The N.C. General Assembly may not be reconvening until May, but policymakers are still hard at work on the biggest issues affecting the state. Here’s what you missed this week:
Proposed gun control legislation may change state policies on firearms
North Carolina may join a small group of states that allow a judge to temporarily confiscate firearms from individuals the court finds to be a potential threat to the public.
Drafted by Rep. Marcia Morey, D-Durham, the law would create a system for gun violence restraining orders. This system allows law enforcement, teachers, co-workers and acquaintances with information regarding a potential gun violence threat to ask the court to issue a restraining order on the individual’s firearms.
Some states, like California, Oregon and Washington, have similar laws, but none allow anyone aside from law enforcement, family members, household members and domestic partners to file a petition, unlike Morey’s legislation.
Under Morey’s proposed legislation, firearms would be taken away from the individual for up to 10 days if the judge agrees with the petitioner. Before the weapons can be returned, a hearing is held for the person to defend against the petition. If the judge still deems the individual to be a threat, they would be unable to purchase any firearms and all their guns would remain confiscated for a year.
N.C. legislators hope to reach a compromise on Silent Sam
Democrats in the General Assembly hope to compromise with Silent Sam’s presence — which has conjured strong opinions from many UNC students, faculty and staff — by moving it to a less prominent location on campus.
A potential bill sponsored by N.C. Rep. Verla Insko, D-Orange, hopes to find a legal way to relocate the statue. While not attempting to remove it altogether, Insko and several other Democrats want to move it somewhere inside — like the Ackland Art Museum or Wilson Library — to preserve the history it represents and allow the public to have access.
