NC State Fair

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Sean Asks The Pertinent Questions

October 16, 2014 by

Sean Sorrentino of An NC Gun Blog attended Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler’s press conference today held at the NC State Fairgrounds. Troxler used the press conference to defend his position that legal, permitted concealed carry holders would be barred from carrying at the fair.

Sean was not ready to let Troxler off the hook. He asked two very pertinent questions regarding personal safety.

First, he asked if Troxler hadn’t just announced to every criminal that people going to and from the parking lots would be defenseless. Troxler passed that question off to the police chief of the fairgrounds.

Second, Sean then asked the chief if a person feels unsafe, will the police provide an escort. Here’s the response he got.

There you have the Department of Agriculture’s Chief of Police, Joel Keith promising not only uniformed police patrols in the parking lots, but armed escorts for anyone who asks for one.

So there you have it. Chief Keith, backed up by the Wake County Sheriff, Donnie Harrison, will provide you an armed police escort back to your vehicle. After they’ve made it illegal to defend yourself, I think it’s the least they can do.

Thanks to Sean for asking the pertinent questions of the powers that be. Now if I were a fairgoer, I’d demand that police escort. They made a promise and they should stand by it no matter how inconvenient.

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GRNC Responds To Judge Stephens’ Ruling On Carry At The NC State Fair

October 14, 2014 by 1 Comment

Grass Roots North Carolina has responded to the denial of a temporary restraining order that would allow those with concealed handgun permits to carry at the North Carolina State Fair. While disappointed, they are weighing their options including whether to appeal.

From GRNC:


Judge in State Fair Case Legislates From Bench


Judge Donald Stephens’ decision in the GRNC lawsuit against posting the state fair against concealed carry can best be summarized in his own words: “If I can find a way to interpret the statutes to prohibit concealed handguns in the state fair, I will.”


It was evident to all that Judge Stephens had his mind made up long before the hearing began. When GRNC’s attorney argued, his attitude was nearly contemptuous, and when the Attorney General’s representative argued, Stephens was soothing and supportive as if talking to a pet dog.


The denial today of GRNC’s temporary restraining order was a classic case of legislating from the bench by, perhaps willfully, misinterpreting both the intent of the General Assembly in passing HB 937’s opening of assemblies to concealed carry, and the potential cost to crime victims of not being able to protect themselves against violent predators, as has happened repeatedly in other state fairs, the most recent being last weekend in Arizona.


GRNC is examining our options, including appeal, legislative action, and possibly an open holster demonstration at the fair. Allow me to say what I told conservative talk show host and GRNC supporter Bill LuMaye: “We don’t know yet how we will react to this setback, but I can tell you one thing: Whatever we do will be done to expand the rights of lawful North Carolinians and their ability to protect their families. The left has called it ‘the long march.’ This is our long march.”


GRNC’s operating philosophy: Never give up. Never give in. Never go away.

It is a long march. I’m reminded of a statement that Gene Hoffman of the CalGuns Foundation made at the 2010 Gun Rights Policy Conference. He said we lost our gun rights over a 40-year period of time and it will take time to get them back.

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Update On NC State Fair Injunction Request

October 13, 2014 by 1 Comment

Grass Roots North Carolina filed suit last week seeking a temporary injunction to keep the North Carolina State Fair from being posted against carry. HB 937 made changes to the law that should have prevented Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler (R-NC) from posting the fairgrounds. I say should have.

Wake County Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens refused to grant the temporary injunction in a ruling this afternoon.

Superior Court Judge Donald Stephens said he believed “it would be unwise and imprudent to allow firearms into the State Fair.”

This is truly a case of the law being what the judges say it is despite the clear wording of North Carolina statutes. Given that Judge Stephens was re-elected in 2012, he won’t be coming up for re-election again until 2020 as Superior Court judges in North Carolina serve eight year terms.

Ag Commissioner Troxler is happy about the decision saying, “”for upholding the longstanding policy banning weapons at the State Fair and for issuing his decision so quickly.” Troxler has contended that the changes in the NC General Statutes brought about by HB 937 are “vague”.

Troxler, who says he is a gun owner himself, argued that the law was badly-worded and legislators had not intended to allow guns at the fair. He said they didn’t belong there, citing the huge crowds and the potential for guns to fall out during midway rides during the annual rain of wallets, keys and change, and then go off.


