Thank you to the North Carolina General Assembly and Governor McCrory! The Concealed Carry Handgun (CCH) permittees are going to be much better off and North Carolina will be a much safer place to live. House Bill 937 was signed Monday, July 29th and goes into effect this fall.
Here is a summary of the amendments to our existing firearms laws as proposed by this new law which goes into effect October 1, 2013.
Section 1
Allows one to have a gun in the car in the parking lot if you have a CHP.
Section 2
Allows one to have a gun on school campuses in the vehicle if they have a CHP. It does not allow someone to carry concealed outside of their vehicle.
Section 3
Allows CHP holders to carry concealed where admission has been charged and in establishments where alcohol is served. Those who have a CHP will now be able to carry in places like movie theaters and restaurants which serve alcohol. The amount of alcohol you may consume is still ZERO!
Section 4
Clarifies the law in regard to children under age 12 being able to have access to firearms. It allows use with adult supervision and parental permission
Section 5
Increases the penalty for a felony conviction using a firearm.
Section 6
Clarifies the only places where local government may restrict concealed carry.
Section 7
Details when the clerk of superior court should notify the FBI NICS system an individual is ineligible to purchase a firearm and also mandates the information must be reported in 48 hours.
Section 8
Also deals with notification to the FBI NICS system.
Section 9
Clarifies the process for a person to remove mental commitment from their record.
Section 10
Clarifies if the record is clear then §14-415.3 does not apply.
Section 11
Clarifies one can get a CHP if mental commitment has been removed from their record.
Section 12
Makes the CHP records confidential to everyone except law enforcement.
Section 13
Makes firearm sales confidential to everyone except law enforcement.
Section 14
Clarifies some minor verbiage.
Section 15
Allows concealed carry at parades and funeral processions. It does not make it legal to have a firearm at picket lines and demonstrations on health care facilities.
Section 16
Increases the penalty for carrying concealed with a permit in places where it is prohibited by statute. Specifically where a sign is posting prohibiting concealed carry. The other increased penalty if concealing while consuming or with alcohol in your system.
Section 17
Section 17.1
Removes the word license from §14-403 and cleans up the verbiage.
Section 17.2 (a)
Cleans up the verbiage, but also requires the Sheriff to explain why they are denying a permit and provide the legal reasoning behind the decision. Any permit denial will be public record. This section also instructs the court to notify the NICS system of anything which would disqualify an individual to have a permit. Another change is permits cannot be limited in number or frequency. The section ends with what the sheriff must do to revoke a permit.
Section 17.2 (b)
Details how the court must report their progress toward implementation.
Section 17.2 (c)
Details when things become law.
Section 17.3
Details the timing for the Sheriff to determine validity of permits.
Section 17.4
Details the confidentiality of the records.
Section 18
Removed verbiage which was no longer relevant.
Section 19
Clarifies what happens to a service firearm of an officer in the event of their death or retirement.
Section 20
Clarifies the revocation of a CHP.
Section 21
Allows a District Court Judge, magistrate, clerk of court, and register of deed to carry concealed and clarifies the law.
Section 22
Clarifies the definition of certain persons, mostly court related.
Section 23
Allows hunting using a noise suppressor.
Section 24
Redefines a qualified retired law enforcement office to meet US Code.
Section 25
Is clarified due to he change in definition for a retired officer.
Section 26
Adds new statute verbiage to define habitual felon.
Section 27
Adds new statute verbiage regarding sentencing when a firearm is used to commit a crime.
Section 28
Details which sections become law on October 1, 2013.
In a nutshell, we can now go more places with a Concealed Handgun Permit and the places where we still cannot, we may lock the handgun in our vehicle while in the parking lot. Home Front Freedom will be offering a Concealed Carry Handgun Law refresher course for a nominal fee this fall.