The North Carolina House voted 71-46 to override the governor's veto of a bill that does away with North Carolina's pistol purchase permit.
Senate Bill 41, "Guarantee 2nd Amend Freedom and Protections," ends the requirement for people to get a permit from their county sheriff before buying a handgun.
The bill also allows concealed weapons to be carried on private school property when there are religious services being held and no students are on campus. A third section of the bill creates a safe gun storage program.
"The issues have been well debated, the issues have been well known," said Rep. Destin Hall. The House did not debate the bill before the near party-line vote overriding the veto.
"This bill will become law notwithstanding objections of the governor," North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore said after the vote.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued his first veto of the legislative session on the gun bill.
"Eliminating strong background checks will allow more domestic abusers and other dangerous people to own handguns and reduces law enforcement's ability to stop them from committing violent crimes," the governor said when he vetoed the bill Friday.
"Second Amendment supporting, responsible gun owners know this will put families and communities at risk,” Cooper said.
The North Carolina Senate voted Tuesday to override the veto. The vote split along party lines 30-19.
Republicans in the Senate have a supermajority, giving them enough votes for the three-fifths of the chamber necessary for a veto override.
The Republican majority in the House is slimmer, with the GOP just one vote short of a veto-proof majority. But that means they only need one Democrat to cross the aisle to override the veto.
The General Assembly website did not list the specifics on how members of the House voted as of about 11 a.m. The website typiically lists how each member votes on a bill.
Three Democrats were absent from the House Wednesday morning, meaning the Republicans only needed 71 votes to override the veto. With all members present, the GOP needs 72 votes to override the veto. Republicans hold 71 seats in the House.
Three Democrats joined the GOP to pass the bill in the House March 15.
Opinion was divided on the bill along party lines, and the pistol purchase permit section was the most controversial. But it had the firm support of Republicans in the General Assembly, giving the party its first successful veto override since 2018.
“As America reels from the horrific school shooting in Nashville, gun lobby legislators in North Carolina are doubling down on a law that will make it even easier for people with dangerous histories to buy guns,” said John Feinblatt, President of Everytown for Gun Safety.
“The evidence is clear — weak gun laws equals more death, a fact North Carolina lawmakers are willfully disregarding to curry favor from gun extremists,” he said in a statement.
Others praised the General Assembly's move to override the veto.
"As we predicted, anti-freedom Governor Roy Cooper wasted no time attacking the rights of gun owners. Worse, he attacked the ability of church-goers to protect themselves from attacks on religious institutions that are becoming all too common," said Paul Valone, president of the group Grass Roots North Carolina, which advocates fewer gun laws.