At the press conference Monday, Troxler said that no matter which way the ruling went this week, there will be metal detectors at all the entrance gates. And after the fair, he said, he would go back to the General Assembly to ask legislators to be clear about what they think the law should say about guns at the fair.


“Either the legislature believes there needs to be concealed carry at the fair or not,” he said.

Troxler, it should be noted, is a practicing farmer as required by Chapter 106 of the North Carolina General Statutes. He is not an attorney. Thus, any claims to the law being vague should be taken with a grain of salt.

The State Fair Facebook page is getting lots of feedback on their announcement of the decision in which they said they are glad Judge Stephens didn’t grant the injunction.

So the North Carolina State Fair will be a gun-free zone. As to the reality of gun-free zones, I’d urge you to listen to what Massad Ayoob said about the recent Gun Rights Policy Conference in Chicago. His comments start at the 1:14:45 mark and are well worth a listen.

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GRNC Seeks Injunction Against Posting Of NC State Fair

October 9, 2014 by

North Carolina’s Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler (R-NC) is the official in charge of the State Fair held in Raleigh. This year, for some reason, he held a press conference announcing that it would be policy to post the State Fair against concealed carry by properly permitted CHP holders. His argument is that this is just a continuation of how things have always been.

The Criminal Law blog of the UNC School of Government has looked at this issue and it appears that Commissioner Troxler is on very shaky ground. The State Fair isn’t a private business nor is it a unit of local government which might allow him to do it. As it is, the law is very specific that CHP holders are allowed to carry at assemblies where a fee is charged. Moreover, state law specifies which state government buildings that are posted including such places as the Executive Mansion and the State Capitol Building. The State Fair is not one of the buildings mention.

Given that state laws regarding firearms and where they may be carried legally has changed considerably in the last few years, this is an odd move on the part of Troxler. In response, Grass Roots North Carolina is going to court seeking an injunction to stop Troxler from posting the State Fair. The State Fair runs from October 16th through the 26th so time is of the essence.

Gun group to file injunction against state fair posting today
Due to an impasse in negotiations with North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, Grass Roots North Carolina will today file  for a temporary restraining order in Wake County Superior Court with the intention of preventing the Department of Agriculture from posting the state fair against lawful concealed carry.

BACKGROUND
At the request of North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture Steve Troxler, GRNC representatives met with the commissioner and his legal counsel after his police chief for the state fairgrounds, Joel Keith, began telling people the North Carolina State Fair would be posted against all firearms, including lawful concealed carry. Although Troxler is not particularly anti-gun, he seems unwilling to take responsibility for doing the right thing, saying instead that as a member of the executive branch, he cannot interpret statutes and must follow the interpretations given to him (more on that shortly). 

Consequently, the commissioner and GRNC were unable to achieve a satisfactory resolution of the problem. GRNC is now preparing a filing for a temporary restraining order, through its sister non-profit, Rights Watch International, to prevent the fair, which starts next week, from being posted.

ORIGINS OF THE PROBLEM

Before passage of House Bill 937, which became effective on October 1, 2013, guns were prohibited at “assemblies of people for which admission is charged.” Since that section of NCGS 14-269.3 was changed to permit carry by those with concealed handgun permits, however, only private property owners hosting such assemblies may prohibit concealed carry. The state fairgrounds, of course, are not private property.

