North Carolina
North Carolina has a mix of strong and weak gun laws. North Carolina requires a person to obtain a permit before purchasing a handgun, which includes a criminal background check. State law also prohibits people from possessing firearms if they are subject to domestic violence restraining orders—and requires them to give up the firearms they already own.
To become a safer state, North Carolina could strengthen its laws by expanding its permit requirement to apply to all gun sales, not just handgun sales. It can also expand its domestic violence laws to prohibit people from possessing firearms who have been convicted of misdemeanor crimes of domestic violence. The state could also pass an Extreme Risk law, which would empower loved ones or law enforcement to intervene in order to temporarily prevent someone in crisis from accessing firearms.
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