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Pistol purchase permits immediately stop in Mecklenburg under new NC gun law

A long line of people stood in front of the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office on Thursday morning, May 12, 2022, as they waited to get their fingerprints taken for their gun permits.

Those purchasing a handgun in North Carolina via a private sale no longer need a background check or permit from their county sheriff’s office.

Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden on Wednesday said his office would stop processing any pistol purchase permit applications that were already in process, due to the new state law. He said his office “does not have the statutory authority” to refund the $5 fee applicants paid.

On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled state legislature voted to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto to pass Senate Bill 41. The law immediately repeals pistol purchase permits.

Before, anyone wishing to buy a pistol would have to apply for the permit and be approved after background checks that included mental health-related court orders.

Gun rights advocates celebrated the passage of the law, while gun control activists and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office condemned it.

“I fully support the second amendment, but I believe removing local sheriffs’ offices from the approval process puts our communities in danger for the sake of convenience,” McFadden said Wednesday afternoon in a statement.

The National Rifle Association thanked lawmakers for overriding the veto, according to reporting by The News and Observer. D.J. Spiker, the NRA’s state director for North Carolina, said the bill replaces “onerous laws” that “have served no public service.”

“Requiring a permit to purchase a handgun is a burdensome impediment to gun ownership — law-abiding residents should not have to ask the government for permission to exercise their Second Amendment rights,” Spiker said.

Moms Demand Action, a non-profit organization advocating against gun violence, issued a statement saying the law creates a dangerous loophole.

The handgun background check law had been on the books in North Carolina since 1919, and provided sheriffs with the authority to deny permits to people who could be a threat to public safety, the organization said. Now the repeal of the bill creates a gap in background checks.

“Following this veto overrule, the state will create a loophole between state and federal gun laws in which a person would be able to purchase handguns at gun shows or from strangers they meet online with no background check, and no questions asked,” the organization said.

Licensed firearm dealers, if selling at gun shows, are still required to do background checks under federal law. Concealed handgun permits are also still required.