North Carolina –-(Ammoland.com)- In an interview with Bill LuMaye of WPTF, Governor Pat McCrory claimed he will sign House Bill 937.
The question is, can we take his word for it? After all, in the election he claimed he wouldn’t play politics with your rights…
Below you will find contact information for McCrory along with a recommendation that you tell him you want actions, not words. Moreover, reports indicate that HB 937 phone calls are running 50-50, so even if you already called, call again!
First, please accept my thanks for the gratifying response to Tuesday’s initial news. It was actually strong enough to overwhelm our website server, so if you were unable to get through, please try again. (Volume remains strong, so please keep trying.)
How HB 937 almost died…
As you recall, House Speaker Thom Tillis (R-Mecklenburg, GRNC ****) initially stripped restaurant carry out of House Bill 17, allowing the bill to leave committee containing only concealed handgun/purchase permit privacy.
Supported by GRNC, however, Rep. Larry Pittman (R-Cabarrus, ****) threatened a floor fight to return the measure. As pressure from gun owners and his own caucus continued to build, Tillis eventually tasked Reps. Jacqueline Schaffer (R-Mecklenburg, ****) and Justin Burr (R-Montgomery, Stanly, ****) to draft a bill containing restaurant carry, state parking lots and limited campus carry (universities only). To Tillis’ credit, he and Rules Chair Rep. Tim Moore (R-Cleveland, ****) whisked it through the chamber, avoiding weakening amendments.
Once HB 937 went to the Senate, however, Senator Buck Newton (R-Johnston, Nash, Wilson ****) dramatically expanded the bill to improve virtually all aspects. Under the leadership of Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger (R-Guilford, Rockingham, ****) and Rules Chair Tom Apodaca (R-Buncombe, Henderson, Transylvania, ****), the Senate promptly sent the bill back to the House for a concurrence vote.
Then the problems began. The NC Sheriffs’ Association, apparently motivated by money and power, objected to the purchase permit repeal added in the Senate. Governor Pat McCrory (R, ***) immediately buckled and Tillis, apparently loath to cross the Governor, formed a plan to replace the purchase permit repeal with a “study committee.”
On the Senate side, Newton correctly noted that a bill should not, in good conscience, be passed which allowed the flawed and archaic purchase permit system to remain in place. With GRNC input, Newton began putting together stronger alternatives than a study committee.
In negotiations, the House wanted a “pre-conference” resolution of differences before bringing the bill to a vote, but the Senate insisted the House take a concurrence vote and, if they failed to concur, differences would be resolved in conference committee.
Meanwhile, with adjournment pending the clock was ticking. As a means of breaking the impasse, GRNC shopped to the Speaker’s office (and got support for) a partial purchase permit repeal.
But then the NRA stepped in, not only repudiating the partial repeal but also endorsing Tillis’ (and the sheriffs’) study committee. Provided cover by a major gun rights organization, the House dug in its heals.
In response, GRNC pressured both sides to come to a deal, noting that Republicans would be held responsible if the bill failed. Distributing alerts at three gun shows and sending more than 300,000 email alerts to North Carolina gun owning voters, your input flooded email inboxes and shut down phone lines for two successive Monday mornings.
The result, while not the full purchase permit repeal we sought, is considerably stronger than the “study committee” sought by the NC Sheriffs’ Association. Moreover, all other provisions of the stronger Senate version remained intact.
Contact Gov. McCrory ASAP!
Immediate action is required:
- TELL GOV. McCRORY THAT ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS: Call him at 919-814-2000 at 9:00 AM on Monday and email him at: [email protected].
- SIGN THE GRNC PETITION TO McCRORY: Go to: https://grnc.org/pass-h937. Whether or not you have already signed it, forward the link to others and have them sign.
- JOIN OR CONTRIBUTE TO GRNC: We are member-funded and depend on you to give us the resources necessary to defend our rights. If you have joined or contributed, GRNC thanks you. If not, please go to: https://www.grnc.org/join-grnc/contribute.
Thanks to you, we are close to an enormous victory. Now it’s time for the final sprint across the finish line.
Armatissimi e liberissimi, F. Paul Valone President, Grass Roots North CarolinaAbout:
Grass Roots North Carolina/Forum for Firearms Education is a non-profit, all volunteer organization devoted to educating the public about trends which abridge the freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights, and engaging in grass roots activism to preserve those freedoms. Formed in 1994 to conduct a highly successful rally for the Second Amendment, GRNC has gone on to conduct projects like “Remember in November: A Gun Owner’s Guide to Voting,” bringing concealed carry to North Carolina. Visit:www.grnc.org
Thanks John, you did good!
He signed yesterday. I like to think it’s because I called him myself yesterday morning. But it’s law now in North Carolina. Sure took long enough.
On a related note, I had a conversation with the House judiciary committee chairperson (Deborah Ross) last year who never would let the bill advance for so called “political reasons”. I note she no longer is the chair, or even in the legislature now. It must suck to have to find honest work.
THIS IS AMERICA, SPEAK ENGLISH !!!!!
“Armatissimi e liberissimi” is from Machiavelli’s The Prince.
“Armatissimi e liberissimi,”
That’s neither Latin nor English.
Why this Italian sign-off?
Please explain.