Stein vetoes bill to allow concealed carry without a permit

Democratic Gov. Josh Stein vetoed a bill Friday that would allow North Carolinians over the age of 18 to carry guns without a concealed carry permit. The measure was co-sponsored by the Senate’s Republican leader.

“This bill makes North Carolinians less safe and undermines responsible gun ownership,” Stein said in a statement.

Senate Bill 50 would repeal the training rules and background checks currently required to get a concealed carry permit and lower the age for carrying a concealed pistol from 21 to 18.

“Authorizing teenagers to carry a concealed weapon with no training whatsoever is dangerous,” Stein said. “The bill would also make the job of a law enforcement officer more difficult and less safe. We can and should protect the right to bear arms without recklessly endangering law enforcement officers and our people.”

Currently, the permit process requires applicants to pass a background check by their local sheriff, pay an $80 fee and pass tests proving they can shoot relatively accurately and understand the relevant laws on gun possession and self-defense.

Republican politicians say those rules are too restrictive and that, if more people are armed, the state would be safer — since police aren’t always immediately on the scene of robberies, mass shootings and other violent crimes.

“Law-abiding North Carolinians shouldn't have to jump through hoops to effectively exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Senate leader Phil Berger, R-Rockingham, said in a statement Friday.

Berger, who co-sponsored the bill, said he’d pursue a veto override vote in his chamber. “It's past time for us to join the majority of states that recognize constitutional carry,” he said.

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Republicans might face an uphill battle to override Stein’s veto. The GOP usually needs all of its members to vote in unison to override gubernatorial vetoes, which didn’t happen the first time the bill went through the legislature.

The House passed the bill 61-46 on June 11. It requires 72 votes in the 120-member chamber to override a governor’s veto if all representatives are present. There are 71 House Republicans. Two House Republicans voted against the measure — Rep. William Brinson, R-Bladen, and Rep. Ted Davis, R-New Hanover. And 10 Republicans missed the vote.

In the Senate, four Republicans missed the vote. The chamber passed the bill 26-18 in March. It requires 30 votes in the 50-member chamber to override a governor’s veto if all senators are present. There are 30 Republicans in the Senate. No Republicans voted against the bill.

In April, a Meredith College poll found that public opinion was about evenly split on the broad question of whether to jettison the state's concealed carry rules — but there was strong opposition to the part of the bill allowing people as young as 18 to carry concealed weapons, with 71% opposing that idea.

Some sheriffs opposed the bill. Stein’s announcement Friday featured praise from Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead and Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood, who said the bill would make it harder to keep North Carolinians safe.

The North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association, a group that advocates for sheriffs across the state, didn’t take a position on the bill.

Stein also vetoed a pair of immigration-enforcement bills Friday — rejections that are ecpected to yield a more cloesly fought override battle. between the Democratic governor and the Republican legislature.