The North Carolina Senate could take up NRA-supported House Bill 559 tomorrow! Please contact your state Senator and urge them to support this pro-hunting legislation!
HB 559, introduced by state Representative Chris Millis, will remove unnecessary and arbitrary restrictions on hunting in North Carolina. This bill directs the Wildlife Resources Commission, which is tasked with managing hunting in the Tar Heel State, to study allowing the hunting of migratory birds on Sundays, with the goal of establishing regulations to allow such hunting. The bill also will expand where hunting can take place to include public lands. Current law does not allow for hunting of migratory birds on Sunday, and only allows Sunday hunting on private land.
In addition to HB 559, state Senators Danny Britt, Andrew Brock, and Norm Sanderson introduced Senate Bill 677 last week. This NRA-supported bill would allow North Carolina voters to decide if they wish to amend the state constitution to recognize that hunting and fishing are rights that are to be protected, for both today's sportsmen and for future generations. Please contact these Senators and thank them for introducing this critical legislation in addition to contacting your own state Senator to urge them to support the bill when it is brought up for consideration.
Finally, the Senate has not yet taken up the omnibus gun bill passed by the House, House Bill 746. Please continue to contact your state Senator and urge them to support this important pro-gun reform.
Unfortunately, opponents to our Right to Keep and Bear Arms have been wildly misrepresenting what HB 746 does, so please help to set the record straight.
HB 746 does not change the current requirements for those who wish to acquire a Concealed Handgun Permit (CHP). It does not lower the age at which one can obtain a CHP, which remains 21, and it does not change any of the CHP training requirements.
HB 746 addresses a completely different section of North Carolina law. It simply changes the manner in which one can currently carry a handgun without first obtaining a CHP. Current law allows anyone who is at least 18 years old, and can lawfully possess a handgun, to carry one without a CHP, provided the handgun is visible. This law has been in place since long before the current CHP law was established in 1995, and there have been no discernible problems. The only significant change to the current laws governing the carrying of handguns contained in HB 746 would be how the handgun is carried, not who can carry it.
It is perfectly acceptable for anyone who is at least 18, and can legally possess a handgun, to carry it exposed. But the second one decides to put on a jacket or place the gun in a purse, as a matter of comfort or convenience, that person is somehow less safe or less trustworthy. HB 746 fixes this discrepancy in state law. Please continue to contact your state Senator and urge them to support HB 746 without any amendments.