Pistol Purchase Permits May Be A Thing Of The Past In NC

The North Carolina Senate's Judiciary I Committee held a hearing on HB 937 today. This bill is the omnibus gun bill that would allow restaurant carry, clarifies the law on park carry, and would allow concealed carry permit holders to have their firearms on university campuses locked in their vehicles.

The Judiciary I Committee adopted a committee substitute by voice vote which does all of the above and a lot more. Sean Sorrentino has the whole list but the change that was most overdue in coming was the abolition of pistol purchase permits issued by local sheriffs. The pistol purchase permit had been in place since 1919 and was intended, more than anything else, to keep African-Americans and other minorities disarmed.

This little relic of the Jim Crow South has been in effect for 94 years and it time for it to go. With NICS checks in place, there is no rational argument that can be made in favor of it. Even today, while not used to discriminate against minorities, there is still a disparate issuance of permits by counties. In some counties, you have no trouble. In others, the local sheriff will use it to limit residents with delays in getting the permit as well as how many you can get at one time.