NEWS & COMMENTARY It is not looking good for HB 746--The Omnibus Gun Changes bill

What gun control freaks can't do via law they try to do by hassling honest folk

Observer Editorial Team

It is not looking good for



Then on Thursday (8-3-17) the Grassroots NC gun rights organization held a rally on the mall in Raleigh and few people (citizens or legislators) attended. It is not looking good. We could find not a single Beaufort County Second Amendment supporter who went to the rally.



The lack of interest in HB 746 appears to be because it seeks to abolish the requirement for a Concealed Carry Permit and instead would leave a citizen who is legally capable of open carry able to carry concealed without having to pay the nearly $200 to go through a training course and pay a hefty fee to the local Sheriff plus endure all kinds of harassment, such as having to take off work to turn in your paperwork and get fingerprinted.



But as we see it, those who care about conceal carry already have a permit, for the most part. Some 600,000 do no less.



Many Second Amendment supporters do not support people carrying concealed weapons who have not been trained in doing so. One such supporter commented: "I would rather they increase the required training and not restrict where I can carry "



We agree.



The supporters of HB 746 got this one wrong. It is a misnomer to call it "constitutional carry" because a person can carry concealed as they would openly, when there are dozens of exceptions where one cannot carry a weapon either way. The Constitution does not say we have the right to bear arms in some places but not in others.



And as we have said, the absurdity of restricting open or concealed carry because of the person's job title certainly could not be legitimately said to be "constitutional carry." The constitution makes no distinction between some people being able to bear arms and others not being able to legally do so. There are millions of citizens who are just as, if not more, responsible as are law enforcement officers. Yet they can't take a weapon into a county building in Beaufort County but a law enforcement officer can. In fact, as we have published, as a group, conceal carry permit holders have a better record of not killing people with their weapons than do law enforcement officials.



An example of this absurdity of "gun control" in this state was seen Saturday in Raleigh the Dixie Gun Show, which was ironically held on the State Fair grounds. The same fair grounds that one is prohibited from taking any kind weapon when the fair is in session.



But before entering the Jim Graham Building, the public was told "no loaded weapons" allowed and weapons were checked. If you had a clip with ammo in it you had to put the ammo in a little plastic bag with your name on it and leave it with the guard while you went into the gun show. Just the ammo, mind you, not the weapon.



However, while inside the show you could have bought hundreds of rounds of ammo for the weapon you possessed and if a nut case was intent on shooting up the gun show the Mickey Mouse rules would have done nothing to prevent it.



When the guards were challenged about the reason for the hassling of people who paid $8.00 to enter (some of which obviously went to pay the State Fair) the response eventually came down to "that's just the rules the State Fair has. Commissioner Steve Troxler said: no loaded guns " We understand that the practice was instituted when an attendee accidentally discharged a weapon at a previous gun show.



But the point is, the rules imposed would not prevent a person from having a loaded weapon if they chose to buy the ammo inside the show and load it into their weapon. The rule may have been well intended, but its effect was foolish.



Agriculture Commissioner Troxler obviously believes a person exercising their Second Amendment right by bearing a loaded weapon should be treated like a common criminal. It is the hassle, for no rational reason, we are objecting to. The rule does not accomplish the purpose for which it is said to exist. Don't tread on me! I've done nothing wrong. And don't treat me like someone who has done something wrong.



We see it as the same mentality as the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office saying you can get fingerprinted only on Mon, Wed. and Friday mornings to get a conceal weapon permit. Many people have to work during those hours. And the Sheriff's Office will not notarize your signature. You have to go somewhere else to get that done. And they do not accept credit cards or checks. When we tendered a hundred dollar bill to pay a $90 application fee the response was: "We don't have any change." And, this is the third time in three years we've had to pay for our finger prints to be made for this and other permits.



It's the attitude we're talking about. Whether it is forcing you to take time off work, not having change, or not allowing you to take your weapon into a county building or the list of 33 reasons you can be disqualified from getting a permit, it is just the hassle they impose on those who seek to exercise a constitutional right to bear arms.



