re still working on Freedom to carry HB 189 and if you haven’t signed the petition please do so.

The relevant information on North Carolina permit reciprocity in these states is available here:

PERMIT TO CARRY RECIPROCITY

Minnesota

Under MN law, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) is required to publish a list of states which have handgun carry permit laws that are not similar to Minnesota’s permit-to-carry law.

Minnesota permit-to-carry law is M.S. 624.714. Subdivision 16 deals with “recognition of permits from other states.”

Out of State Permits Valid in Minnesota.

Reciprocity with North Carolina

Nevada gun laws apply to both in-state and out-of-state residents.

You are permitted to “open-carry” firearms, with certain limitations, whether you are an in-state or out-of-state resident.

If you are a non-Nevada resident, you can carry a concealed weapon only if you have a CCW from a reciprocal state.

Currently, Nevada’s reciprocal states for concealed carry of handguns.

Reciprocity with North Carolina


This brings to an exceptional 40 states in which lawful North Carolinians may exercise the fundamental right to carry concealed firearms. For a map of reciprocal states, go to: GRNC Reciprocity Map

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Become A Social Media Ambassador For GRNC

May 16, 2023 by

Do you live on social media? Do you believe in the Second Amendment and gun rights? Do you want to help the growth of gun rights in North Carolina?

Then Grass Roots North Carolina has the volunteer job for you!

From their alert:

‘SOCIAL MEDIA AMBASSADORS’ NEEDED
Many of you have asked how you can help, even from home and on an as-available basis. Well, our Facebook crew has a suggestion. We need “Social Media Ambassadors” to help extend GRNC’s reach on Facebook. All that is required is that from time-to-time social you will be asked via email to 1). invite people to follow the GRNC page and to 2). like, comment and share targeted posts. In terms of how many people we need, the more the merrier.

If you are interested in being a GRNC Social Media Ambassador, please reply with full contact into to DirectorOfDevelopment@GRNC.org using the subject “Social Media Ambassador.”

While the alert speaks only to Facebook, I would go further and suggest posting the gun rights message to every other social media platform in which you participate.

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“Swoopers”

May 12, 2023 by

I love memes. They can convey a ton of information in a humorous or sarcastic way.

I found this meme today on Reddit. The only change I’d make to it is to add Grass Roots North Carolina or your own state-level gun rights group that is unaffiliated with the NRA.

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Update On Permitless Concealed Carry In NC

May 3, 2023 by 1 Comment

The North Carolina House Judiciary 2 Committee held their hearing on HB 189 – NC Constitutional Carry Act today. The committee adopted a substitute which they often do and reported it favorably to the Rules Committee. The vote to advance the bill to Rules was 7 aye, 4 nay according to WGHP-TV Greensboro. The bill will be renamed “NC Permitless Carry”.

The House Rules Committee is scheduled to take up HB 189 tomorrow and a final vote is anticipated to come by Thursday, May 4th, which would meet the crossover deadline.

According to the WGHP report:

The bill was supported by gun rights advocacy groups, such as Grass Roots North Carolina and Gun Owners of America, represented by Andy Stevens, who said the bill would alleviate backlogs of some sheriffs who were slow to provide permits.

Paul Valone of Grass Roots North Carolina said the bill represented a “relatively modest bite at the apple.”

Among those speaking against the bill were the NC Council of Churches, NC Against Gun Violence, and the NC Sheriffs Association. The representative from the Sheriffs Association objected saying law enforcement would not know if the person they were approaching was legal to carry a concealed weapon. As with both the current law and the proposed law, anyone carrying concealed has the duty to inform if approached by law enforcement.

Grass Roots North Carolina also delivered over 1,500 signed petitions to Speaker Tim Moore’s office prior to the committee meeting. If you have not yet signed the petition, please do as that will increase the number that will be given to Sen. President Phil Berger.

Andy Stevens Photo

HB 189, in addition to allowing unlicensed carry, would reduce the permitted age to 18. It would also recognize training offered by US Concealed Carry Association. As I read Section 1.2 of the proposed law, the training requirement of the current law would be retained under permitless carry. The bill, however, makes no mention of providing proof of that training to law enforcement if questioned. It is reported that the retention of the training requirement was necessary to get permitless carry passed out of committee.

