Bill to legalize no-permit concealed carry in North Carolina advances through state House committee

House Bill 189, the bid to remove restrictions and allow most North Carolinians to carry a concealed loaded weapon, passed through a key committee despite vigorous debate on Tuesday morning and now moves within one step of a vote on the House floor.

The so-called “NC Constitutional Carry Act” received a favorable report – with an amendment to repair typos – in the JudiciaryB Committee, by a vote of 7-4, Chair Sarah Stevens (R-Surry) counted.

The Legislative calendar doesn’t yet specify when the House Rules Committee might take up the bill, but a favorable report there would move it for a full vote of the Republican-controlled House, which could happen later this week.

The bill, which was filed on Feb. 23, says in its summary that its intent is to “protect a person’s right to carry a concealed handgun without a permit and to continue allowing persons to acquire a concealed handgun permit for the purposes of reciprocity or for any other reason desired.”

…

“We consider the bill to be a threat to public safety,” Jennifer Copeland of the NC Council of Churches told the committee. “You have a moral obligation to protect the public.”

…