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April 22, 2024
The Honorable Phil Berger, Senate President Pro Tempore
16 West Jones Street, Room 2007
Raleigh, NC 27601
Dear Senator Berger:
Please accept my thanks for the work done by you and Senate Republicans in passing Senate Bill 41, “Guarantee 2nd Amend Freedom and Protections.” I confess, however, that I was taken aback when I heard you say the following: “We have passed a substantial bill dealing with some concerns about the Second Amendment. We have done away with the pistol purchase permit which was the number one goal of many of the gun rights groups for a long period of time. I just don’t know if there is a need for us to delve into additional issues dealing with guns.” [Emphasis added]
Your perception of “need” aside, I’m sure you agree that restoration of constitutionally-guaranteed freedoms should not be rationed. Over the decades, Americans’ rights – including the right to carry firearms for self-protection – have been steadily eroded. It was certainly not the Framers’ intention that a governmental permission slip be required to carry firearms, concealed or otherwise. House Bill 189, “Freedom to Carry NC,” is intended to restore the Framers’ ideals.
As I told Cam Edwards on Townhall Media’s highly popular “Cam & Co.”: “I guess it's not a Bill of Rights anymore but a Bill of Needs, and the person who’s going to decide whether we ‘need’ Constitutional Carry or not is Phil Berger, self-appointed arbiter of needs.”
In passing constitutional carry, twenty-nine states have now done what North Carolina should have done long ago. That means North Carolina Republicans are now trailing the GOP in other states which have made significant inroads in restoring constitutional freedoms too long curtailed.
Although Republicans undoubtedly want support from gun voters in November, the reality is that North Carolina now falls within a distinct minority of “red” states which have failed to restore constitutionally guaranteed freedoms to their citizens, which may suppress critical voter turnout.
As you will see in coming days, thousands of North Carolinians have already signed GRNC’s petition for passage of HB 189. I strongly urge you to use the opportunity, created by a supermajority which gun voters helped you secure, to join the twenty-nine other states which have now adopted some form of permitless or “constitutional” concealed carry by giving an immediate vote to HB 189.
Armatissimi e liberissimi,*
F. Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Executive Director, Rights Watch International
Radio host, Guns, Politics and Freedom
* First spoken by Niccolo Machiavelli, the father of modern power politics, with reference to the universally armed and therefore unconquerable Swiss, Armatissimi e liberissimi means “most armed, most free.” As an expression of the importance of the right to arms to freedom, it is GRNC’s credo.
Grass Roots North Carolina
Post Office Box 10665, Raleigh, NC 27605
Ph: 877.282.0939 Fax: 919.573.0354 www.GRNC.org
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The five lies of ‘children killed by guns’ F. Paul Valone, “The Anti-Radical” |
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“Guns in the U.S. kill more kids than any other cause.” So went the shocking opener from a recent documentary by Raleigh, NC news station WRAL. It would be horrific … if it were true. The WRAL hit piece opens with a frantic 911 call about “Jenesis,” a child accidentally killed in her babysitters’ home. |
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It follows with three news accounts of small children killed in gun-related accidents before presenting “The Big Lie” above, followed by a supposed “expert” filling in with “…more than cancer, and now more than motor vehicle crashes.”
The truth about accidental gun deaths among children The WRAL lie has become the latest “factoid” that “everybody knows” – repeated ad infinitum by the ostensibly mainstream media up to and including CNN. In truth, accidental gun deaths have declining among children for decades… … What we have is not a gun problem, it is an urban gang problem centered on black males… |
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Grass Roots North Carolina
Post Office Box 10665, Raleigh, NC 27605
Ph: 877.282.0939 Fax: 919.573.0354 www.GRNC.org
| Misrepresenting gun tracing to smear a U.S. senator | |
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F. Paul Valone, “The Anti-Radical” On gun issues, never underestimate the capacity of leftist media to distort, obfuscate, and downright lie. If they can simultaneously smear a pro-Second Amendment legislator, so much the better. Such was the piece by McClatchy newspapers, which recently spun an elaborate yarn based on firearm tracing reports and false accusations against Second Amendment defender Senator Ted Budd (R-NC). And what was Sen. Budd’s “crime?” Owning a gun shop and firing range named “ProShots” … Read the full article on Townhall.com! |
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F Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Executive Director, Rights Watch International
Host, Guns, Politics and Freedom
* First spoken by Niccolo Machiavelli, the father of modern power politics, with reference to the universally armed and therefore unconquerable Swiss, Armatissimi e liberissimi means “most armed, most free.” As an expression of the importance of the right to arms to freedom, it is GRNC’s credo.
March 12, 2024
Mayor Byron McAllister
Post Office Box 590
Raleigh, NC 27602
Dear Mayor McAllister:
Grass Roots North Carolina has been our state’s primary Second Amendment organization since 1994. As such, we were central to drafting and passing our original concealed handgun permit law in 1995, and have shepherded numerous enhancements to the law in the ensuing decades.
So, imagine my surprise at being informed of Section 13-10 of the Town of Selma Code of Ordinances, reportedly passed by the Town Council on February 13, 2024. My advice is to immediately fire any attorney who gave you advice on the ordinance since, as a violation of state law, it exposes you to litigation, including damages, attorney fees, and court costs. Please see the attached legal memorandum from Edward H. Green, III, Esq., who describes your new ordinance as “flagrantly illegal.”
