NC State Fair stands firm on gun ban
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- This could be the first year in recent memory when conceal carry permit holders can bring their weapons to the North Carolina State Fair. That's not what the folks who run the fair say they want, but it may not be up to them.
Last year, the state legislature passed House Bill 937 and vastly expanded conceal carry rights. Most of the debate at the time was about bars and schools, but the law also allowed permit holders to carry their weapons at "venues where admission is charged."
"That changed it," said Josette Chmiel, with the gun-right advocacy group Grass Roots North Carolina. "The law very clearly in black and white states that those with a valid concealed handgun permit are able to carry in places of assembly that charge admission. That is the state fair. It's very clear."
But Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler says he won't change the long-standing policy banning guns on the fairgrounds during the event.
"We've had this policy in place for decades and it has not been an issue," said Agriculture spokesperson Brian Long. "We think it's wise to continue it."
Long says the no-gun policy goes back as long as anyone at the Department of Agriculture can remember. For years, he says, conceal carry permit holders have been asked to leave their guns in their vehicles and it's never been a problem.
"Our biggest concern," said Long, "is an accidental discharge in a crowded environment. You think about rides. Rides have a way of coaxing things out of people's pockets. And when you have kids and guns and rides, that just seems like a bad mix."
Not according to Chmiel.
"Laws are in place for a reason," she said. "Laws aren't there to be interpreted at will by individual politicians. Their job is to follow the law not interpret it as they will. That's not what's supposed to be done."
"We think the law is not clear," Long countered. "We think there needs to be some clarity given to it. And, in absence of that, why change a policy that has served our visitors well for a long, long time?"
