RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Senate voted Tuesday along party lines to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of gun rights legislation that includes a repeal of the state’s permit requirement for buying handguns.
Cooper, a Democrat who is currently serving the final two years of his second term, vetoed Senate Bill 41 Friday after it cleared the GOP-controlled legislature earlier this month. On Tuesday, a motion to override Cooper’s veto passed the Senate 30 to 19, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposed.
Support for the bill, particularly the pistol purchase permit repeal, has mostly fallen along party lines. Republicans argue the permitting system is outdated and an unnecessary infringement on Second Amendment rights. Nearly all Democrats argue that it makes little sense to remove an existing safeguard that helps law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
