In the aftermath of a mass shooting, two views on gun legislation in NC

Welcome to NC Voices, where leaders, readers and experts from across North Carolina can speak on issues affecting our communities. Send submissions of 350 words or fewer to opinion@newsobserver.com.

My gun bill focuses on safe storage

The writer is a Republican state senator.

Over the last 12 months, questions have arisen about a bill I introduced in 2021 and would like to reintroduce in 2023. It’s House Bill 427, Firearm Safe Storage Awareness Initiative. Last year, it passed almost unanimously in the N.C. House. I am hopeful we can move this bill out of the Senate during the 2023 session.

This bill will promote gun safety while not infringing on this important Constitutional right.

The intent of the bill is simply to educate the ever-growing community of gun owners who are not aware of common-sense safety issues.

A record number of women, seniors and young adults have purchased handguns over the last several years. Many are first-time owners. And many were unaware of the availability of gun locks and how to properly use them and gun safes made for quick accessibility.

We are in trying times in this state and this country. The number of suicides has risen drastically over the last few years. I have experienced this issue and if the person I know not been able to access a gun so easily, we could have avoided an unnecessary death. Often a simple moment of despair results in a tragedy such as suicide and given another opportunity it could have been avoided.

My bill is very clear and is not to be used as a platform against gun ownership. I am a strong supporter of the Second Amendment and have been endorsed in every election by the NRA. I have also been a primary cosponsor on multiple pro-Second Amendment bills.

There have been a couple of recommendations put forth by fellow Senate members that will strengthen the bill, and I am confident that this is something we can get past in the 2023 session.

I know there is more in the General Assembly that Republicans and Democrats agree on than we disagree on. I firmly believe it is our responsibility as legislators to do what we can to protect and educate our citizens.

Bobby Hanig

NC GOP isn’t doing enough on guns

The writer is a gun violence prevention advocate.

I recently attended the community vigil for Raleigh’s Oct. 13 mass shooting. The crowd was quiet. The city is still in shock.

I’ve been to too many community vigils over the last decade, and I have implored elected officials in Raleigh to do their jobs and put protecting our families before guns.

Democrats in North Carolina have repeatedly tried to pass sensible gun laws, only to be stonewalled by Republicans.

Even with survivors of gun violence seated in the gallery of the North Carolina Legislative Building, Republican leaders have failed to act, sometimes even ridiculing Democratic colleagues who were trying to prioritize gun safety.

Instead of strengthening sensible gun laws after the Newtown tragedy, the GOP remained unmoved in their mistaken position that more guns make us more safe. If this were the case, we would be the safest nation in the world.

Gunshots are now the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in the U.S. As I returned home from the Raleigh vigil, I learned that the 15-year-old daughter of a Fayetteville City Councilwoman was found shot to death. A shooting in Oxford, N.C. injured six people. St. Louis. Oakland. Phoenix. Raleigh. We are experiencing a record number of gun deaths in the United States.

Republican lawmakers in North Carolina have repeatedly tried to repeal the state’s pistol purchase permitting system, a system that works to keep guns out of the hands of people who would harm themselves or someone else.

And GOP leadership claims “It’s not the guns, it’s mental health,” but they block Medicaid expansion and refuse to fully fund mental health professionals in N.C. schools. According to the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, N.C. schools currently have an average of one licensed psychologist for 1,815 students.

Republican majorities in Raleigh have failed us. To move forward on gun legislation, N.C. voters must first protect Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto power so that he does not lose it to a Republican supermajority.

Whether you identify as a Democrat or not, Democrats are without question the party of action on gun issues in North Carolina and they deserve your vote on Nov. 8.

Kaaren Haldeman, Durham