Response to my email ............classic RINO BS
Thank you for your note. Good to hear from you. I hope all is well with you and your family.
I have been involved in watching HB 746 move through the legislature and have supported that process. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a strong supporter of gun rights (the 2nd Amendment) and a NRA member. I believe that people have the right to protect themselves, their families, and others with a gun, if that is the only means available. Supporting a person’s right to protect their life and the lives of others is paramount to my belief system. My concerns for this bill are quite simple.
The final product of this bill did not address my primary concerns relative to the growing proliferation of handguns on the streets today with people who should not have handguns or who are not qualified or trained to use a handgun. It is irresponsible for me to say it is okay to put a handgun in the hands of an untrained person and more particularly one as young as 18 years old.
Many 18 year olds would be fine, but I am concerned with the many that would not have a skill level and emotional maturity (at that age) to manage the responsibility. Of course, most would say, well they (meaning 18 year olds) can carry a gun in the military, which is true, but in the military they are trained in how to use and handle a gun responsibly and it is usually not a handgun, but a rifle type of gun. I truly believe that training in gun safety saves lives. That does not mean we will not have exceptions where someone who was trained in gun safety will do irresponsible actions, it just sharply reduces the possibility.
During the debate of this bill, I received a lot of feedback from concerned constituents and our police. Our public safety officials’ concern was that allowing open and concealed-carry permit-less handguns on the street makes their jobs a lot harder because it legitimizes open and concealed carry of hand guns for criminals and everyone else in all the areas not listed in the concealed weapon permit areas in the bill (that is a lot of areas!), I also received calls from longtime gun owners and collectors who were concerned that putting no-permit and no-background check handguns into the hands and pockets of untrained and in many cases immature 18 year olds is simply irresponsible and I agree with that supposition.
Because of reasons above and after the expressed concerns of many of my constituents, HB 746 is not a bill that I could support. I would, however, support a handgun bill that would encourage safe handgun use through training, prevent and protect unsupervised children from getting access to handguns, and stop the growth of handguns on the streets (the gun of choice for gang members and criminals). HB 746 does not do that.
Please do not hesitate to contact if you have any further questions or concerns. Also, if you are in Raleigh, please stop by my office for a visit or contact my Legislative Assistant, Kathy Peters, regarding the many services my legislative office has available to you and your family.
Kind Regards,
Kathleen Peters
Legislative Assistant
Representative Linda Hunt Williams
NC House District 37
My Response
Thanks for your response,
I could counter these objections one-by-one with logic and common sense, but it’s better to just say “look at Vermont.” Green Mountain State residents have enjoyed constitutional carry since the Constitution was enacted. According to the FBI’s 2015 stats, Vermont is the safest state in the country, with a violent crime rate of 118 incidents per 100k residents.
That’s not to say Vermont is the safest state in the U.S. because of constitutional carry. But their crime rates show that constitutional carry doesn’t create crime. Why would it? Criminals get guns no matter what the law says (they’re criminals, after all). Constitutional carry makes it easier for law-abiding citizens to keep and bear arms.
Some states make getting a permit to carry a firearm cheap and easy (e.g. Washington). Some states make it extremely expensive and time-consuming, to the point of impossibility (e.g. New Jersey, Hawaii). Either way, for our society’s poorest members that don’t have the time or money to jump through all the hoops needed to secure a permit to carry a firearm. What’s more, they lack the ability and/or desire to deal with the bureaucracy in charge of issuing licenses. Constitutional carry makes it possible for all Americans to exercise their natural, civil and constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms, regardless of their income or education.
The Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitutional states “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
Just requiring Americans to petition the government to exercise their right to keep and bear arms is as clear an infringement as requiring Americans to pass a literacy test to exercise their right to vote. Clearer even.
Your concerns which are l am sure heartfelt, basically just follow the tired outdated and ill conceived party line used by the Democratic Party, and its sad to see this. I will post your response on several NC firearms related and political forum I am a member of and hope all who read it and remember on election day.
Sincerely
Jim Copeland
et