The picture of the day is of Speaker Tim Moore (R-NC) who is posing with the official copy of SB 41 signed and stamped with both “veto” and “override”. He looks like a happy camper. He and Senate President Phil Berger made North Carolina gun owners happy campers as well.
SB 41 is now officially known as SL 2023-8. SL stands for Session Law and the General Statues will be updated at the end of the session.
I just received an automated call from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. It was to inform me that effective March 29th, the North Carolina pistol purchase permit was no longer acceptable as a NICS check substitute given the passage of SB 41 into law.
The message went on to say that existing permits issued before the date of repeal would no longer be accepted in lieu of the NICS check. I guess those prohibited persons who obtained a permit prior to becoming a prohibited are now out of luck.
I received this call because I hold a Curios and Relics FFL. However, as a collector, I am not required to fill out the Form 4473 for a sale nor am I required to do a NICS check. The ATF must have lumped anyone who held any sort of FFL into one big database for the call.
The bottom line is we can be assured that the bureaucrats at ATF are on it! That being said, they have not issued a revised letter advising FFLs that the pistol purchase permit is no longer qualifies as an alternative to a NICS check. The only “Brady letter” for NC on their site is from 1998.
UPDATE: BATFE is into the belt and suspenders approach. In addition to the phone call this morning, they also sent out this email.
This is an important message from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
On November 13, 1998, ATF issued an Open Letter to All North Carolina Federal Firearms Licensees advising them that the North Carolina pistol purchase permit qualifies as an alternative to NICS. On March 29, 2023, North Carolina Senate Bill 41 overcame the North Carolina Governor’s veto and became law that same day. North Carolina Senate Bill 41 repeals GS 14-402, which required the pistol purchase permit to acquire a pistol from an FFL. Additionally, the North Carolina pistol purchase permit is no longer considered an approved NICS alternate permit.
Accordingly, effective March 29, 2023 , North Carolina pistol purchase permits – regardless of when issued – may not be used as an alternative to the NICS background check requirement.
North Carolina’s concealed handgun permits are unaffected by Senate Bill 41 and will continue to serve as an alternative to a NICS check requirement. Please contact your local ATF office if you have additional questions.
The North Carolina House of Representatives joined the Senate in voting to over-ride Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of SB 41. The vote was 71 aye, 46 nay, and 3 absent or not voting. The vote transcript has not been published as of this writing. I will update it later today when it is available.
SB 41 now goes into law. One of the everlasting stains of North Carolina’s segregationist, white surpremacist past is now erased. It only took 104 years. The Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit is now history.
Just as importantly, churches with attached private schools will be able to protect their congregations from those intent on doing evil. On the latter, the carrying of firearms is only allowed with church permission and only at times when students are not present including during extracurricular events.
I will be updating this post throughout the day with reactions.
UPDATE: The breakdown of the vote was finally posted yesterday. All 71 Republicans voted for the override. 46 Democrats voted no and 3 more had excused absences.
As I posted earlier, Carolina Forward wants Dems to eat their own. Interestingly, Rep. Cotham (D-Mecklenburg) says she had previously notified both the Speaker and Minority Leader she would be absent for a hospital procedure. Meanwhile, Rep. Brockman (D-Guilford) was reportedly being seen at an urgent care facility. Rep. Wray was an original sponsor of the repeal and it is thought this was his way of not voting “no”.
Rep. Willingham (D- Bertie, Edgecombe, & Martin) had previously voted for the bill and had said in reference to another bill that even with a veto he stuck by his vote. It is thought that knowing there would be two absences, he could vote no and be let off the hook by the Dems.
Bottom line, Speaker Tim Moore knew one way or another he had the votes going into yesterday morning.
The North Carolina Democrats are all bent out of shape that the Republicans actually overrode a veto by Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC). The veto override of SB 41 marks the first time a veto has been overridden in NC since 2018 and the first on a gun bill.
Kate Frauenfelder is the Communications Director for the North Carolina Democrat Party. Today she sent out a press release with the stupidest suggestion of the day. You can see it below. As A. P. Dillon, a blogger and reporter for North State News, opined on Twitter, “What an incredible “Um, hi – you all must be new here” moment.” I normally would have agreed but it seems that Ms. Frauenfelder actually graduated high school in North Carolina and obtained her degree in journalism from UNC-Chapel Hill.
Any reporter who actually asked that question should be laughed out of the room. I can give you three reasons why.
Number one – he would have signed the bill.
Number two – he is a member of the Board of Directors of the NRA.
Number three – he came to prominence with his impassioned speech before the Greensboro City Council over banning gun shows at the Greensboro Coliseum.
I’m still shaking my head over this one.
UPDATE: Stupid should hurt.
