The General Assembly has passed H 937, which awaits the Governor’s signature. It is an omnibus gun bill, following rather closely on the heels of the omnibus firearms bill enacted in 2011, which I covered in part here. Assuming that it becomes law – and I am not aware of any prospect of a veto [update: it has been signed by the Governor] – at least two of its provisions will have a substantial effect on the criminal justice system. The bill: Creates the new status offense of armed habitual felon, which generally provides that a person who has been convicted of one “firearm-related felony,” and commits a second, shall be sentenced as a Class C felon with a minimum 120 month prison term. Expands the gun enhancement in G.S. 15A-1340.16A to apply to all felonies, rather than just Class A through Class E felonies. The enhancement now adds 72 months, rather than 60, to prison terms for Class A through Class E felonies; 36 months to Class F and Class G felonies; and 12 months to Class H and Class I felonies. The bill makes a number of other changes, generally designed to expand the rights of gun owners, particularly concealed handgun permit holders. It: Amends G.S. 14-269 and G.S. 14-269.2 to allow concealed handgun permit holders to bring firearms onto school grounds and into parking lots for state government facilities so long the firearms are “in a closed compartment or container within the person’s locked vehicle.” Amends G.S. 14-269.3 [...]
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