The fight to make North Carolina the 30th state to recognize that the right to carry shouldn't come with a state-issued permission slip is far from over, but things are headed in the right direction in Raleigh. 

On Tuesday the Senate Judiciary Committee gave its approval to SB 50, while the House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to take up its companion measure (HB 5) today. As expected, support and opposition to the Senate bill fell along party lines in the Judiciary Committee, with Democrats offering unfounded complaints about the potential consequences of permitless carry. 

Republicans like Sen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, want to allow anyone who hasn't been convicted of certain crimes to carry concealed guns if they're over 18.

"Law-abiding citizens should be allowed to constitutionally carry," Britt said. "We believe they should be able to constitutionally carry without having to jump through the hoops that you do for a concealed carry permit."

But Democrats like Sen. Mujtaba Mohammed, D-Mecklenburg, say the change would endanger law enforcement officers and the public. They argue the permit requirement helps police take action against people who shouldn't be carrying a concealed gun.

"You're going to kill police officers with this bill," Mohammed told his Republican colleagues.

Durham County Sheriff Clarence Birkhead also spoke out against the bill during Tuesday's meeting.

"This will undermine public safety, and I think we should take our time ... to study this a little bit more to get some more data and have conversations with law enforcement," Birkhead said.

The N.C. Sheriffs Association hasn't yet taken a position for or against the bill, he added.

There are 29 states that have already adopted permitless or Constitutional carry, and not one of them has seen fit to repeal the law. If permitless carry was as dangerous as Mohammed claims, at least one of those states would have rolled back the law and require individuals to once again obtain a permit or license before they can legally bear arms. Instead, it's been a non-issue, even in states like Vermont and Maine where Democrats are in control of the statehouse. 

Britt argued that other states that eliminated their permit requirements ultimately saw a drop in crime. But Sen. Lisa Grafstein, D-Wake, pointed out that crime rates have been on the decline in many places, and the two things aren't necessarily connected.

I don't think that Britt was arguing that permitless carry automatically leads to a reduction in crime. But it's absolutely true that permitless carry doesn't automaticaly lead to an increase in crime either, despite the dire predictions of anti-gunners like Mohammed and others. 

That stands to reason. We know that a majority (or at least a plurality) of violent crimes are committed by a very small group of individuals who are well known to law enforcement and prosecutors. Those prolific offenders, comprised of about 1% of the population, account for as much as 63% of violent felony convictions, according to one study. These individuals can't lawfully carry under any circumstances, so permitless carry doesn't apply or impact them in any way. 

With Republicans one vote shy of a supermajority in the state House, the prospects of permitless carry becoming law in North Carolina this year are still murky, but at least the bills are moving this session; a big change from the previous couple of years when Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger refused to prioritize the legislation. This year Berger's on board, and with an outpouring of support from gun owners and a little bit of luck North Carolina could become the 30th state in the Union to embrace permitless carry.