Gun rights group asks for restraining order to force NC State Fair to allow legally concealed guns
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A gun advocacy group has requested a temporary restraining order to prevent North Carolina State Fair officials from enforcing a ban on legally concealed guns.
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."
However, Department of Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler has said that he won't change the long-standing policy banning guns on the fairgrounds during the event.So on Thursday, Grass Roots North Carolina filed with the courts to allow legally concealed guns during the annual celebration.
Agriculture spokesperson Brian Long said last week that 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.
Not according to Paul Valone with the group Grass Roots North Carolina.
"The state does prohibit firearms in a limited number of places such as the Governor's mansion, the courts and some other places. And the statute specifically lists where guns are prohibited but it does not list the State Fair," he explained.
"We think the law is not clear," Long countered in an interview with ABC11 earlier this month. "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?"
"I don't know why people should be concerned about concealed handgun permit holders at the state fair. They've been carrying next to them in grocery store lines since 1995, all without incident," said Valone.
