Starting Dec. 1, North Carolina residents will be able to apply for a permit to carry concealed weapons.
According to the new bill, sheriffs must issue a three-year permit to any applicant who has lived in the state for at least 30 days, passes a background check and successfully completes a training course.
Gun-rights activists praised the measure, which received final approval from the state House of Representatives July 6.
"It's a real good thing we finally saw the need, pushed forward and got the job done," said Fred Edgecomb, a field spokesperson for the National Rifle Association.
Lawmakers who favored the bill said that it came in response to overwhelming support from their constituents.
"In every poll, the number-one concern is crime," said Rep. John Nichols, R-Craven, the main supporter of the bill. "This is a bill for the people of North Carolina because they wanted it."
Proponents of concealed weapons argue that they are an effective deterrent to crime, but not everyone agrees.
If the bill creates a large increase in the number of weapons carried on the street, robbery and assault rates should go down, said Philip Cook, a professor of public policy. Crimes, however, probably will become more violent, he said.
Any significant effects of the bill, if there are to be any, would occur within a year, Cook said.
Nichols said that studies conducted in some of the 23 other states that permit concealed weapons show that concealed weapons do not pose any significant risks. He added that he was not worried that the bill would lead to more violent crimes in North Carolina.
Rep. Mickey Michaux, D-Durham, who opposed the bill, said that he did not believe concealed weapons would give people more protection.
"It just puts more weapons on the street," Michaux said. "If people think it gives them some modicum of protection, I think they're wrong."
This increase may have several side effects, Cook said. One would be an increase in the number of guns that are stolen during robberies. Cook also predicted an increase in the number of accidental shootings.
"For every true threat we face there are probably 20 other situations that seem threatening," he said. "Unless you're calm, it's hard to recognize the true threat."
Local law enforcement officials said they acknowledge the right to bear arms but are concerned about the level of training people with concealed weapons will actually have.
"Law enforcement personnel are required to qualify with their weapons twice a year," said Durham Police Department Chief Jackie McNeil. "Citizens should be required to conform to the state standards."
Nichols disagreed, saying that the training standards have not yet been written. It will be up to local sheriffs to determine whether people with permits will have to requalify when their permits expire, he said.
The standards will be in place before the bill goes into effect in December, he said.
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