By Jordan Stein
North Carolina – -(AmmoLand.com)- There’s a “virus” — far more deadly than COVID-19 — spreading in North Carolina. This is the plague of gun control, which has historically been used by tyrants to kill hundreds of millions of people.
The latest “epidemic” is coming from local ordinances that are being rewritten to effectively ban shooting on private property.
North Carolina law is requiring local ordinances to be updated and reorganized.
While getting rid of old and obsolete ordinances is probably a good idea, anti-gunners are trying to sneak in restrictions that should gravely concern property owners and gun owners.
Consider, in Rockingham County, a proposed ordinance would have required a shooter to not only be a half-mile from any residence to discharge a firearm, but also have a 15-foot berm as a backstop.
Any gun owner can see how ridiculous, impractical, and unenforceable this proposal was. If this went into effect, shooting on private property in Rockingham would have been effectively outlawed, unless a landowner owned significant acreage with few neighbors.
Thankfully, due to the outcry from gun owners — especially those who flooded the County Commissioner’s meeting — the proposal was fully withdrawn.
Another attack on private shooting occurred just to the South in Guilford County. The Democrat-led commission sought to require over 16 acres of land to comply with the ordinance and discharge a firearm on one’s own property.
Gun owners again turned out in large numbers and flooded the chambers to oppose the proposal. Of the members of the public who signed up to speak, nine supported the restriction, but thirty-five signed up opposed. Andy Stevens, my colleague at GOA, and I both spoke out against the ordinance.
It appears the surge of emails and residents flooding the Commissioner’s meeting has worked — at least for now. As of the time this article was written, Guilford has backed away from further restricting private property shooting.
Yet, the attack on private property and shooting did not end in Guilford. Just an hour’s drive down Interstate 85, Cabarrus County also considered a private property shooting ban. This Ordinance required effectively 23 acres of land to shoot on one’s own property unless one had written permission from his or her neighbors.
Again, due to the turnout of gun owners, the idea was tabled for a later meeting.
It’s said that eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, and that is very true in this instance. While Gun Owners of America and our friends at Grass Roots North Carolina are watching out for shooting bans, property and gun owners across the Tar Heel state need to keep a close eye on what their local, elected officials are proposing. Keep them accountable; be there to speak out against any restrictions.
If property and gun owners stand together, this gun control “virus” can be eradicated. Our rights depend on it!
Jordan Stein is the Director of Communications for Gun Owners of America and a North Carolina resident. Follow him on Twitter: @jordankstein.
Gun Owners of America
Gun Owners of America has previously supported the right of members and staff to carry firearms on Capitol Hill for self-defense, as GOA supports the rights of all law-abiding citizens to carry firearms in their workplace. Gun Owners of America is a grassroots organization representing more than two million gun owners nationwide and is dedicated to protecting the right to keep and bear arms without compromise.