An appropriate response would be to send Ms. Frauenfelder (kate@ncdp.org) a copy of the YouTube video with Mark Robinson’s “I Am The Majority” speech. Here is the link and you can send an email directly from YouTube. Imagine when she goes to check her email and finds it full of that video.
Forsyth County is the fourth largest county in North Carolina. Their sheriff’s department seems to be the first department to let their residents know a pistol purchase permit is no longer required. There is nothing yet from Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, or Buncombe Counties.
Kudos to Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough, Jr. and his department.
A group called Carolina Forward which claims to be non-partisan posted a tweet after the vote to override the veto of SB 41 passed. They are most upset that the veto override passed and that some Democrats were absent.
These three Democrats "took a walk" this morning and refused to uphold @NC_Governor's veto of a dangerous bill to loosen NC's gun safety laws.
— Carolina Forward (@ForwardCarolina) March 29, 2023
We will hold them accountable. You can, too. The Carolina Forward 2024 Action Fund launches today. 👇https://t.co/DgXe5qrxDs#ncpol pic.twitter.com/lzlSByF2DT
All three voted against SB 41 when it first came up in the House. Interestingly, Rep. Michael Wray (D-Halifax, Northampton, & Warren) was a sponsor of the standalone bill to repeal the pistol purchase permit.
Regardless of the self-description of themselves by Carolina Forward, their agenda reads like the Democrat’s platform. They call themselves “center-left” but that is stretching as I think AOC and “the squad” would feel right at home with them. Besides, if they are using Act Blue as their fundraising mechanism, that tells you all you need to know.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) vetoed SB 41 on Friday. SB 41 would have repealed the pistol purchase permit, allowed churches with schools to protect themselves, and provided for a statewide gun safe storage initiative.
Today, the North Carolina Senate voted to override the veto by a vote of 30 aye, 19 nay, 1 excused. Every Republican state senator was present and voted for the override.
It now goes to the NC House of Representatives where an override vote appears to be on the agenda. The fact that is on the agenda would indicate that at least one Democrat has committed to vote for the override. With the current rules of House, the Speaker can call for a vote at any time without any notification or putting it on the agenda.
You may want to call the three Democrats or email them thanking them for their vote for SB 41 and ask them to stick with their vote. GRNC has more info here.
Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC) is nothing if not consistent in his opposition to removing impediments to gun rights. He issued his veto today of SB 41 which would have repealed the Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit that his own party instituted in 1919. The General Assembly in 1919 had no African-American members and was under the control of Democrats who had regained control in 1900 on a platform of white supremacy. Even today, research shows that African-Americans are denied permits at a much higher rate than whites.
The veto also puts congregations of churches that have attached private schools as risk.
Cooper’s veto message stated, in part:
“Eliminating strong background checks will allow more domestic abusers and other dangerous people to own handguns and reduces law enforcement’s ability to stop them from committing violent crimes. Second Amendment supporting, responsible gun owners know this will put families and communities at risk.”
SB 41 eliminates the current requirement that people have a valid permit from their local sheriff’s office before purchasing or acquiring a handgun. Under SB 41, sheriffs will lose the authority to issue or deny these permits based on criminal background checks and determining the safety and character of applicants.
The legislation removes sheriffs’ authority to refuse a permit based on signs of mental illness, domestic abuse incidents that might not be captured in a national database, or other indicators that a person could be a danger to themselves or others.
The bill also allows guns on some school properties, increasing the chances that children can find or access firearms at a time where gun offenses and suicides among North Carolina children is increasing.
Not stated in the veto message was the fact that the North Carolina Sheriffs Association did not object to passage of the repeal. Moreover, it is disingenuous to assume that a sheriff in a county as large as Wake, Mecklenburg, or Guilford – all of which have populations greater than half a million – knows everyone in his or her county that is mentally ill or doesn’t possess “good moral character.” Furthermore, the veto message ignores the restrictions in the bill that only allows possession of firearms on church property when students are not present. As such, it puts congregations with attached private schools at risk as they cannot protect themselves with volunteer church security teams.
Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, was quick to respond.
“As we predicted, anti-freedom Governor Roy Cooper wasted no time attacking the rights of gun owners. Worse, he attacked the ability of church-goers to protect themselves from attacks on religious institutions that are becoming all too common.
“It will be with great pleasure that GRNC will work to over-ride his veto of SB 41. Given that the bill passed by veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the legislature, we have every confidence that we will deliver defeat to his doorstep.”
Unlike in past sessions of the General Assembly, an override of this veto stands a better than even chance of passage. The Republicans hold a veto-proof majority in the Senate and only need one Democrat to stick with their original vote or to be absent for it to pass in the House. The rules adopted in the House now allow Speaker Tim Moore to call for an override vote without notice which is an advantage here.
