CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A group of North Carolina Democrats introduced multiple gun safety bills Tuesday, including measures that would require purchase permits for rifles and allow law enforcement to destroy certain weapons seized from violent offenders or voluntarily surrendered to police.
State Reps. Marcia Morey (Durham), Julie von Haefen (Wake), Pricey Harrison (Guilford) and Sen. Natasha Marcus (Mecklenburg) announced four new bills designed to reduce gun violence and deaths across North Carolina. The lawmakers were joined by several other members of the General Assembly, as well as local law enforcement officials from across the state to unveil the measures.
"How long will it take us to stand up and do what's right?" Buncombe County Sheriff Quentin E. Miller said. "How long do we have to wait until one of our kids are killed or do we have to wait until it comes into our community and takes someone we know?"
Rep. Abe Jones, a Democrat from Wake County, also discussed a bill he introduced that would require gun owners to secure all weapons that are stored in homes with minors.
"Common sense is not a common thing and with guns it's so true," Jones said. "Common sense is not a common thing. If we'd only apply common sense we could get the legislation passed."
House Bill 281, which was sponsored by Morey and Harrison, would authorize law enforcement to issue an "Extreme Risk Protection Order" that temporarily restricts any person's access to guns if there's any evidence that the person poses a danger or physical harm to themselves or others. The bill would also require a court order to seize any weapons, ammunition and gun permits the individual failed to surrender under an ERPO.
House Bill 284, which was introduced by Morey, would allow law enforcement agencies to destroy unclaimed firearms, weapons confiscated after conviction of certain crimes and firearms purchased by or voluntarily surrendered to police.
"We aren't going to move backwards," Morey said, "we demand that we get something to help save North Carolinian lives."
House Bill 283 would require a permit for the purchase of rifles in North Carolina. Gun owners who already have concealed handgun permits would be allowed to purchase weapons without obtaining a new permit, according to the bill.
The final bill, known as the "Gun Violence Prevention Act," introduced in the Senate by Marcus, would make significant changes to gun purchases in North Carolina. SB210 would require a permit to purchase any "assault weapon," defined as "any selective-fire firearm capable of semiautomatic or burst fire at the option of the user," or long gun, as well as require a 72-hour waiting period for any purchased weapons are delivered.
"We know, as many of you know, there are way too many dangerous people with access to very powerful weapons that allow them to do violence to innocent people," said Marcus.
The bill would also ban the sale of rifles and assault weapons to people of a certain age. It would require anyone possessing a handgun or long gun to be at least 18, with assault weapons off-limits for anyone under 21.
The bill would also implement bans on bump stocks, require safe storage of firearms and limit the size of ammunition magazines to no more than 15 rounds.
One organization against the bills says they have nothing to do with safety but more about ending people’s rights to own guns.
Grass Roots North Carolina President Paul Valone strongly opposes each bill. He said forcing people to lock up their guns makes them unavailable for self-protection. He adds there is no value in destroying confiscated guns.
"Why would you want to destroy something that has value to the taxpayer? We don't destroy confiscated automobiles, or confiscated boats, what they should be doing instead and what many police chiefs do is to resell them and take money for their police departments," said Valone.
He calls the phrase "gun violence" a lie and adds guns don't commit violence people do.
"If somebody is truly a danger to themselves or others, they should be involuntarily committed, and we have a process for that. You go through due process of law, they get a court hearing, and then they can be detained. That's how it ought to work," said Valone.
He adds there is no compromise when it comes to gun control.
"The Second Amendment reinforces an individual right to keep and bear arms. It's a civil right under the constitution. And these people have no business trying to limit people's rights."
The groups said they hope to be able to pass some of these bills this year.
Contact Jesse Pierre at jpierrepet@wcnc.com or follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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