TROXLER’S DODGE

Although NCGS 14-269.3 specifically opens carry to permit-holders, Troxler claims “vague” language in the statutes enables the state to post under NCGS 14-269(a2), which says the state’s general prohibition on concealed weapons, “does not apply to a person who has a concealed handgun permit issued in accordance with Article 54B of this Chapter, has a concealed handgun permit considered valid under G.S. 14-415.24, or is exempt from obtaining a permit pursuant to G.S. 14-415.25, provided the weapon is a handgun, is in a closed compartment or container within the person’s locked vehicle, and the vehicle is in a parking area that is owned or leased by State government.”
THE TRUTH
  1. The section above merely enables permit-holders to keep guns in closed compartments of locked motor vehicles in state properties where guns are prohibited. It does not create a prohibition in itself.
  1. In fact, NCGS 14-269.4 lists the specific state properties – such as the State Capitol, Governor’s Executive Mansion” and courthouses – where guns are prohibited. That section does not include the state fairgrounds.
  1. Even in the exceedingly unlikely event a court agreed that Troxler is allowedto post the fair, nothing requires him to do so. In short, his rationalization that he is just following what he has to do is false. Troxler is choosing to prohibit lawful concealed handgun permit-holders from protecting their families not only at the fair, but also in the parking lots outside the fair.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
As we’ve seen time and again, gun-free zones are dangerous places for law-abiding citizens. No family should be rendered entirely helpless should an event occur such as what happened at the Wisconsin State Fair in 2011. Dozens of teenagers and young adults attacked peaceful fairgoers as they left the fair. Eleven people were injured and thirty-one arrests were made. Criminals are always empowered when they know that their intended victims are disarmed.

I will keep on top of this to report on what the court’s decide. It should be interesting.

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Restaurant Carry In North Carolina Has Its First Anniversary And Carry Is Banned At The State Fair

October 6, 2014 by 2 Comments

The ability to carry concealed in a restaurant or eating establishment in North Carolina had its first anniversary this past week. The anniversary brings with it a measure of disappointment for the naysayers and gun prohibitionists. Blood didn’t run in the streets and there weren’t boozy shoot-outs on a regular basis. In fact, according to research by Grass Roots North Carolina, there wasn’t even one shooting involving a concealed carry holder in a restaurant serving alcohol.

House Bill 937, which became effective on October 1, 2013, dramatically expanded North Carolina’s concealed handgun law into restaurants where alcohol is sold and consumed, assemblies of people for which admission is charged, parades and funerals, further into state and municipal parks, and even to a limited extent into educational properties.


‘Guns and alcohol don’t mix’?


As always when we expand concealed handgun laws, opponents and media naysayers predicted shootings in bars, guns stolen from vehicles at schools, and various other sorts of mayhem using platitudes like “guns and alcohol don’t mix.”


GRNC explained endlessly that concealed handgun permit-holders, by virtue of background checks and training, had proven themselves sane, sober and law-abiding since 1995, with a rate of permit revocation on the order of three tens of a single percent. We explained that permit-holders in restaurants would still be prohibited from imbibing alcohol.


But the dire predictions persisted. Editorials ridiculed legislators. UNC president Tom Ross sent UNC police chiefs to testify against the bill, claiming it would hamper their ability to protect students. Gun control activists pushed restaurants to post against concealed carry.


So what has happened?


It has now been one year since HB 937 became effective. So what has happened? Nothing. GRNC monitors clipping services for gun-related incidents. Just like Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee and other states which adopted restaurant carry, however, we have been unable to find a single instance of a concealed handgun permit-holder misusing a gun in a restaurant or educational property.


So when will the media naysayers apologize? Will the media acknowledge the anniversary and the absolute lack of negative impact?


NC State Fair: The latest battleground


In the latest battle, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says he will post the North Carolina State Fair against concealed carry even though statutes adopted in HB 937 now prohibit him from doing so. He apparently believes that even despite passing concealed carry in 1995; Castle Doctrine/Stand Your Ground and expanded concealed carry into parks and elsewhere in 2011; and HB 937 in 2013 – all without the mayhem predicted by opponents – somehow, the state fair must be a different and more dangerous place than all the others.


So GRNC asks both Troxler and the media, “Where’s the mayhem?”

It is against this background that GRNC is taking NC Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler (R-NC) to task for trying to continue the ban on carry at the North Carolina State Fair. HB 937 which permits restaurant carry also permitted carry at assemblies where an admission is charged such as the State Fair. GRNC is threatening legal action to make Ag Commissioner Troxler and the State Fair to abide by the law.

Sean Sorrentino of An NC Gun Blog attended Troxler’s press conference and questioned him about the decision to post the State Fair. Troxler replied that it was long-standing policy to post against carry and he’d leave it to the lawyers about the interpretation of the new law.

Paul Valone, President of GRNC, has met with Troxler last Monday. As Valone says, Troxler is not known as a liberal or anti-gun but that still doesn’t make him right. GRNC will be going to court seeking a temporary restraining order before the fair opens in about a week.