North Carolina is not one of the states where campus carry is the law of the land. Even if you have a valid concealed carry permit, bearing arms on a college or university campus is a criminal offense in the state.

What happens when someone is charged with violating the law, however, demonstrates that the current statute is essentially toothless when it comes to preventing or punishing offenders. Take the case of 19-year-old Christopher Anthony Allen, for instance. The teen is currently being held without bond in the Forsyth County jail after he was arrested for allegedly taking place in a drive-by shooting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina last Monday... just a few weeks after he was sentenced for illegally carrying a gun on the campus of Winston-Salem State University. 

On May 15, Allen pleaded guilty under a plea deal with the Forsyth County District Attorney’s Office to possession of a gun on educational property, resisting an officer and carrying a concealed weapon. Allen also pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana, attempted trafficking in opium and carrying a concealed gun.

Judge Jason Ramey of Forsyth Superior Court gave Allen, who according to local authorities is a confirmed gang member, a suspended prison sentence of one year and 10 months to three years and 10 months and placed Allen on probation for three years.

Ramey also ordered Allen to serve four months in the jail, and Allen was released from custody on June 21.

Not only did Allen get probation instead of prison time, his four-month jail stay ended up being about five weeks long. 

Allen was 17 when he was arrested outside a WSSU dorm in April, 2023 with drugs and a stolen handgun. The teen spent several months in custody before posting bond, but was arrested once again in February of this year on drug and weapons charges after he and a female companion were found passed out in the lobby of a hotel. When officers searched Allen they discovered a stolen gun, along with dozens of pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine, along with a small baggie of marijuana. Despite the fact that this was the second time Allen was found with a stolen gun, the judge still gave Allen a sweetheart deal when he was sentenced for bringing a gun onto campus a few months later. 

At Allen’s court hearing, Ramey urged Allen to change his life.

“I am very concerned that you are going to die because of drugs or you are going to die because of gun violence,” Ramey told Allen. “You can blame society, and you will be dead. We are giving you a second chance.”

If Ramey was so concerned with Allen's behavior, why did he give the 19-year-old a "second chance" instead of removing him from society for as long as the law allows? 

Now Allen is being held without bond in the Forsyth County jail, and is likely facing at least a short prison stint if he's convicted on the most recent charges. But if known gang members can wander around a university with a stolen firearm and get away with probation, I'd say it's long past time for lawmakers in North Carolina to adopt a campus carry bill that allows for those with concealed carry permits to lawfully protect themselves on college and university campuses. The current prohibition clearly isn't doing much to stop bad actors from bringing guns onto campus. It's just stopping lawful gun owners from being able to protect themselves from people like Allen.