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New laws in effect for North Carolina

Posted at 2:47 PM, Dec 01, 2014
and last updated 2014-12-01 14:47:04-05

North Carolina has nine new laws on the books today.

Two of the laws add protection for Venus flytraps and one lets children shoot BB guns unsupervised.

It's now a felony to steal a Venus flytrap. It's native to a roughly 80-mile radius of Wilmington, and native nowhere else on Earth, and now protected by law.

Pluck one of these wonders from the boggy backwoods, and a jail door could slam shut on you.

The law is in response to three people arrested this year for stealing 300 flytraps.

Also new -- a Constitutional Amendment allows criminal defendants to waive jury trials.

It was approved by voters earlier this month.

Defendants can forgo a jury altogether -- except in death penalty cases.

Bench trials, supporters say, are faster and cheaper.

There is a new law on drones -- if you're an animal rights activist, you cannot use them to spy on hunters.

And a new law on BB guns -- in eight counties, children under 12, no longer need a grown-up around to use one.

Adult supervision is not required in most counties already.

The new laws are official today.