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On Tuesday, North Carolina lawmakers approved a bill allowing gun owners with concealed-carry permits to bring their
weapons to playgrounds, bars, and public recreation areas, although bar owners
will still be permitted to deny entry to armed patrons. Gov. Pat McCrory (R) is
expected to sign the expansive bill into law soon. The measure will also allow
concealed-carry permit holders to keep their guns in cars parked on school
campuses. The bill was stripped of an especially extreme provision that would have eliminated the
requirement for background checks or handgun permits.
Since the Newtown
elementary school shooting, legislation to put guns in more places is gaining
traction among Republican lawmakers, who argue that gun-free zones leave people
unarmed and vulnerable to attack. But North Carolina’s plan to put guns in bars
poses a far greater danger. Shootings involving alcohol are all too common. Nearly half of all homicides are preceded by some sort of argument, frequently a drunken fight
over a perceived insult. Moreover, an estimated 40 percent of men and 30
percent of women who killed someone were drinking alcohol at the time.
Gun owners also tend to abuse alcohol at far higher rates than people who do not own guns, engaging in risky behaviors like binge drinking and drunk driving.
Undeterred by this data,
North Carolina Republicans embraced the bill along with an onslaught of radical
legislation targeting poor people,
women, and minorities. Residents are fighting back with widespread “Moral
Monday” protests. As of this week, 900 North Carolinians have been arrested in these demonstrations.
Other Republican
legislatures have recently pushed similar bills to put guns in bars in Georgia, South Carolina, and Louisiana.
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