… the most contentious part of the bill would phase out the system requiring handgun buyers to get permits from their local sheriff.
Now handgun buyers must get a permit from the sheriff, who does a background check. The bill would end that program by 2021 and grant exceptions in the meantime.
Supporters say most handgun buyers would be subject to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, or NICS. They say the federal system would offer a more standardized, less arbitrary system.
The bill “in no way attempts to remove background checks,” Schaffer told the committee. “On the contrary, it’s designed to strengthen background checks.”
Paul Valone, director of Grass Roots North Carolina, a pro-gun group, told lawmakers it was time to end what he called “the Jim Crow-era pistol permitting system (that’s) archaic and arbitrary.”
Jeff Brown, the group’s legislative director, also criticized the current system. “Who would put up with arbitrary and capricious decisions about whether you get driver’s licenses?” he said.
But critics urged lawmakers to keep the current system in place.
“If we do away with the pistol permit process, domestic violence abusers, the dangerously mentally ill, convicted felons and minors would all be able to buy guns from unlicensed dealers,” said Becky Ceartas, executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence.
In an interview, Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president and general counsel of the sheriffs association, said the current system has several advantages.
He said sheriffs have access to more criminal history than does the national system. The only crimes reported to NICS are those for which someone was finger-printed. That doesn’t include misdemeanors such as simple assault, stalking, and many offenses involving domestic violence.
“The pistol permitting law provides much greater safety to the public than a NICS check,” Caldwell said.
He said it also protects gun sellers from unknowingly selling to a convicted felon. And even unlicensed dealers who aren’t required to use the national background check must get a sheriff’s permit.
That’s one reason the North Carolina Coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, whose 10 mayors include Democrat Dan Clodfelter of Charlotte, urged lawmakers to reject the bill.
“To protect the lives of our constituents, we must be empowered to enforce our gun laws, and our background check system is a vital law enforcement tool,” they wrote.
McCrory spokesman Ryan Minto told the committee the governor opposes the repeal of the current pistol permitting system and could not support the bill “in its current form.” The governor vetoed two unrelated bills last week.
Thus does Pat McCrory side with racist laws designed to keep blacks from getting guns. And thus does he side with Sheriffs who want to keep the power to grant or deny God-given rights and at the same time raise revenue for their SWAT teams, new vehicles (I wish I had a brand new Dodge Charger), tactical equipment, increased salaries, and other things they should do without.
Pat shouldn’t ever ask for anything from me again, including a vote. I’ll oppose him at every juncture. He has now declared himself the enemy of liberty. It didn’t take long to show himself to be a collectivist.
