New Polling from Everytown for Gun Safety Shows North Carolinians Overwhelmingly Oppose Permitless Carry

Polling Shows 77% of North Carolinians Think Permit and Firearm Training Should be Required to Carry a Concealed Firearm in Public

RALEIGH, N.C.— Today, Everytown for Gun Safety released recent polling that shows a significant majority (77%) of residents in North Carolina oppose permitless carry. This comes as lawmakers are attempting to pass HB 5 and SB 50, bills that would dismantle North Carolina’s existing concealed carry permitting laws and allow individuals to carry concealed, hidden guns in public spaces without a permit—effectively eliminating all safeguards put in place by the current permitting system, including a background check, safety training, and live-fire training.

The survey shows nearly 8 in 10 (77%) of respondents oppose permitless carry, including nearly 2 in 3 gun owners. 90 percent of North Carolinians support legislation to require background checks, including 84% of self-identified Republicans and 85% of gun owners. Earlier this month, lawmakers passed SB 50 through the Senate and HB 5 through the House Judiciary B Committee along party lines. It now awaits a vote in the House. 

“I hope lawmakers are prepared to answer to the seventy-seven percent of North Carolinians who oppose permitless carry the next time they ask for our votes,” said Sam Mell, a volunteer with the North Carolina State University Students Demand Action chapter, and member of the Students Demand Action National Organizing Board. “We have the numbers. If they ignore us now, we’ll come for their seats next.”

“This polling reaffirms what our movement has always known—support for gun safety laws isn’t about politics, it’s about common sense,” said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action. “If North Carolina lawmakers truly want to represent their constituents, including gun owners and Republicans, they should reject this reckless attempt to dismantle the concealed carry permitting system and instead focus on real solutions that will keep communities safe.”

“The data couldn’t be clearer—North Carolinians don’t want to live in a state where untrained, potentially dangerous individuals can carry hidden guns in our communities. This isn’t just a policy issue; it’s a matter of public safety,” said Wendy Brooks, a volunteer with the North Carolina chapter of Moms Demand Action, Everytown Survivor Fellow, and gun owner. “To our lawmakers: Are you listening? Your constituents overwhelmingly oppose permitless carry. It’s time to put their voices above the gun lobby’s dangerous agenda and do what’s right for the people you serve.”

North Carolina has maintained its current permitting system for good reason. A vast majority of Americans —3 in 4— oppose allowing people to carry concealed guns in public without a permit, including the majority of gun owners and Republicans. This survey out of North Carolina only further affirms that the majority of citizens in the state do not want to dismantle the important safeguards already in place to ensure that anyone carrying hidden, loaded guns in public has undergone a background check and safety training. Yet, state lawmakers continue to push this reckless legislation, which will only worsen the state’s gun violence crisis and, as data from other states that’ve enacted permitless shows, will likely make our communities less safe. No one in North Carolina wants that. 

States that removed their concealed carry permit requirements between 1999 and 2021 saw, on average, a 27 percent increase in gun homicides within three years of the change—the U.S. as a whole saw less than half that increase. If HB5/SB 50 passes, North Carolinians will face serious threats to their safety. 

The last thing North Carolina needs is for lawmakers to further weaken existing commonsense gun safety laws. When more people–especially people who are untrained on when and how to responsibly carry a weapon in public–are armed in more places, any random confrontation can quickly escalate into a deadly shootout. Instead of prioritizing public safety, HB 5/SB 50 puts communities and law enforcement at risk. 

Elected officials must listen not only to law enforcement officers, firearms trainers, and military personnel—who have historically agreed that individuals carrying concealed firearms in public should undergo proper safety training—but also to the people they serve. North Carolinians have made it clear: they do not want permitless carry. Protecting our communities requires bipartisan leadership and responsible gun policies, not reckless legislation that floods our streets with untrained, armed individuals. 

In an average year, 1,714 people die by guns and 4,197 are wounded by guns in North Carolina. With a rate of 16.0 deaths per 100,000 people, North Carolina has the 23rd-highest rate of gun deaths in the US. 53% of gun deaths are by gun suicide. Read more about gun violence in North Carolina here.