by A bill was introduced in the North Carolina General Assembly today that would repeal the requirement to get a permit from your local sheriff’s department in order to purchase a pistol or a crossbow. The bill, HB 390, is sponsored by Rep. Michael Wray (D-Northampton) and Rep. Mark Hilton (R-Catawba).
This is a change that is long overdue given the NICS system. I’m not sure how, why, or when a permit was required to purchase a crossbow. However, the requirement to obtain a permit from the local sheriff dates from 1919. Less than 20 years earlier, the Democrats had regained control of the North Carolina state government on a platform of strict segregation. Pistol permits were a way of ensuring only the “right people” were armed with sidearms and the thought was that the local sheriff would know who those people were. It goes without saying that an African-American was de facto not one of the “right people”.
It is past time for this vestige of the Jim Crow South to be gone.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2011
H D
HOUSE DRH50130-LH-52B (01/19)
Short Title: Repeal Pistol/Crossbow Transfer Permit. (Public)
Sponsors: Representatives Wray and Hilton (Primary Sponsors).
Referred to:*DRH50130-LH-52B*
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT TO REPEAL THE STATE LAW THAT REQUIRES A PERSON TO OBTAIN A LICENSE OR PERMIT TO PURCHASE, SELL, GIVE AWAY, RECEIVE, OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER A PISTOL OR CROSSBOW.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 14-402 is repealed.
SECTION 2. G.S. 14-403 is repealed.
SECTION 3. G.S. 14-404 is repealed.
SECTION 4. G.S. 14-405 is repealed.
SECTION 5. G.S. 14-406 is repealed.
SECTION 6. G.S. 14-406.1 is repealed.
SECTION 7. G.S. 14-407.1 is repealed.
SECTION 8. G.S. 14-408 is repealed.
SECTION 9. This act becomes effective December 1, 2011.