Under House Bill 650, passed 2 years ago, North Carolina went to Universal Reciprocity. That means that if you possess a valid Concealed Handgun Permit, or equivalent, from ANY state, you may carry concealed in North Carolina. I was very pleased to see this pass into law.
Now one State Senator is trying to go backwards.
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT to provide that concealed handgun permits obtained by nonresidents of the state issuing the permit are not valid in North Carolina.
The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:
SECTION 1. G.S. 14‑415.24 reads as rewritten:
“§ 14‑415.24. Reciprocity; out‑of‑state handgun permits.
(a) A valid concealed handgun permit or license issued by another state is valid in North Carolina.Carolina, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(b) Repealed by Session Laws 2011‑268, s. 22(a), effective December 1, 2011.
(c) Every 12 months after the effective date of this subsection, the Department of Justice shall make written inquiry of the concealed handgun permitting authorities in each other state as to: (i) whether a North Carolina resident may carry a concealed handgun in their state based upon having a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit and (ii) whether a North Carolina resident may apply for a concealed handgun permit in that state based upon having a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit. The Department of Justice shall attempt to secure from each state permission for North Carolina residents who hold a valid North Carolina concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed handgun in that state, either on the basis of the North Carolina permit or on the basis that the North Carolina permit is sufficient to permit the issuance of a similar license or permit by the other state.
(d) A concealed handgun permit issued by a state to a person who is not a resident of that state shall not be valid in North Carolina. The permit holder’s address, as shown on a current drivers license, or other form of government issued identification that includes a photograph, shall be prima facie evidence of the permit holder’s state of residence.”
SECTION 2. This act is effective when it becomes law and shall apply to all concealed handgun permits issued on or after the effective date.
A quick reminder, when reading proposed bills, they write out the old law. Then they use strikeouts to show you the words they are deleting and underlines to show you the words they want to add.
This bill is designed to do one thing. It’s designed to ban the use of Non-Resident concealed permits. Let’s say you live in Anti-Gun territory, like New Jersey or Illinois. You can’t get a concealed permit of any kind for love or money. So you apply for and are granted a Florida or Utah permit. This allows you to carry concealed in all the states that accept that permit. Now Senator Bingham wants to take that away.
I would like you to call Stan Bingham (GRNC 4 Star!) and ask him what the heck he thinks he’s doing. We’ve got the best reciprocity in the US. Our CHPs, due to their unreasonably high training standards, are valid in something like 36 other states. We accept ALL other permits. What’s the problem with that?
Please call Stan Bingham at (919) 733-5665 and (336) 859-0999. Tell him to leave our reciprocity alone. Tell him that he got a 4 Star GRNC rating by being a friend to gun owners, not by trying to stab them in the back.