CORNELIUS, N.C. — After the mass shooting at a school in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 children and two adults dead, several elected officials have been calling for stricter gun laws.
What You Need To Know
After the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, some elected officials are advocating stricter gun laws
Gov. Roy Cooper proposed stricter universal background checks and banning of AR-15-style rifles
The employee of a gun range and firearms store, Brian Sisson, said the current gun laws are restrictive enough
While some support the proposal, the chief operating officer of a firearms store and gun range in Mecklenburg County is against it.
On Thursday afternoon, The Range at Lake Norman’s COO Brian Sisson said the gun laws in North Carolina are tough enough.
“You can’t make it any more restrictive, unless you take the right to own a firearm away. The thing needs to be pointed at the criminal, the one who committed the crime. It doesn’t need to be pointed at the device that was used to commit the crime,” Sisson said.
Wednesday North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper released an online video calling on Republican lawmakers to work together with Democrats to pass stronger laws.
He said a strong universal background checks law is sitting in the U.S. Senate and called for the ban of weapons like AR-15-style rifles.
“We’ve seen it too many times: Mass shootings, easy to get military-assault weapons, teachers turning themselves into human shields. What on earth is more important than protecting our children? What on earth is more important than preventing our schools, houses of worship and even grocery stores from turning into slaughter fields?” Cooper asked.
Sisson agrees the mass shootings need to stop.
“No family should have to go through what the people in Uvalde, Texas, are going through. The politicians need to at least let people grieve a little bit before we start throwing around all their gun rights attacks,” Sisson said.
He said he doesn’t think there needs to be more restrictions to owning guns.
“You don’t have law-abiding citizens going out and committing mass murders. You have criminals going out and committing mass murders,” Sisson said.
Police say the 18-year-old who carried out the mass shooting in Texas used an AR-15 in the attack.
Sisson said the popular rifle is also often used for hunting. He added if there is a ban on these weapons, he believes this would be the start of more gun bans.
“So you ban AR-15s. What happens next? Somebody takes a Glock 17 with a 32-round magazine, and they are a criminal. They are going to do the same thing again, they’re just going to use a different device to do it,” Sisson said.
In his perspective, Sisson said, addressing mental health would be a better way of solving the problem. Cooper mentioned in his video, there is a bill in the legislature that would provide billions of dollars for mental health through Medicaid expansion.
“How about you put a bill that would provide billions of dollars toward mental health but don’t tie it to Medicaid?” Sisson said after watching the video.
Sisson said putting more security in place at schools would be more effective and could also improve school safety, including having armed officers in the schools or allowing law-abiding citizens to carry guns in schools for protection.
Cooper referred to a bill he vetoed that would have allowed guns in schools as dangerous.