In its 2011-2012 Session, the North Carolina General Assembly passed House Bill 650 (S.L. 2011-268), which restricted the ability of municipalities to prohibit the lawful carry of concealed handguns in parks to a limited number of “recreational facilities.” In 2013, the legislature passed House Bill 937 (S.L. 2013-369), which further narrowed the definition of recreational facilities in § 14‑415.23. (“Statewide uniformity”) which now says in relevant part:
(c) For purposes of this section, the term "recreational facilities" includes only the following:
(1) An athletic field, including any appurtenant facilities such as restrooms, during an organized athletic event if the field had been scheduled for use with the municipality or county office responsible for operation of the park or recreational area.
(2) A swimming pool, including any appurtenant facilities used for dressing, storage of personal items, or other uses relating to the swimming pool.
(3) A facility used for athletic events, including, but not limited to, a gymnasium.
(d) For the purposes of this section, the term "recreational facilities" does not include any greenway, designated biking or walking path, an area that is customarily used as a walkway or bike path although not specifically designated for such use, open areas or fields where athletic events may occur unless the area qualifies as an "athletic field" pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (c) of this section, and any other area that is not specifically described in subsection (c) of this section.
(e) A person adversely affected by any ordinance, rule, or regulation promulgated or caused to be enforced by any unit of local government in violation of this section may bring an action for declaratory and injunctive relief and for actual damages arising from the violation. The court shall award the prevailing party in an action brought under this subsection reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs as authorized by law.
Additionally, with limited exceptions, the imposition of a local gun law or regulation more stringent than state law is a violation of § 14-409.40 (“Statewide uniformity of local regulation”), including subsection (h), which reads as follows:
“A person adversely affected by any ordinance, rule, or regulation promulgated or caused to be enforced by any county or municipality in violation of this section may bring an action for declaratory and injunctive relief and for actual damages arising from the violation. The court shall award the prevailing party in an action brought under this subsection reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs as authorized by law.”
Specifically, your ordinance violates state law in at least four ways:
- You may not ban handgun carry by concealed handgun permit-holders in the entirety of municipal parks, as you appear to attempt in subsection “b. (b)”, including subsections “1.1., 2.2., 3.3., 4.4., 5.5., 6.6., and 7.7.”
- You may not ban handgun carry by concealed handgun permit-holders on the entirety of a street or public right-of-way, regardless of whether you close it for a public event as you seem to attempt in subsection “(cc)”. In fact, your citation of § 14-277.2 (“Weapons at parades, etc., prohibited”) is a ridiculously overbroad and unenforceable interpretation of the statute.
- You may not post signs at the “entrant” [sic] of such areas that “Possession of weapons or carrying a concealed handgun is prohibited” as you seem to attempt in subsection “(ee).”
- You may not unilaterally declare firearms confiscated during enforcement of your unlawful ordinance to be “contraband” and order them destroyed as you seem to attempt in subsection “(gg).”
Lest you believe we are not serious about bringing the Town of Selma into compliance with state law, please understand that our organization has thus far filed litigation against the Sheriff of Mecklenburg County (twice), the Sheriff of Wake County (twice), the City of Winston-Salem, Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler, and Governor Beverly Perdue. All but one succeeded.
While redrafting Selma’s ordinance, you might consider correcting its many formatting, bulleting, and grammatical errors, since the version online borders on illiteracy.
I can be reached directly at FPV@FPaulValone.com or (704) 907-9206. To prevent further action, I look forward to your prompt reply within five (5) business days.
Respectfully,
F. Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Executive Director, Rights Watch International
cc: Joseph Scarboro
Amy West Whitley
William Overby
Susan Parrish Watson
Grass Roots North Carolina
Post Office Box 10665, Raleigh, NC 27605
Ph: 877.282.0939 Fax: 919.573.0354 www.GRNC.org
February 5, 2024 The Honorable Tim Moore, Speaker 16 West Jones Street, Room 2304 Raleigh, NC 27601 Representative Grey Mills 300 N. Salisbury Street, Room 635 Raleigh, NC 27603-5925 Dear Speaker Moore and Representative Mills: I was relieved to hear that in a public meeting today, Rep. Mills said the reason you have not brought House Bill 189 (“Freedom to Carry NC”) to the floor is that the North Carolina Senate refuses to hear the bill. Since the problem reportedly lies in the Senate, and at a critical time when both of you are running for Congress, this gives you a unique opportunity to demonstrate to Second Amendment advocates that you strongly support the Constitution and Bill of Rights by publicly vowing to give HB 189 a hearing in the upcoming short session of the North Carolina House. This would, of course, allow us to focus our efforts on the Senate, where Rep. Mills alleges that the problem lies. It is unfortunate that Speaker Moore’s GRNC “Remember in November” objective candidate evaluation suffered slightly due to the last-minute decision to deny HB 189 a floor vote. Although GRNC’s candidate evaluations have already been released, our GRNC Political Victory Fund candidate recommendations will be released on Wednesday (February 7, 2024), meaning that time is short. As both of you campaign for Congress, I look forward to telling Second Amendment voters that you stood strong for the Constitution by publicly vowing to give House Bill 189 a prompt hearing.
Armatissimi e liberissimi,* |
F Paul Valone
President, Grass Roots North Carolina
Executive Director, Rights Watch International
Host, Guns, Politics and Freedom
* First spoken by Niccolo Machiavelli, the father of modern power politics, with reference to the universally armed and therefore unconquerable Swiss, Armatissimi e liberissimi means “most armed, most free.” As an expression of the importance of the right to arms to freedom, it is GRNC’s credo.
