‘I know you’re mad as hell’: NC Democrats protest vote on gun bill without amendments

A package of gun rights measures, including a repeal of the state’s permit law for buying handguns, cleared the legislature on Wednesday after a contentious debate and protests by Democrats over a decision by House Speaker Tim Moore not to consider any amendments to the bill.

Senate Bill 41, named “Guarantee 2nd Amend Freedom and Protections,” passed the House by a vote of 70-44 and now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has previously vetoed two of the main gun rights proposals in the bill, including the repeal of the permit requirement.

The House approved the bill after limited floor discussion that was cut short with a motion by GOP Rep. Destin Hall to “move to the previous question,” which effectively ends debate and calls an immediate vote on the bill.

Rep. Robert Reives, the House minority leader, used the three minutes granted to him under the rules of the House to address the entire chamber. He echoed the objections of other Democrats who had submitted amendments and wanted them to be discussed and voted on.

“I would concur that we’re getting to an uncomfortable point,” Reives said. “And I hope folks recognize, at some level, there’s got to be recognition there are other people in the room. And we can choose not to, don’t have to, because under our North Carolina statutes, if you’re in the front of this body, you can do whatever the heck you want. But I think it would be good, going forward, for us to really have conversations about getting heard.”

Reives also spoke directly to his caucus, emphasizing that he understood they were frustrated, but saying that there wasn’t anything he could do.

“I know you’re mad as hell, but these are the rules,” Reives said. “I just want to make sure that we were clear on that, and I want to be clear publicly, so there’s no discussion later about any confusion about what did or didn’t happen, or what we did or did not try.”

Permit repeal at heart of debate

Apart from repealing the state’s pistol permit requirement, which Republicans say is antiquated and unnecessary, SB 41 would also allow people attending religious services at places of worship that also serve as schools, or have attached schools, to carry concealed handguns for their protection.

The bill also authorizes a two-year statewide awareness initiative to promote safe gun storage.

Originally filed as three separate proposals, the measures were combined into a single bill before advancing to the Senate floor last month.

The permit repeal has garnered the most attention from lawmakers and advocates on both sides of the gun debate.

Proponents of the bill have argued that the permits, which handgun buyers have to obtain from their local sheriff’s office, are an arbitrary restriction on people who are legally buying guns and who, in many cases, already go through a federal background check.

They also say that backlogs in permit approvals at certain sheriff’s offices have deprived people of their Second Amendment rights.

Critics of the bill, however, have said that the permits are an effective tool in the hands of local law enforcement, who know their communities well, to ensure that guns don’t get in the wrong hands. They also say repealing the law will create a dangerous loophole for private sales, which are currently covered by the permit requirement.

Speaking on the House floor, GOP Rep. Jeff McNeely of Iredell County said the bill was “a great bill” that “covers all parts of the Second Amendment.”

McNeely sponsored a standalone bill focused solely on expanding concealed carry to churches that also operate as schools, which passed the House last month. A total of six Democrats joined Republicans in approving that bill, but the standalone proposal to repeal the permit law failed to elicit any Democratic support.

Rep. Michael Wray, a Halifax County Democrat who was the only member of his party to sign onto that bill as a sponsor, ultimately voted against it.

Wray was one of three Democrats to vote in favor of the broader gun rights package on Wednesday, however. He was joined by Reps. Shelly Willingham of Edgecombe County and Marvin Lucas of Cumberland County.

Speaker defends blocking amendments

During debate on the House floor, Moore said he had decided not to entertain any amendments in the interest of time, and told Democrats who asked for an explanation that he had discussed his decision with Reives and other leaders from both parties prior to the vote.

The amendments, offered by Reps. John Autry, Deb Butler, Joe John, and Marcia Morey, proposed adding certain measures that Democrats have long pushed to enact, including universal background checks and a red flag law, which Morey has proposed as standalone legislation several times including earlier this month.

“We’re not trying to challenge anyone’s Second Amendment rights; we support that,” Morey said on the House floor, later adding, “All we are trying to do is stop the huge escalation of gun violence.”

Moore said he had told Reives that he wouldn’t bring up the amendments since they weren’t “germane” to the bill. He said he could’ve entertained a motion to move to the previous question right away, but that he wanted to allow lawmakers to be able to discuss the bill.

“Everyone who had an amendment, they were recognized to debate and they had their chance to debate, and in the debate, they actually talked about the things that were in their amendment, and we allowed that to go,” Moore told reporters. “But what we did was we saved the body probably an extra hour of time dealing with amendments that ultimately would not have been adopted.”