December is an exciting time of year. Some people are focused on the upcoming holidays, others on the chance of snow flurries. Here at the School of Government, we’re paying close attention to new legislation, much of which takes effect on December 1 of each year. This post focuses on 2025 changes to North Carolina laws concerning firearms. The legislature has already enacted several significant provisions, with one more still awaiting a possible veto override. Creation of new aggravated felon-in-possession offenses and new sentencing enhancements for burglary and breaking or entering offenses. S.L. 2025-71. Under G.S. 14-415.1, a person who has been convicted of a felony and subsequently possesses a firearm is guilty of a Class G felony. This year, the General Assembly created several aggravated variants of the offense. Possession of a firearm by a felon becomes a Class F felony if committed “during the commission or attempted commission of” most felonies; a Class D felony if the person “brandishes a firearm or a weapon of mass death and destruction during the commission or attempted commission of” most felonies; and a Class C felony if the person “discharges a firearm or a weapon of mass death and destruction during the commission or attempted commission of” most felonies. The revised statute bears some resemblance to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), a federal provision that imposes progressively more severe penalties for a defendant who possesses, brandishes, or discharges a firearm in connection with a crime of violence or a drug trafficking offense. The [...]
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