North Carolina looks near to passing a law allowing 18+ adults to conceal-carry without a permit or any sort of endorsed safety training. If it passes, it will join at least 15 other states that already have this law in place.
What’s the point? What's *wrong* with a permit right now?
Concealed-carry permit holders commit crime at less than the national average already. In carry classes, handgun owners learn gun safety AND responsibility...reasonable force, walk away first, etc.
I believe the 2nd Amendment does, at the very least, grant the right to keep and bear modern personal arms on one’s property without restriction. We can debate whether or not that extends to public areas, etc. I support the ability to conceal carry, but only with a permit, for several reasons. I also support national reciprocity so that permits hold across state lines.
I've always been pretty suspicious of handguns though, re: their necessity and effectiveness. They're inaccurate at any decent range, they're easily mishandled, fired, and accessed by those who may not be trained to use them properly. They're easily trafficked and easily concealed.
Is it REALLY an 'infringement’ to require safety training and permitting in order to conceal-carry in public? Is it a violation of an individual right to keep and bear arms to require the gun is exposed so people can see it? I just don't think it a burden or an infringement, nor do I buy the ‘slippery slope’ argument from some gun owners opposing permitting for concealed carry.