Ian Patrick, FISM News
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper (D) on Friday afternoon repealed a Republican-backed bill aiming to change legislation on firearm ownership in the state.
Senate Bill 41 aimed to change a 110-year-old rule which requires county sheriffs to issue pistol permits. It also would have allowed concealed carry at religious services held on private and charter school properties and launched a firearm safe storage awareness initiative.
Supporters of the bill have noted that permit approvals in the state take a long time to fulfill.
In his statement on why he issued the veto, Cooper said the removal of the pistol permit “will allow more domestic abusers and other dangerous people to own handguns and reduces law enforcement’s ability to stop them from committing violent crimes.”
“Second Amendment supporting, responsible gun owners know this will put families and communities at risk. Therefore, I veto the bill,” Cooper wrote.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Senator Danny Britt of Robeson County, says the majority of pistol sales in the state happen via federally licensed dealers. Britt claims that this would not drastically affect the number of applications in the federal background check system, according to reporting by The Center Square.
In his own statement, Britt decried the governor for upholding “our duplicative gun laws” and infringing “on our constitutional rights.” Britt added that he was looking “forward to a swift veto override in the Senate,” according to Just the News.
A veto override will need a supermajority approval in both the state House and Senate. The bill passed through both chambers with mostly party-line approval. Republicans already have a supermajority in the Senate, but would need at least one House Democrat to side with all House Republicans in overriding the veto.