Reclaiming the 2nd Amendment One Step At A Time: Republican State Senators Push Bill to Streamline Pistol Purchase Bureaucracy

RALEIGH – A lot of talk is proffered about ‘protecting the Second Amendment,’ but to truly protect it we must reclaim so much of its protections that have already been lost. That usually happens the way it started – one step at a time. North Carolina Senator Danny Britt (R-Robeson) is taking one of those steps as he works to streamline the bureaucracy surrounding pistol purchase permits, and thus reclaim some of the 2nd Amendment’s guarantee.

As it stands now, in North Carolina a person, if they do not have a concealed carry permit, must get an individual permit from the county sheriff for each and every handgun they’d like to purchase. While there is no real limit, the permits are expensive, and typically take weeks to come through. In other words, it bureaucracy is not very conducive to protecting an unalienable right.

Instead of this cumbersome system, Britt wants to reduce that arbitrary impediment to exercising one’s right by allowing one pistol purchase permit to be good for five years and multiple purchases.

From WRAL:

“I’d be fine with no pistol permit at all. This is a compromise,” Sen. Danny Britt , R-Robeson, said Thursday about the latest bill, which he sponsors. “I understand there are concerns from some of our sheriffs, mine included, that there may be some folks that just don’t need a handgun permit. Fact is, we’re talking about handguns, not firearms. You can go [buy] a shotgun today at Walmart, pick it up and go home and do the same damage.”

A former prosecutor, Britt said most gun crimes are committed with handguns that were illegally obtained.

“What we’re doing is we’re making it easier for folks who buy firearms the legal way, who are not as likely to commit crimes with those firearms,” he said. […]”

Imagine that; respecting the inherent liberty of law-abiding citizens. What a great idea, someone should right that down…..Oh, wait…

While it’s sad that we have to work this hard just to undo the damage that has been done to the Bill of Rights, at least with this bill the ball is moving in the right direction.

The Sheriff’s Association, itself burdened with all the paperwork for each separate purchase permit, is a big supporter of the bill.

“This is not opening up more guns. It’s just cutting out some bureaucracy,” said Eddie Caldwell, executive vice president and general counsel of the North Carolina Sheriffs’ Association. […]

“It’s streamlining the bureaucracy … without jeopardizing public safety,” Caldwell told the Senate Judiciary committee on Wednesday, noting that the sheriffs’ association attached high-priority designation to its support of the bill. […]”

Britt is correct to suggest that there shouldn’t be a pistol purchase permit required at all, if we are to take the ‘shall not be infringed’ portion of the 2nd amendment seriously. But streamlining the purchase permit is a good start toward restoring our right to bear arms in its entirety.

Of Course, that mean gun control nuts were nagging especially shrilly in opposition to this bill. You can read there comments and fear mongering about increased gun crimes at WRAL.