The game of back-and-forth surrounding North Carolina’s attempt to enact long-overdue constitutional carry may soon draw to a close. There appears to be movement in the House deadlock over Senate Bill 50, the “Freedom to Carry NC” Act.
It was February 2025 when Second Amendment supporters attempted to allow law-abiding residents who are lawfully qualified to carry a firearm to do so without seeking government permission.
The start was encouraging, right up until it wasn’t.
What should have been a slam-dunk veto override became anything but in the House
First, the Senate and House passed the proposal and sent it to the governor’s desk. As anticipated, Josh Stein (D) vetoed it on June 20.
The good news is that gun rights supporters have significant majorities in both chambers and could override Stein to make North Carolina the 30th constitutional carry state. The issue arose over the state’s three-fifths majority requirement to reject a veto.
The Senate subsequently overrode Stein’s veto on July 29th. Since then? Crickets.
Expected House support for the override did not materialize
Two Republican House members voted against SB50 while it was initially considered, and ten more abstained. This meant that there would need to be Democratic crossover on the issue, and that simply has not happened.
Now, a local activist told ABC11 that there may be “a path forward” to finally getting the Freedom to Carry NC Act back on the House floor.
Grass Roots North Carolina President Paul Valone reported that House Speaker Destin Hall (R) is optimistic about chances for a veto override. “It’s important to note that the only people that would be able to avail themselves of this law are people who would otherwise qualify for a concealed handgun permit, should they choose to apply for one.”
This comes after the bill was placed on the House calendar no less than a dozen times in recent months but was subsequently withdrawn when the numbers did not add up to a successful override.
Understand that reasonable restrictions will not disappear. Convicted felons, fugitives, and those who are prohibited from possessing firearms will not see a change. The same commonsense safeguards would remain, and only the unconstitutional chains placed on law-abiding gun owners would evaporate.
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