A permitless carry bill is one step closer to becoming law in North Carolina after the state Senate approved the legislation along party lines on Thursday, less than a week after it received its first committee hearing. 

SB 50, authored by Sen. Danny Britt, passed by a vote of 26-18 with four Republicans and two Democrats absent, but not before several amendments were adopted. Thankfully, the changes have nothing to do with permitless carry itself; instead dealing with things like increasing the amount of money paid out in line of duty deaths and creating a couple of new criminal offenses.

One of Britt’s amendments would increase the punishment for committing an assault with a firearm against certain emergency, medical, and law enforcement personnel. Violators would be guilty of a Class D felony, which has a maximum penalty of 5 to 10 years in prison.

A second amendment from Britt changes the bill text so that a person who discharges a firearm during the commission or attempted commission of a felony becomes guilty of a Class C felony. These offenses carry a maximum penalty of 10 to 25 years in prison.

“That would be an additional sentence someone would get if they were convicted of a felony while discharging a firearm,” Britt said.

Under Britt’s third amendment, a person who possesses a firearm during the commission or attempted commission of a felony will be guilty of a Class F or Class G felony.

Failed amendments dealt with requiring security systems in certain buildings — schools, government buildings, and hospitals — and strengthening gun laws at certain locations — for example, places selling alcohol, state property, parades, and schools.

The House companion measure is also moving quickly in the lower chamber, and Democrats are trying to rally opposition to the legislation, which is guaranteed to be vetoed by Democrat Gov. Josh Stein if and when it reaches his desk. 

House Democratic Leader Robert Reives (D-Chatham, Randolph) described the legislation as a “recipe for disaster.”

“This would make North Carolinians less safe and people understand that,” Reives said in a statement. “Either of these bills becoming law would make North Carolina a more dangerous place.”

Rep. Terry Clark (D-Guilford) held a press conference condemning the bills immediately following the Senate’s vote on SB 50.

She accused Republican legislators of pushing the measures through without listening to community members and their wishes.

“They have rushed this through because they know if they actually took the time to hear from law enforcement, gun violence survivors, domestic violence victims and our constituents at large, it would become blatantly clear that the majority of North Carolinians do not want this,” Clark said.

North Carolina would be the 30th state to adopt permitless carry, and not one of the 29 states that have already signed on have seen fit to repeal the statute because it proved to be a disaster to public safety. It's also downright insulting for Clark to accuse Republicans of "rushing" this bill through when Second Amendment advocates (and legislators like Britt) have been pushing for permitless carry over multiple sessions. We've had years of debate over the particulars of SB 50 and HB 5, so lawmakers have had the chance to hear from both sides of the issue long before Thursday's vote was cast. 

The House is expected to approve its own permitless carry bill soon, but because of some differences between SB 50 and HB 5 the legislation may need to go to a conference committee before both chambers give their final sign-off. After that, the bill will head to Stein's desk, where he'll veto the measure (with plenty of comment, I'm guessing). Then it will be up to the House and Senate to override Stein's veto, which is where things will get really interesting. 

The Senate has a veto-proof majority of Republicans, so as long as they're all present and on board permitless carry should clear the upper chamber with enough votes to override the governor. In the House, however, Republicans are one vote shy of a veto-proof majority, so either one Democrat will have to sign on, or House leadership will have to wait until at least one Democrat is absent from the chamber before bringing the bill up for an override attempt. 

Permitless carry isn't guaranteed to become law in North Carolina this year, and gun owners need to be in contact with their House members to encourage them to support the measure. Even then it will probably take a bit of luck for either SB 50 or HB 5 to take effect, but for now the process is proceeding as expected.