Press Release: Senate Bill 50 filed to allow gun owners in NC to carry concealed handguns without obtaining a permit
As the North Carolina General Assembly’s 2025 legislative session gets underway, state legislators are backing bills that would authorize gun owners to carry concealed handguns without obtaining a permit.
Senate Republicans filed a measure last Tuesday titled “Freedom to Carry NC” with the support of Senate leader Phil Berger. Senate Bill 50 would allow permitless concealed carry for individuals who are U.S. citizens, at least 18 years of age and not otherwise prohibited by law, according to the bill’s text. North Carolina law currently requires gun owners to obtain permits from their local sheriff’s office in order to carry a concealed handgun.
“The General Assembly has made incredible strides to defend the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians,” bill sponsors Sens. Danny Earl Britt, Warren Daniel, and Eddie Settle said in a joint statement. “There is still more we can do though. We need to join the majority of states and recognize that law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights without getting permission from the government.”
If the bill is enacted, North Carolina would become the 30th state to allow what proponents call “constitutional carry” — meaning concealed carry without a permit. The legislation would still allow concealed carry permits to be issued “for the purpose of reciprocity when traveling in another state.”
On the House side, Republicans introduced a bill last week named the “NC Constitutional Carry Act.” House Bill 5, sponsored by Reps. Keith Kidwell, Jay Adams, Ben Moss, and Brian Echevarria pushes similar measures through the House.
Certain state properties are barred from this list: the State Capitol Building, the Executive Mansion, the governor’s western residence, and certain judicial buildings. However, the State Legislative Building and Legislative Office Building, where the state legislators conduct their business, would not be excluded.
