Great News:

North Carolina has finally passed a reciprocity bill into law!  The
Governor of NC, who is not particularly pro-gun, signed the bill into
law on Saturday!  VCDL would like to thank Grassroots North Carolina,
North Carolina gun owners, and those many VCDL members who took the
time to make those calls and write those emails.  Grassroots activism
has pulled another victory.

Virginia is a shoe-in for reciprocity since we already recognize
North Carolina - that is the ONLY requirement for NC to recognize
another state.

**NOTE:  the law does not become effective until 60 days from June
14th.  Do not carry in NC until that date passes and VCDL gets the
green light from the NC Attorney General's office.  We will advise
when all is OK. **

NC gun laws are not nearly as good as in VA - for example, you can't
carry anywhere they sell tickets (like a theater), in restaurants
that serve alcohol (neither concealed OR openly), in a bank, or on
posted private property.  But it is still going to make NC a lot
safer for us.  Hopefully they will continue to work to improved their
gun laws.

If you want to learn more about NC concealed carry and other NC gun
laws go to the following incredible site:

www.packing.org

and then go to the North Carolina page.

Here is the law that was passed on Saturday:


GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA
SESSION 2003
SESSION LAW 2003-199
SENATE BILL 33

AN ACT TO PROVIDE RECIPROCAL CONCEALED HANDGUN RIGHTS TO
CONCEALED HANDGUN PERMIT HOLDERS OF OTHER STATES.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1. Article 54B of Chapter 14 of the General Statutes is amended
by adding a new section to read:

"§ 14-415.24. Reciprocity; out-of-state handgun permits.
(a) A valid concealed handgun permit or license issued by another
state is valid
in North Carolina if that state grants the same right to residents of
North Carolina who
have valid concealed handgun permits issued pursuant to this Article
in their possession
while carrying concealed weapons in that state.
(b) The Attorney General shall maintain a registry of states that meet the
requirements of this section on the North Carolina Criminal
Information Network and
make the registry available to law enforcement officers for
investigative purposes.
(c) Every 12 months after the effective date of this subsection, the
Department of
Justice shall make written inquiry of the concealed handgun
permitting authorities in
each other state as to: (i) whether a North Carolina resident may
carry a concealed
handgun in their state based upon having a valid North Carolina
concealed handgun
permit and (ii) whether a North Carolina resident may apply for a
concealed handgun
permit in that state based upon having a valid North Carolina concealed handgun
permit. The Department of Justice shall attempt to secure from each
state permission for
North Carolina residents who hold a valid North Carolina concealed
handgun permit to
carry a concealed handgun in that state, either on the basis of the
North Carolina permit
or on the basis that the North Carolina permit is sufficient to
permit the issuance of a
similar license or permit by the other state."

SECTION 2. G.S. 14-269(a1) reads as rewritten:
"(a1) It shall be unlawful for any person willfully and intentionally to carry
concealed about his person any pistol or gun except in the following
circumstances:
(1) The person is on the person's own premises.
(2) The deadly weapon is a handgun, and the person has a concealed
handgun permit issued in accordance with Article 54B of this Chapter.
Chapter or considered valid under G.S. 14-415.24."
Page 2 Session Law 2003-199 Senate Bill 33

SECTION 3. G.S. 14-415.24(b), as enacted by this act, is effective when
this act becomes law. The Attorney General shall implement G.S.
14-415.24(b), as
enacted by Section 1 of this act, within 60 days after this act
becomes law. The
remainder of this act becomes effective 60 days after this act becomes law.
In the General Assembly read three times and ratified this the 4th day of June,
2003.

s/ Beverly E. Perdue
President of the Senate
s/ Richard T. Morgan
Speaker of the House of Representatives
s/ Michael F. Easley
Governor
Approved 8:16 a.m. this 14th day of June, 2003

***************************************************************************

VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc. (VCDL).
VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization dedicated to
defending the human rights of all Virginians.  The membership considers the
right to keep and bear arms an essential human right.

VCDL web page:  http://www.vcdl.org

WooHooooo