AHOSKIE, N.C. - A permit to buy a handgun is no longer required in North Carolina. Previously, residents had to get a permit from a local sheriff.
It comes after the state’s republican-controlled General Assembly overrode Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto. This law was passed and went into effect on Tuesday.
MORE: Permit to buy handgun no longer required in North Carolina
The new law places the responsibility on gun dealers and gun shops to perform background checks for handgun purchases instead of law enforcement. Background checks will still be required for sales through firearms dealers and gun shops.
But they're not required for private sales.
Tamz Sonnenberg, the owner of Tamz & Ammo in Ahoskie, said the new law puts more work on gun shops and dealerships.
"Is it going to make it easier to purchase a gun? No," Sonnenberg said. "It’s going to double the workload if not triple or quadruple the load. It could be five minutes to get approved or it could take a delay which could be seven to 21 days.
Sonnenberg told News 3's Leondra Head it's likely he'll have to hire more people as the workload increases.
"Do you think you’ll have to hire more people?" Head asked Sonnenberg. "Possibly, as busy as our workload is here, definitely will," Sonnenberg said.
Gun shops will have to use a national background check system to approve or deny sales.
"They will get three responses back when they go to a dealer for a background check. They’ll get approved, denied or pending status," said Gates County Sheriff Ray Campbell.
Sheriff Campbell said the county typically gets more than 50 permit applications in a month. He said the applications turned in this week will be shredded with the new law in effect.
"You can pile laws on top of citizens, gun laws. It’s not going to keep the bad guy from going to get a gun. They are going to get their gun no matter what you do," Campbell said.
If an individual has a concealed carry license and comes in to buy a handgun, a background check by the shop will not be needed. The new law will not impact the concealed carry permit.
