CHARLOTTE, N.C. – One month after the deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is calling for changes to the state’s gun laws, including raising the minimum age and expanding background checks when it comes to assault-style rifles.
Cooper posted a blog on Medium Wednesday, the same day that thousands of American high school students organized walkouts to protest gun violence on the one-month anniversary of the Parkland, Fla. mass shooting that left 17 people dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“Preparation and open communication lines can make all the difference in a life or death situation. But preparing for the worst and praying it never happens isn’t enough,” Cooper wrote. “We need smart changes to our laws that will help keep dangerous weapons from getting into the wrong hands.”
Speaking in Charlotte earlier this month, Cooper said he thought arming teachers in classrooms was not the answer to protecting children.
“We should keep our schools free of guns,” Cooper said. “I do not think that is a good proposal at all.”
Cooper said North Carolina needs to strengthen its background check system. The Governor said it begins with making checks more effective with a better information database. Cooper said he has directed the SBI to undertake a comprehensive inventory of the quality of information North Carolina shares with the federal background check system.
Cooper also stated that expanding Medicaid would increase mental health care for up to 500,000 North Carolinians. Cooper said the expansion would allow for better diagnosis and treatment of people with mental illness and could turn violent.
“This would benefit working families who currently earn just a little bit too much to be eligible for Medicaid but still can’t afford to pay for health care,” he said. “It would connect hundreds of thousands of people with quality mental health care to make sure they don’t slip through the cracks.”
He also addressed what he calls a “glaring loophole” that allows people to purchase assault-style rifles online, in private or at gun shows without a background check.
“Right now, anyone buying a handgun in our state has to apply for a permit through the local sheriff’s office, a process that includes a federal background check and an OK from the sheriff,” Cooper said. “This system allows time for appropriate checks to take place before someone can legally buy a handgun. But our law has a glaring loophole since this background check and permit process isn’t required to buy an assault weapon like an AR-15, the weapon used in Parkland. It should be.”
Cooper also suggests that North Carolina ban “bump stocks,” a device that can turn a semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic weapon. Earlier this month, the Justice Department announced it was working to make the devices illegal to own or sell, just days after President Trump ordered Attorney General Jeff Sessions to regulate them.
Should those plans fall through, Cooper said North Carolina should take action, saying simply, “we don’t need these devices in our state.”
“The steps I’ve outlined here are meaningful, common sense changes that we can make to better protect our children and our communities,” Cooper wrote. “We can’t wait for Washington to act this time. The safety and security of our kids are on the line, and I urge the General Assembly to join me in taking decisive action to do right by them."