July 25, 2013: The North Carolina bill we reported on last month that would have eliminated permit and background check requirements for the purchase of handguns finally cleared both the House and the Senate on Tuesday–but those provisions of the bill were deleted. As such, the bill headed to the Governor’s desk essentially expands NC citizens’ concealed carry rights. The most notable provisions of the bill allow concealed carry permit holders to bring firearms into public recreation areas and restaurants and bars (unless prohibited by the owner of the establishment), and also allow permit holders to store weapons in locked cars on the campus of any public school or university. The Governor now has 10 days to approve or veto the bill.
New Federal legislation is also being developed by Senator Durbin out of Illinois. The legislation seeks to encourage U.S. law enforcement agencies to trace firearms used in crimes through the ATF’s firearms tracing software. According to Durbin, in Illinois alone, only 329 of some 800 law enforcement agencies are using the software. The proposed legislation would incentivize use of the ATF software by giving agencies using the software priority in obtaining millions of dollars in available Federal funding grants.