Back to HB 746. We are told the N. C. Sheriff's Association has fought the bill because they don't want to lose the money they collect from permits. So as Paul Harvey used to say: Now you know the rest of the story about why HB 746 is stuck in committee. It is just part of the hassle. It is not looking good for HB 746. That's the bill entitled "Omnibus Gun Changes." It passed the House, but not with a veto proof margin (64-51) and is now stuck in the Senate Rules Committee (The "Graveyard" for bills the Leadership does not want to pass.)Then on Thursday (8-3-17) the Grassroots NC gun rights organization held a rally on the mall in Raleigh and few people (citizens or legislators) attended. It is not looking good. We could find not a single Beaufort County Second Amendment supporter who went to the rally.The lack of interest in HB 746 appears to be because it seeks to abolish the requirement for a Concealed Carry Permit and instead would leave a citizen who is legally capable of open carry able to carry concealed without having to pay the nearly $200 to go through a training course and pay a hefty fee to the local Sheriff plus endure all kinds of harassment, such as having to take off work to turn in your paperwork and get fingerprinted.But as we see it, those who care about conceal carry already have a permit, for the most part. Some 600,000 do no less.Many Second Amendment supporters do not support people carrying concealed weapons who have not been trained in doing so. One such supporter commented: "I would rather theythe required training and not restrict where I can carry "We agree.The supporters of HB 746 got this one wrong. It is a misnomer to call it "constitutional carry" because a person can carry concealed as they would openly, when there are dozens of exceptions where one cannot carry a weapon either way. The Constitution does not say we have the right to bear arms in some places but not in others.And as we have said, the absurdity of restricting open or concealed carry because of the person's job title certainly could not be legitimately said to be "constitutional carry." The constitution makes no distinction between some people being able to bear arms and others not being able to legally do so. There are millions of citizens who are just as, if not more, responsible as are law enforcement officers. Yet they can't take a weapon into a county building in Beaufort County but a law enforcement officer can. In fact, as we have published, as a group, conceal carry permit holders have a better record of not killing people with their weapons than do law enforcement officials.An example of this absurdity of "gun control" in this state was seen Saturday in Raleigh the Dixie Gun Show, which was ironically held on the State Fair grounds. The same fair grounds that one is prohibited from taking any kind weapon when the fair is in session.But before entering the Jim Graham Building, the public was told "no loaded weapons" allowed and weapons were checked. If you had a clip with ammo in it you had to put the ammo in a little plastic bag with your name on it and leave it with the guard while you went into the gun show. Just the ammo, mind you, not the weapon.However, while inside the show you could have bought hundreds of rounds of ammo for the weapon you possessed and if a nut case was intent on shooting up the gun show the Mickey Mouse rules would have doneto prevent it.When the guards were challenged about the reason for the hassling of people who paid $8.00 to enter (some of which obviously went to pay the State Fair) the response eventually came down to "that's just the rules the State Fair has. Commissioner Steve Troxler said: no loaded guns " We understand that the practice was instituted when an attendee accidentally discharged a weapon at a previous gun show.But the point is, theimposed would not prevent a person from having a loaded weapon if they chose to buy the ammo inside the show and load it into their weapon. The rule may have been well intended, but its effect was foolish.Agriculture Commissioner Troxler obviously believes a person exercising their Second Amendment right by bearing a loaded weapon should be treated like a common criminal. It is the hassle, for no rational reason, we are objecting to. The rule does not accomplish the purpose for which it is said to exist. Don't tread on me! I've done nothing wrong. And don't treat me like someone who has done something wrong.We see it as the same mentality as the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office saying you can get fingerprinted only on Mon, Wed. and Friday mornings to get a conceal weapon permit. Many people have to work during those hours. And the Sheriff's Office will not notarize your signature. You have to go somewhere else to get that done. And they do not accept credit cards or checks. When we tendered a hundred dollar bill to pay a $90 application fee the response was: "We don't have any change." And, this is the third time in three years we've had to pay for our finger prints to be made for this and other permits.It's the attitude we're talking about. Whether it is forcing you to take time off work, not having change, or not allowing you to take your weapon into a county building or the list of 33 reasons you can be disqualified from getting a permit, it is just the hassle they impose on those who seek to exercise a constitutional right to bear arms.Back to HB 746. We are told the N. C. Sheriff's Association has fought the bill because they don't want to lose the money they collect from permits. So as Paul Harvey used to say: Now you know the rest of the story about why HB 746 is stuck in committee. It is just part of the hassle.

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