NC: HB 937 Restaurant Carry headed for vote. Contact your Reps!

[DMK]

Please contact your rep and ask him to vote for this bill!

From Grass Roots NC:
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http://www.grnc.org/grnc-alerts-arch...sses-committee

After lengthy debate and after rejecting numerous anti-gun amendments, the NC House Judiciary A Committee today passed House Bill 937. The bill will now head to the House floor for a vote, likely next week.

In its present form, HB 937 would expand concealed carry into:

• Restaurants;
• Assemblies of people for which admission is charged;
• College campuses (provided firearms are kept in locked vehicles); and
• Parking lots of state office buildings.

HB 937 would also clean up flaws in the parks carry language passed in HB 650 under which municipalities continue to flout the law by banning guns in entire parks.

During sometimes rancorous debate, Representatives Darren Jackson (D-Wake , GRNC 0-star), Deborah Ross (D-Wake, 0-star) and others proposed amendments designed to be "poison pills" for the bill. All failed. Most surprising was an amendment by Rep. Bob Steinburg (R-Camden, Chowan, Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrrell, ****) who supported the bill, but objected to provisions allowing concealed handgun permit-holders to keep firearms in locked vehicles on college campuses.

Sponsors Jacqueline Schaffer (R-Mecklenburg, ****), Justin Burr (R-Montgomery, Stanly, ****), John Faircloth (R-Guilford, ****), and George Cleveland (R-Onslow, ****) did an outstanding job of defending the bill. Addressing the committee in favor of the bill were GRNC president Paul Valone, Director of Development Josette Chmiel, and representatives for the NRA and NCRPA.

In testifying against the bill, North Carolinians "Against Gun Violence" director Gail Neely perjured herself to the committee by regurgitating a study which she claimed dealt with concealed handgun permit-holders, despite the fact that Valone had two weeks ago produced a copy of the study for her (and audience of an ACLU forum) demonstrating clearly that her claims were false.

Rep. Jackson introduced anti-gun amendment after anti-gun amendment in an attempt to "run the clock" on the bill until he was shut down by Committee Chair Rep. John Blust (R-Guilford, ****), who brought the bill to a vote.



CONTACT YOUR HOUSE REP:

Tell him to pass HB 937 as is, without weakening amendments.

Find your rep Here:

http://www.ncleg.net/representation/...resentsMe.aspx


DELIVER THIS MESSAGE

Suggested Subject: "Pass HB937 As Is!"

Dear Representative:

I strongly urge you to not only vote for House Bill 937 ("Amend Various Gun Laws"), but to oppose any floor amendments intended to weaken the bill. The restaurant carry provisions of the bill are being practiced in forty-three states without serious problems. Virginia implemented restaurant carry two years ago, after which restaurant crime dropped by 5.2%.

Provisions for firearms in locked vehicles on campuses of higher learning is a modest first step aimed at reducing campus violence, deterring tragedies such as Virginia Tech and keeping thousands of lawful North Carolinians from becoming accidental felons.

I look forward to hearing of your support and will monitor this issue via Grass Roots North Carolina legislative alerts.

Respectfully,

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[SamNavy]

Congrats to NC... off to the Governors desk for this one (although I haven't found anything indicating what he might do):
http://www.grnc.org/grnc-alerts-arch...-victory-today
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvd/story?se...ics&id=9182854


This is awesome... NC stands to gain a bunch of stuff. The 2 main highlights as I see it are:
Bar and Restaurant carry
Limited campus carry (firearms locked in vehicles on public campuses)
Hunting with suppressors (like the Class3 wait isn't long enough already)

And for those that don't know about the NC "Pistol Permit" rules... they will now suck a little less... basically the new laws make the Sheriff's actually do their jobs.

EDIT: this article says he's in favor of changes and expected to sign:http://www.inquisitr.com/867458/nort...apons-in-bars/

[DMK]

This is good news!

Here's the link to sign the petition to the governor:

http://grnc.org/pass-h937

[DMK]

I was really concerned about it passing when they added the handgun permit stuff in. Not that I' disagree with any of that, but I do believe it made the uphill slope to pass this a lot steeper.