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.
