Could Georgia’s relaxed gun laws mean new business for North Carolina?

If there’s one thing Gov. Roy Cooper loves, it’s being a cheerleader for North Carolina. He’s been traveling the state to celebrate new jobs coming to the state. A few weeks ago, he went on CNBC to celebrate the state’s designation as the best in the country for business. And on Monday, he pitched NC as the new location for Music Midtown, the Atlanta-based festival that announced this week that it would be canceling its 2022 event.

“Come on up to North Carolina,” the governor said on Twitter and Facebook. “We’re ready to welcome you to one of our amazing outdoor spaces to help you host a fun and safe festival.”

The word “safe” is key here. While LiveNation (the group behind Music Midtown) has declined to comment on the cancellation, journalists have linked the decision to a 2014 law that permits people to be visibly armed on public property. In 2019, the Georgia Supreme Court decided this included private events on public land such as, say, a giant music festival at a park owned by the city of Atlanta.

An appellate court upheld that decision this year, leaving festival organizers vulnerable to lawsuits if they go on with the festival with their current restrictions on guns. No lawsuit has actually been filed, but the threat was brought up by Patrick Evans, the man behind the initial state Supreme Court case. Organizers who spoke anonymously with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution also addressed the possibility that artists would back out of the event if guns were permitted in the crowd.

North Carolina is no stranger to losing business over bad policy. In 2017, the Associated Press calculated that the transphobic “Bathroom Bill,” H.B. 2, would cost the state $3.7 billion over 12 years. While parts of the bill were repealed by H.B. 142, and the provision of that bill prohibiting anti-discrimination laws was lifted in 2020, the state still lost out on at least 1,400 jobs and between $450 and $630 million in the months following the bill’s passing. The film industry in Wilmington stalled thanks to H.B. 2 and changes in incentives for moviemakers, coincidentally moving some of those sets to Georgia.

Of course, North Carolina isn’t perfect. While we still have abortion access and have not legislated trans people out of existence, we are still at risk of both of these things and more. North Carolina has a mixed relationship with guns, too. Folks with the right permits are allowed to open carry firearms, but can’t bring them to public spaces where they are explicitly prohibited, like schools or private events at parks.

North Carolina Republicans need to take note of the backlash Georgia is facing. If they don’t want to consider the myriad of other reasons why gun laws need to be strengthened, or voting rights need to be protected, or abortions need to be an option, they should at least consider the economic impacts. Swinging toward the extreme right is not good for attracting events and businesses to your state.

Aside from the practical, there’s also the issue of cultural reputation. Atlanta is considered a southern hub for music; North Carolina, as a whole, does not have the same association. We have several midsize festivals, but they all tend to fit into specific genres: EDM at Charlotte’s Breakaway, hip-hop at Dreamville, etc. Relocating Music Midtown here could set us up for success in the music business, and highlight some of the local record labels and acts who live in the area. They could also decide we aren’t cool enough.

Still, Music Midtown seems like an event the governor, business owners, and music fans would love to see move here. Mary Scott Winstead, Cooper’s deputy communications director, said in an email that there have been no formal talks with the festival’s planners, but it’s something they’re open to.

“The Governor is constantly promoting North Carolina as a destination for business, special events, travel and tourism,” Winstead told me.

The festival, for its part, has not responded to me, a News & Observer reporter, or the governor. The festival was canceled outright, so people who bought tickets are in the process of being refunded. If the festival really were to move to North Carolina, it’s unlikely that they’d be able to finish planning in such a short time.

But if they are, North Carolina would provide something that Georgia can’t — at least for now.