Gun shop owner and lawmaker react to concealed carry bill

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A bill that has passed the state house would expand who can carry a concealed weapon.

WWAY spoke to Representative Deb Butler and a gun shop manager to to see what they think about this possible change.

House Bill 746 lets more people carry a gun in public in North Carolina.

If it becomes law, anyone over the age of 18 may carry a handgun opening or concealed without a concealed handgun permit.

“I think the bill is wonderful, and I think there is a lot of misrepresentation and a lot of fear out there for people who don’t understand what this bill is,” Surf City Guns and Ammo Manager Dorothy Royal said.

Royal thinks this will be a positive for gun owners.

Representative Deb Butler, a democrat, has a different opinion of the bill.

“American citizens have a constitutional right, of course, to own a gun and defend themselves,” Butler said. “That is a constitutional right, and I respect that, but there are also reasonable limitations on gun ownerships. You must be mentally fit, you must not be a convicted felon, you must not be drinking alcohol, so we place regulations on gun ownership and on carrying guns and reasonable gun owners believe in that, the public believes in that so to do away with a permit process for carrying a concealed hand gun I think is the wrong approach for gun violence. ”

There would still be places where you cannot carry a gun, and concealed carry classes are still available to take.

For those with concerns, Royal hopes the community will not worry about guns getting into the wrong hands.

“A person who is a criminal doesn’t care about the laws anyways a person who is law abiding is already allowed to carry open so all this is doing is taking the pressure off the community and i say that because when people walk around with guns on their hips, which they are legally allowed to do it makes some people uncomfortable,” Royal said.

The bill is waiting on Senate approval next.