If you are a North Carolinian, I would urge you to contact your representative or senator and demand they override the veto. Do this even if you live in a district like I do where your state senator is a Constitutionally-ignorant, gun control advocate.
YouTuber Liberty Doll released a new video a couple of days ago about North Carolina’s pistol purchase permit and the drive to repeal that law. I am really happy to see someone with her following – approximately 250,000 subscribers – pick up on the efforts to pass SB 41 in the face of Democrat opposition.
There are only two clarifications that I would make after watching her video. First, only handguns currently require a purchase permit with an exemption from the requirement for those that hold NC Concealed Handgun Permits. Second, on church carry, it only applies to non-public K-12 schools that are also places of worship.
I’m not sure where Liberty Doll is located but I am glad she has joined the fight to rid North Carolina of these laws.
The North Carolina Senate passed SB 41 by a vote of 29 aye, 19 nay, and 2 excused absences. The bill repeals the pistol purchase permit, closes the church school loophole, and establishes a statewide “safe storage” initiative. There were four weakening amendments proposed by Democrats and all four were tabled.
The pistol purchase permit was repealed in the last session of the General Assembly but it was vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper (D-NC). His veto was sustained when enough Democrats switched sides to support Cooper. This time the Republicans hold a super-majority in the Senate and only need to pick up one Democrat vote in the House to override the expected veto.
Likewise, a bill closing the church school loophole passed the General Assembly in the last session but was vetoed by Gov. Cooper. The bill, like the current bill that just passed the Senate, would allow churches with private schools on their property to allow carry during non-school and non-extra curricular hours. In other words, if the students are not there, the churches can protect their congregation from evil doers with volunteer armed church security teams. We have seen all too often that churches are targets for those who would do evil such as in Sutherland Springs, Texas.
SB 41 would also establish a firearms safe storage initiative. It would be a collaboration of the Department of Public Safety, the Wildlife Resources Commission, and the Department of Health and Human Services to “launch a two-year statewide firearm safe storage awareness initiative to educate the public about the importance of the safe storage of firearms and to facilitate the distribution of gun locks.” While it would allow the contracting of a third-party entity with relevant expertise such as NSSF’s Project Childsafe, the bill explicitly bans advocacy on behalf of new or revised firearms laws.
Grass Roots North Carolina worked closely with the primary sponsors of the bill, Senators Danny Britt (R-Hoke, Robeson, and Scotland), Warren Daniel (R-Buncombe, Burke, and McDowell) and Jim Perry (R-Beaufort, Craven, and Lenoir), to secure a “clean bill” and build support for it.
GRNC released this statement this afternoon:
RALEIGH] Senate Bill 41 containing both repeal of our archaic Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit law and the provision to allow concealed carry in churches which sponsor schools passed the NC Senate today by an overwhelming margin of 29-19.
The pistol purchase permit repeal, if enacted, will prevent urban sheriffs from abusing the system by arbitrarily denying lawful citizens the ability to buy handguns for self-protection. As an enhancement to public safety, it will mean that background checks for handgun purchases from dealers will be done at the time and point of sale rather than up to five years earlier as they are now.
The provision to allow concealed carry in churches which sponsor schools is widely supported by pastors, several of which testified in favor of the legislation to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Under current law, otherwise lawful concealed carry becomes a Class I felony if the church sponsors a school. The provision in SB 41 will allow concealed handgun permit-holders to carry firearms in those churches provided school curricular or extra-curricular activities are not in session. Although left-leaning media have attempted to claim it would apply to public schools which allow religious groups to meet, in truth the bill exempts properties owned by school boards or county commissions, as well as institutions of higher education.
Said GRNC president Paul Valone:
“Grass Roots North Carolina would like to thank Senate Republicans – particularly Senators Danny Britt, Warren Daniel, Jim Perry, and Ralph Hise – for a highly organized effort in not only passing legislation long sought by North Carolina gun rights supporters, but in deflecting attempts by opponents of the Second Amendment to amend the bill by including various gun control measures. In particular, we thank them for rejecting unconstitutional “red flag” gun confiscation schemes by which people’s guns can be confiscated, with little or no evidence or wrongdoing, in “ex parte” hearings they might not even know take place, denying them due process of law.
“If enacted, the bill will remove yet another of the ostensibly “gun free” zones that attract mass killers. That measure, plus removing obstructions placed by certain sheriffs on the ability of lawful North Carolinians to buy handguns for self-protection, will vastly improve safety in our state.”
Founded in 1994, Grass Roots North Carolina is an all-volunteer 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to preserving individual liberties guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights with emphasis on the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
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