Jim Crow-era gun control laws are up for debate in North Carolina once again, the state has been trying hard to repeal these prejudicial laws that were at one point used to discriminate against African-American gun owners. Now the state may finally repeal these relics of history despite the gun control lobby pushing to keep them in place, we have covered the bizarre tapestry of support for these laws in a previous piece you can read here.
The Jim Crow-era gun control in question is the pistol purchase permit laws the state of North Carolina has, these laws force residents of the state to get a permit from law enforcement before they can purchase handguns. This law was put into place during the Jim Crow era as a means of preventing African Americans from getting handguns, now they serve as a way to complicate the process of buying a gun. In regards to public safety, this law serves as a redundant step in the process of ensuring dangerous criminals do not legally obtain firearms as the current background check system satisfies this need.
House Bill 398 is the legislation that aims to take down this Jim Crow-era law, the bill simply repeals the Pistol Purchase Permit laws, it is not a workaround like other pieces of legislation as it simply repeals the previous law. House Bill 398 has passed the House and the Senate in North Carolina, note that both of these chambers are dominated by Republicans.
Since the bill has passed both chambers of the State Congress it is on its way to the Governor’s desk. North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper is a Democrat and has remained relatively quiet about the legislation, that being said even if Cooper were to veto the bill the state House and Senate still have the majority required to override the veto.
The decision to repeal this law is a no-brainer. The law is not only archaic and redundant, but the law has ties to a racist history. It could be argued as a political win for the governor if he passes the legislation, he would also garner a degree of support from North Carolina’s gun owners by repealing a gun control law.
Edit: House Bill 398 is in North Carolina, not South Carolina as previously mentioned in the article. The article has been updated to accurately reflect the story and its details.Â
