SB50

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Permitless Carry In NC Needs Your Help

June 9, 2025 by

SB 50 – Freedom to Carry NC – has passed the NC Senate and has now passed out of the NC House Judiciary 2 Committee. It is now in the House Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee which is the last step before coming to the floor of North Carolina House. It is thought it could be voted on in committee either Tuesday, June 10th, or Wednesday, June 11th.

Update: The bill is on the Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House Committee schedule for tomorrow, June 10th.

Grass Roots North Carolina released the following alert asking for people to contact the Rules Committee to urge its passage.

TELL HOUSE RULES COMMITTEE
 REPUBLICANS TO PASS SB50
 
Senate Bill 50  (“Freedom to Carry NC”) is likely on to get a hearing in the Rules Committee on  Tuesday June 10, 2025.

That’s the good news.  We know that the Dems are planning stiff opposition to this bill and will likely throw all their underhanded tactics to slow it down and defeat it. You can be sure the anti-gun lobby will be present in numbers to try and defeat liberty. 

We need you to remind the Rules Committee Republicans who “brung ’em to the dance,” and tell them what you expect them to do.

We also need you to show up and let them know we’re serious about getting this passed. Location and directions below.

Remind them that we were denied permitless carry in 2023… We expect it in 2025.

IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

CONTACT NC House Republican Members on the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House: Contact the Rules Committee Republican Members and tell them to approve SB 50.

Meet at the “Printed Bills” room at 8:30 am on June 10th. Location map and directions below.

DONATE TO GRNC: We are still low on funds after our highly successful election effort. Please donate by going to: grnc.org/wp/2012/06/donate-to-or-join-grnc/  . 
                                                 NCGenAssyLegBldgMap830am.jpg CONTACT INFORMATION

NC HOUSE  Rules CommitteeREPUBLICANS 

A. Reece Pyrtle, Jr., Blair Eddins, Brenden H. Jones – Vice Chair
Charles W. Miller, Donna McDowell White, Erin Paré – Vice Chair
Jimmy Dixon, John A. Torbett, John R. Bell, IV – Chair
Karl E. Gillespie, Kelly E. Hastings, Kyle Hall, Neal Jackson
Sarah Stevens, Steve Tyson, Ted Davis, Jr., Tricia Ann Cotham – Vice Chair
William D. Brisson

Below, find a copy-paste email list you can use to easily contact these representatives. Beneath that, in the Deliver This Message section, find the copy-paste message to use

Reece.Pyrtle@ncleg.gov;Blair.Eddins@ncleg.gov;Brenden.Jones@ncleg.gov;
Charles.Miller@ncleg.gov;Donna.White@ncleg.gov;Erin.Pare@ncleg.gov;
Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.gov;John.Torbett@ncleg.gov;John.Bell@ncleg.gov;
Karl.Gillespie@ncleg.gov;Kelly.Hastings@ncleg.gov;Kyle.Hall@ncleg.gov;
Neal.Jackson@ncleg.gov;Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.gov;Steve.Tyson@ncleg.gov;
Ted.Davis@ncleg.gov;Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.gov;William.Brisson@ncleg.gov


DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: Vote Yes on SB 50 Freedom to Carry

Dear Rules Committee Member: 

I am writing because I understand that SB50 (“Freedom to Carry NC”) has is to be considered in your committee on Tuesday, and I want to voice my full support for this bill and encourage you to vote for it. 

About three-fifths of our country’s states already have constitutional concealed carry in some form or another, and it is long past due for North Carolina. I am calling on you to make sure our state lives up to its “First in Freedom” moniker, and to not leave us languishing on this matter once again. We were promised Constitutional Carry in 2023. We’re expecting it in 2025. 

In large part, gun voters are responsible for the majorities Republicans currently enjoy in the General Assembly, and I expect you to live up to the promise of conservative leadership that we voted for, including and especially when it comes to the Second Amendment. Vote to move SB50 forward.  

I will be monitoring your actions on this important matter through legislative alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina.  
Respectfully,

This is just one more necessary step to make North Carolina the 30th state to adopt permitless carry. Given that one of the license plate slogans in North Carolina is “First in Freedom”, it is time to pass this bill.

Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC) has signaled that he intends to veto the bill if passed.

However, the bill’s path to law faces a major roadblock if it successfully passes through the House: Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. On Tuesday, Stein suggested to reporters that he would veto it if it passes the House, which could be his first veto since taking office in January.

“My standard reviewing any piece of legislation is, will this make us safer?” Stein said when asked about Senate Bill 50. “I don’t know what the version of the bill is today. I was going to see what they ultimately do with this bill. If it doesn’t make us safer – and the previous version certainly did not – I cannot support it.”

I don’t think this is a surprise to anyone who has followed firearms politics in North Carolina in recent years. Democrats have been fairly united in opposing any measure aimed at removing any of the restrictions on firearm rights. Whether it was allowing churches with attached private schools to protect their congregations or removing the Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permits, they have voted as a bloc. Indeed, their treatment of any legislator such as Rep. Tricia Cotham who was absent for the vote on these bills was so vindictive that it proved to be counter-productive.

With the Republicans only one vote short of a super-majority in the House and holding a super-majority in the Senate, timing is going to be the key to overriding the veto. All it will take is 2-3 Democrats being absent on the day the override is brought forward for it be successful.

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Counteract Everytown Protestors At General Assembly

April 16, 2025 by

Everytown and their affiliated organizations will be having a news conference and their “Annual Advocacy Day” in Raleigh at 11am. They are targeting S50/H5 which would make North Carolina the 30th state to allow permitless concealed carry. They are calling it “dangerous legislation” and, of course, are predicting that blood will run in the streets if the law is passed. In other words, the same old same old.

As a counter to this protest, Grass Roots North Carolina is requesting that people should contact House Rules Committee Republicans starting at 10am and continue through noon. H5 is sitting in Rules Committee having passed out of the House Judiciary 2 Committee.

Here is the GRNC Alert with suggested wording for calls and emails.

COUNTERACT “EVERYTOWN’S”
ANTI-GUN PROTEST 

GRNC has been alerted to the fact that Everytown for Gun Safety —an anti-gun group that has been funded in large part by far left politician and financier, Michael Bloomberg—is planning a protest this Wednesday (4/16/2025) outside the General Assembly, in Raleigh. Although it may be obvious that groups like this tend to operate with rent-a-mobs who don’t represent the true grass roots, it’s important that we remind our representatives of this, lest they wonder and take pause at any critical moments. 

You see, currently, H5 (“NC Constitutional Carry Act”) and S50 (“Freedom to Carry NC”) are in the General Assembly’s House Rules Committee, so let’s make sure Republicans in that committee understand where North Carolina’s actual Grass Roots voters stand on these pro-Second Amendment bills. 

Use Strategic Timing to Contact Key Republicans 
Below, see how you can contact key members of the House Rules Committee with strategic timing. You can reassure them that any shrill anti-gun protestor they may see, or hear, are just that, and the committee members can remain comfortable in the knowledge that the voters who actually sent them to Raleigh are strongly in favor of the ‘Constitutional Carry’ bills currently under debate. We’ll be phoning and emailing the members between 10:00 AM and noon on Wednesday (4/16), because Everytown’s protest begins at 11:00 AM, hence the “strategic” portion of this. See more below.  
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!

PHONE COMMITTEEE CHAIR & VICE-CHAIRS:  Wednesday, between 10:00 AM and noon (or as soon as you can after that), telephone the Chair and the Vice-Chairs of the House Rules Committee. Find their phone numbers in the chart below. Deliver the following, friendly message: 

 “I am calling to voice my full support for the ‘Constitutional Carry’ bills currently before the House Rules Committee. I want to be clear that, contrary to what you might see outside today, I am not a paid member of a protest group funded by a wealthy anti-gun crusader from New York. I am a real North Carolina voter, and I voted to send Republicans to Raleigh to enact pro-gun legislation. As these bills are debated, please know that you have my full support on House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 50. Thank you!” 

EMAIL KEY COMMITTEE MEMBERS:  Anytime between now and Wednesday at 12:00 noon (or as soon as you can after that), email all of the key members of the House Rules Committee, and encourage them to support the ‘Constitutional Carry’ bills. Below, you’ll find a copy-paste email list, and a copy-paste message you can use to easily send the message.  

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CONTACT INFO   Phone Number List: 
Representative Phone Number  John R. Bell, IV (Chair)  (919) 715-3017  Tricia Ann Cotham  (919) 733-5886  Brenden H. Jones  (919) 733-5821  Erin Paré  (919) 733-2962

Copy-Paste Email List: 

John.Bell@ncleg.gov; Tricia.Cotham@ncleg.gov; Brenden.Jones@ncleg.gov; Erin.Pare@ncleg.gov; William.Brisson@ncleg.gov; Ted.Davis@ncleg.gov; Jimmy.Dixon@ncleg.gov; Blair.Eddins@ncleg.gov; Karl.Gillespie@ncleg.gov; Kyle.Hall@ncleg.gov; Neal.Jackson@ncleg.gov; Charles.Miller@ncleg.gov; Ray.Pickett@ncleg.gov; Reece.Pyrtle@ncleg.gov; Sarah.Stevens@ncleg.gov; John.Torbett@ncleg.gov; Steve.Tyson@ncleg.gov; Donna.White@ncleg.gov

DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

 Suggested Subject: Genuine NC Voters Support ‘Constitutional Carry’   

Dear House Rules Committee Member: 

I am writing to voice my full support for the ‘Constitutional Carry’ bills currently before the House Rules Committee, and I’m encouraging you to do whatever is in your legislative power to advance ‘Constitutional Carry’ in our state. 

I want to be clear that, contrary to what you might see outside today, I am not a paid member of a likely-rented protest group, like Everytown for Gun “Safety,” which is funded by an anti-gun, out-of-state billionaire. I am an actual North Carolina pro-gun voter, who purposely sent Republicans like you to Raleigh to enact pro-gun legislation. As these bills are debated, please know that you have my full support, and the support of all NC gun voters on House Bill 5 and Senate Bill 50. 

All that to say, if you notice a lot of anti-gun noise coming from outside today, ignore it. It’s not from genuine grass roots voters, and you have the full support of the real grass roots voters, like me, who are monitoring your actions on this important matter through legislative alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina. 

Respectfully,  

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It Is All In The Wording Of The Question

April 2, 2025 by

I received a press release this afternoon from Everytown saying 77% of North Carolinians oppose permitless carry. They are basing this on a poll by Elon University on behalf of Everytown.

Today, Everytown for Gun Safety released recent polling that shows a significant majority (77%) of residents in North Carolina oppose permitless carry. This comes as lawmakers are attempting to pass HB 5 and SB 50, bills that would dismantle North Carolina’s existing concealed carry permitting laws and allow individuals to carry concealed, hidden guns in public spaces without a permit—effectively eliminating all safeguards put in place by the current permitting system, including a background check, safety training, and live-fire training.

One advantage of my years ago graduate training in political science is that I know the results are all dependent upon how you word the question.

So how did the Elon University poll word the question and what were the real results?

Currently, North Carolina requires a permit to carry a concealed handgun. This permit involves an application fee, safety training and a background check. The General Assembly is considering a change to allow concealed carry without a permit. Do you support or oppose removing the requirement of a permit to legally carry a concealed handgun?

    The actual opposition based upon the poll question was 54% and not the aforementioned 77%. Republicans and independents were more likely than Democrats to support permitless concealed carry.

    I wonder what the results might have been if the third sentence read, “The General Assembly is considering a change to allow concealed carry without a permit like 29 other states.” The question could have gone on to add that open carry without a permit is a constitutional right in North Carolina thanks to State v. Kerner (1921).

    According to Elon University, they surveyed 800 people and the poll has a margin of error of 4%. Other questions in the poll dealt with the renaming of Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg, tax rates, response to Hurricane Helene, trust in the NC Supreme Court, and approval of Gov. Josh Stein (D-NC). Nowhere in the release on the poll does it give the actual numbers of people sampled by party, race, or sex. In other words, we do not know if the poll was overweighted with Democrats or women who were more likely to favor gun control.

    While polls do have their usefulness, constitutional rights should never be governed by polls or popular opinion.