Another bill of relevance that passed out of the House Judiciary 2 Committee today was HB 691 – New Resident/Temporary Concealed Carry Permit. It would impact new North Carolina residents who have a current, unexpired carry permit from another state that is due to expire within 120 days of establishing residency. They would be granted a temporary permit so long as they had applied for a NC permit, paid the fee, had their fingerprints taken, and signed the mental health background check waiver. They would not be required to have taken a North Carolina training class before being granted the temporary permit. This permit expires when person gets their NCCHP or if the person does not provide proof of taking the North Carolina course within 120 days of getting the temporary permit.

HB 691 will go to the Rule Committee tomorrow along with HB 189.

UPDATE: You will note that the bill retains the training requirement. This so I understand came from the Speaker and was the compromise to have the bill move forward. It was either compromise to get something or wait another two years. It does negate the anti-gun lobby’s argument about “untrained” people being allowed to carry.

Additionally, the bill was not on the Rules Committee calendar when it was first published yesterday. However, checking the list as of this morning, both HB 189 and HB 691 are on their list of bills to be heard at 1:15pm today.

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Help Pass Permitless Concealed Carry In NC

April 28, 2023 by 4 Comments

North Carolina has and has had permitless open carry since 1922. That is when the North Carolina Supreme Court in State v. Kerner said it was a constitutional violation to prohibit open carry. Now we are fighting to have what 27 other states have – unlicensed or permitless concealed carry.

Grass Roots North Carolina plans to deliver petitions demanding passage of permitless concealed carry to Speaker Tim Moore on Tuesday. Thursday, May 4th, is the last day for a bill to pass the House in order qualify for the crossover deadline. If the House does not pass HB 189 by then, permitless carry will be dead for the remainder of the next two years in the General Assembly.

GRNC also has an alert up with pre-written language with which to contact your State Representative. You can find it here.

I have embedded the petition below which has a QR code to lead you to where you will need to sign it. Frankly, I don’t think it matters if you live in North Carolina or not, we need numbers.

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Pistol Purchase Permit Repeal Passes NC House

March 16, 2023 by

The North Carolina House of Representatives passed the omnibus SB41 yesterday by a vote of 70 aye, 44 nay, and 6 excused absences. Four of the excused were Republicans. The enrolled bill now goes to Gov. Roy Cooper’s desk. It is anticipated that Cooper will veto the bill in keeping with the wishes of his anti-gun masters. To override, all Republicans in the Senate must vote for the override and all House Republicans plus one House Democrat. An absent Democrat or two on the day of the override vote will work as well.

The bill, as noted earlier, repeals the Jim Crow-inspired pistol purchase permit, allows churches with attached private schools to allow carry when students are not present, and launches a statewide safe storage initiative for firearms that cannot advocate for gun control.

Paul Valone, President of Grass Roots North Carolina, issued this statement on the passage of the bill:

“In passing Senate Bill 41, today was a great victory for the Second Amendment. GRNC wishes to thank Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger and House Speaker Tim Moore, as well as sponsors and “main movers” of the bill including Sens. Danny Britt; Warren Daniel; and Jim Perry; and Reps. Destin Hall; Jay Adams; Hugh Blackwell; Allen Chesser; Kyle Hall; Bobby Hanig; Kelly Hastings; Neal Jackson; Keith Kidwell; Jeff, McNeely; Ben Moss; Mark Pless; Jason Saine; Carson Smith; plus Democrats who stood courageously: Marvin Lucas, Michael Wray, and Shelly Willingham, and finally the many others whose co-sponsorship and votes who made the victory possible. GRNC particularly thanks our members and supporters, whose thousands of emails and phone calls made this victory inevitable. We are confident that we will over-ride the inevitable veto by anti-freedom Governor Roy Cooper. Very soon, we will release more details of the vicious floor fight waged by Democrats to stop the bill, and the well-managed efforts Republican leadership used to stop it.”

There has been no whiny response as of yet from Everytown, Moms Demand Action, Giffords, NCGV, or the rest of the gun control industry. They are still reveling in the virtually meaningless executive actions by President Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper.