NRA Shows Up Late & Screws ‘Freedom To Carry’ Bill for NC Gun Owners - Ammoland.com

p> Progress on House Bill 189, now named “Freedom to Carry NC,” stalled on Wednesday after the NRA reportedly came out in opposition to the bill. NRA lobbyist DJ Spiker, who had been utterly absent from the debate over permitless concealed carry (and rarely seen at the legislature), showed up at the Judiciary 2 Committee meeting, which passed HB 189 on Tuesday, and began complaining about the bill’s contents.

To satisfy Speaker Tim Moore’s requirement to move the bill, the latest incarnation of HB 189 contains a nominal training requirement to establish that concealed carriers know relevant state laws. The training requirement can be satisfied by courses from the NRA, USCCA, or an online course to be established by the North Carolina Criminal Justice Education and Training Standards Commission. There will be no permit, no live fire training, no requirement to carry proof of training, nor any central repository or database of who has or has not taken a course.

NRA “not invented here” syndrome

Spiker reportedly complained to bill sponsor Rep. Keith Kidwell, that due to the training requirement, it was no longer a “true” constitutional carry bill. In truth, HB 189 has always been a hybrid bill in that it offered permitless carry only to those who would otherwise qualify for a permit. Its progenitors stretch back to 2017 with HB 69, sponsored by Rep. Larry Pittman, and HB 746, sponsored by Rep. Chris Millis, both of which contained language similar to HB 189. Despite the fact that HB 746 passed the NC House, sponsors report that the NRA has never been active in the constitutional carry debate.

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