Judge rejects bid for concealed weapons at NC fair

JONATHAN DREW
Associated Press

RALEIGH, NC (AP) — A Wake County judge has declined to allow concealed carry permit holders to bring their guns to the NC State Fair which opens this week.

Judge Donald Stephens said Monday that he would not grant a preliminary injunction to the group challenging the longstanding ban on guns at the fair.

Thomas Stark, an attorney representing the gun rights group Grass Roots North Carolina, argued that concealed carry permit holders have a high level of proficiency and improve public safety for all fair goers.

Stephens remarked that the law on the matter is a quagmire.

The attorney general’s office argued that lawmakers didn’t intend to allow guns at the fair with a recent change to concealed carry laws and speculated that they would fix any ambiguity in the next session.

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