Image from flickr.com, CC 2.0 5 June, 2007 by Jim Bowen, cropped and scaled by Dean Weingarten
On 2 July, 2020, the Democrat Governor of North Carolina, Roy Cooper, vetoed Bill H652, also known as "The Second Amendment Protection Act".
From the Bill:
AN ACT TO PROVIDE THAT A PERSON WHO HAS A CONCEALED CARRY HANDGUN PERMIT MAY CARRY A HANDGUN ON EDUCATIONAL PROPERTY THAT IS THE LOCATION OF BOTH A SCHOOL AND A PLACE OF RELIGIOUS WORSHIP AND TO ENACT THE 2ND AMENDMENT PROTECTION ACT OF 2020.
H625 has three other mild and incremental reforms of North Carolina weapons law.
1: Allows a person who allowed their permit to carry to lapse, to renew it within 60 days after the permit expires, without penalty. Similarly the permit may be renewed for up to 120 days, if a qualified refresher course is taken before renewal.
2. The bill allows the head of law enforcement agencies to designate non-sworn employees who can carry with a concealed carry permit in law enforcement facilities.
3. The bill also allows emergency medical services personal to carry with a concealed carry permit if they have completed an approved course.
None of these reforms is a radical transformation of the law. They are reforms which make the law a bit less restrictive. The bill passed with veto proof majorities in the North Carolina General Assembly.
On 25 June, the North Carolina House voted to pass H652, Yes-77, No-38, and 5-absent.
On the same date, the North Carolina Senate voted Y-33, No-14, and 3 absent.
After Govenor Cooper vetoed the bill on 2 July, the General Assembly received H652 back from the Governor the same day. H652 was placed on the calendar for a veto override vote in the House scheduled for 8 July, 2020.
A veto override requires 3/5ths vote of the members present, in both houses. In this case, the bill goes to the House first.
There are 64 Republicans and 56 Democrats in the House. A maximum of 72 votes is needed to override the veto, less if some members are not present.
In the Senate there are 28 Republicans and 21 Democrats with 1 vacancy. A maximum of 30 votes is needed to override the veto.
Governor Cooper has vetoed five other bills which will be on the Calendar for veto review. In addition to the 2nd Amendment Protection Act, there is H918, H806, H686, H258, and H612.
Governor Cooper has has placed the Democrats legislators into a lose - lose situation. If they vote to override the veto, they can be accused of being disloyal to the Democrat Party. If they reverse their previous vote for the bill, they show themselves to be untrustworthy.
Second Amendment rights are popular in North Carolina. It remains to be seen if party loyalty or the desire to be re-elected will win.
The Democrats in the House, who voted for the Second Amendment Protection Act were:
Rep. Beasly, District 92
Rep. Bell, District 21
Rep. Brewer, District 66
Rep. Farmer-Butterfield, District 24
Rep. Floyd Elmer, District 43
Rep. Graham, District 47
Rep. John Sr., District 40
Rep. Lucas, District 42
Rep. Pierce, District 48
Rep. Queen, District 119
Rep. Russell, District 93
Rep. Turner, District 116
Rep. Wray, District 27
Of those 13 Democrats, 8 will need to vote with all 64 Republicans, to ensure a veto override if all members are present for the veto override.
If the 5 Democrats who were absent for the vote to pass the bill remain absent for the veto override vote, only 5 of the 13 Democrats who originally voted for the bill will be needed to override the veto.
©2020 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.
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3 comments:
sue the governor.
The U.S. Supreme court made a ruling many years ago that said If you take a course once and pass it wit a passing grade it is good for the rest of your life. Colleges were making a fortune requiring students to re take courses they had all ready passed for each degree they wanted. the thinking was that no ones degrees would stand up if a few years passed. If you learned it once well enough to pass you retained the material. I'm sure there are a few supreme court justices are pleased with that earlier ruling. If you take any course and never use the information. You might need to refresh. but if you have been carrying for self defense and forgot you don't need a gun you need a keeper.
Read more: https://www.ammoland.com/2020/07/rogue-republicans-and-democrats-join-forces-to-uphold-nc-governor-veto-of-gun-reform/#ixzz6RtVWLLGB
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Dean, 5 Republicans did not "change their vote." They had an excused absence from leadership from ALL votes that day, presumably for solid reasons. (Thanks to Eric Holder's lawsuits to overturn districts and Gov. Cooper's vetoes against reopening the state, the legislature has been in session since basically forever.) And they most certainly did not "join forces" with Democrats.
Nor would it have made a difference if they had been present, since the Democrats would have simply allotted fewer votes for the bill, given that Republicans do not hold the required 3/5 majority to overturn a gubernatorial veto.
This failure results directly from 6 Democrats who changed their vote due to pressure from their party leadership. I would appreciate it if you could edit the piece to reflect this.
Dean, I generally support your writings, but this one is wrong in a number of respects. Moreover, it can cause us problems just as Eric Holder and Michael Bloomberg are trying to turn NC "blue" just as they did in Virginia. Please remove or change this article. You can contact me at president@grnc.org if you have questions.
Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
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