It looks like things are starting to settle down in Charlotte after the recent violence. You may have noticed some of the stories that referenced local citizens rushing out to buy firearms. Of course my readeers know that you should have the means to armed self-defence before the SHTF.
According to a spokesperson for Hyatt Gun Shop most of the purchases were for 12-gauge shotguns and buckshot. What was never mentioned in these stories is the purchase of a handgun in North Carolina requires either a pistol purchase permit or a NC Concealed Handgun Permit. Absent one of those two documents, you were legally restricted to purchasing a long gun. This is true even if it was a private sale.
While the Alan Gura's win in Bateman overturned the previous restrictions on possession of a firearm outside the home during a state of emergency as well as the restriction on firearm sales, we are still stuck with the Jim Crow-era pistol purchase permit.
Grass Roots North Carolina has been fighting the battle to get the permit system repealed for a number of years. They sent out the following alert yesterday afternoon requesting people contact both Gov. Pat McCrory (R-NC) and his Democratic opponent Attorney Gen. Roy Cooper (D-NC) urging them to support repeal of this system.
DELAYS IMPERIL CITIZENS
Aficionados of Natural rights know that free citizens should not be forced to obtain permission slips from the bureaucracy before exercising their protected rights. In fact, it has always been GRNC’s position that archaic and shameful laws designed to deny citizens their rights, like the Jim Crow-era Pistol Purchase Permit (PPP), must be eradicated. With all of GRNC’s moral arguments and its unceasing effort to eliminate the PPP system, never before has the need to discard this old-fashioned and embarrassing legality been so obvious—and so critical.
A Right Delayed is a Life put in Peril
As you may be aware, several counties around the state, including Mecklenburg County, have been using bureaucratic loopholes and high-demand for guns as an excuse to severely delay the issuance of PPPs and Concealed Handgun Permits (CHP). Indeed, it is true that, “a right delayed is a right denied.” However, in the context of a city ravaged by violent rioters, it should also be said that, a right delayed is a life put in peril. As a small but deviant portion of Charlotte’s populace, reinforced by out-of-state agitators, attempted to raze Charlotte, law-abiding and rightfully terrified citizens lined up to purchase much-needed handguns to protect their families, only to be told, “no.”
These citizens were told that they would be barred from purchasing defensive handguns until the weeks-long, and now often delayed, PPP and/or CHP process could be completed. The Sheriff and other law enforcement officials are paid to protect and serve the citizens, and thank goodness for the officers on the street. However, it is ironic that the law enforcement bureaucracy has been weighted to keep these same citizens from protecting themselves, particularly when the need is so immediate, and the situation so dire.
In the context of riots, where citizens are at more risk than ever and law-enforcement is overwhelmed, laws delaying the citizen’s access to defensive weapons serve only to empower the thugs, thugs who seek to hurt these citizens and their livelihoods. This must end!
Below, see how you can easily contact NC’s two contenders for governor. Remind them that you have not forgotten about this critical issue. Let them know that, even outside of the legislative season, this is an issue that is worthy of great attention, and gun owners will continue to monitor their actions on this; and actions after November will speak louder than words spoken before November. Remind them that, ultimately, the requirement for PPPs and CHPs (government “permission slips”) must be eliminated as a step toward genuine rights-recognition for law-abiding citizens in North Carolina.
IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED!
- PHONE GOVERNOR McCRORY AND ATTORNEY GENERAL COOPER: Use the phone numbers provided below, and tell them:
I am calling to inform [The Governor / Mr. Cooper] that, at the same time deadly riots raged in Charlotte, frightened citizens were denied their right to obtain defensive handguns. This happened due to our state’s outdated Jim Crow-era Pistol Purchase Permit system and the weeks-long process to obtain a concealed handgun permit (CHP). This denial of civil rights has the potential to cost innocent lives, and it is entirely unacceptable. We must end these archaic and dangerous PPP and CHP systems, which only serve to put citizen’s lives in peril. I insist that this be addressed in the upcoming legislative session, and that [The Governor / Mr. Cooper] prioritize the repeal of these shameful and dangerous systems.
Governor Pat McCrory: (919) 814-2000
Attorney General Roy Cooper: (919) 716-6400
(Candidate for Governor)
- EMAIL GOVERNOR McCRORY AND ATTORNEY GENERAL COOPER: Use the links to their web forms provided below, and the text provided under ‘Deliver this Message’ to send a message.
Governor McRory’s Contact Web Form:
https://governor.nc.gov/contact/email-governor
Attorney General Cooper’s Contact Web Form:
http://www.ncdoj.gov/getdoc/d1ba7632-eced-41be-945f-8c2015756efe/ContactNCDOJ.aspxDELIVER THIS MESSAGE
Dear [Governor McCrory] / [Attorney General Cooper]:
I am writing to inform you that as deadly riots raged in Charlotte, frightened citizens were denied their right to obtain defensive handguns. This denial of rights, which clearly put untold numbers of law-abiding citizens in peril, was due to our state’s outdated Jim Crow-era Pistol Purchase Permit (PPP) system, and the weeks-long process required to obtain a concealed handgun permit (CHP).
In this context of civil unrest, it seems fitting to remind our state’s gubernatorial candidates that voters have not forgotten about this critical issue. Even outside of the legislative season, this is an issue that is worthy of great attention. The peaceful and law-abiding, who clearly have reason to fear for their safety, will continue to monitor your actions on this issue. You must work to put an end to these archaic and dangerous PPP and CHP systems, as it is your duty to protect the rights of North Carolina citizens, and not least among these is their right to protect themselves.
As we saw last week, these PPP and CHP systems only serve to empower the unlawful and put innocent lives in peril. I insist that the repeal of these embarrassing throw-backs be a priority of yours in the upcoming legislative session. And please be aware: actions after November will speak much louder than words spoken before November.
I will be watching your actions on this topic through alerts from Grass Roots North Carolina.
Respectfully,
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ReplyDeleteYou just KNOW someone in the anti-gun crowd will trot out the numbers of shotguns sold in NC recently and claim that people interested in defense buy shotguns, not handguns, so what do we need handguns for? -- and they'll conveniently forget to mention that absent a pre-approved PPP or NC CHP, you legally cannot purchase a handgun.
ReplyDeleteIt's like pointing out that in California, there should be no problem banning AR-15s because nobody buys "assault weapons" anyway -- forgetting that CA has had a legal ban on "assault weapon" sales for a very LONG time. Of course nobody buys them legally!
Then again, mixing up cause and effect is a common phenomenon among the anti-gun crowd.