Republicans in the North Carolina General Assembly are pushing to legalize constitutional carry across the state this legislative session in a new bill filed with 26 sponsors.

House Bill 5 was filed last week and aims to bring constitutional carry – permitless concealed carry – to the state. If approved, North Carolina would become the 30th state to allow gun owners to carry their weapon concealed without a permit.

“Statistics show from the FBI consistently when we went to concealed carry permits, crime dropped. When we went to constitutional carry, crime dropped again,” explained the bill’s lead sponsor, Rep. Keith Kidwell, R-Beaufort. “An armed society is a polite society. People have a God-given right to self-defense. It’s codified in the Second Amendment, and it’s codified in 29 states at this point.”

The bill would also authorize elected state officials to carry a concealed firearm while performing official duties if the individual has a concealed handgun permit.

In the last legislative session, a constitutional carry bill made some progress in House negotiations but ultimately failed to gain traction after Senate leaders expressed an unwillingness to consider it. Kidwell expressed optimism about the bill moving forward this session, noting that a senator has asked him for a copy of his legislation and intends on running a companion bill. 

“That doesn’t mean that Phil Berger will allow it to be heard, but it does mean that at least we’ll have a bill in that chamber for the first time in quite some time,” said Kidwell. “We’re now up to 29 states with constitutional carry. If I can get it through North Carolina, we’ll be number 30. And there’s really no reason not to.”

Though he acknowledged that some Republicans oppose constitutional carry, Kidwell said they need to reconsider their stance because the party platform clearly supports the Second Amendment, and supporting it means backing constitutional carry.

Responding to criticism he’s heard over allowing anybody to carry a gun, Kidwell pointed to the 29 states that currently allow permitless carry and said nothing has gone wrong in those states. Notably, he is not in support of a national reciprocity law from the federal government, something President Donald Trump has proposed. Kidwell said that the federal government doesn’t hold the authority within the Constitution to enact such a thing, explaining that “anything the federal government gives us, or we give them, they can take away.”

Though action remains uncertain, other legislators are aware of ongoing conversations surrounding constitutional carry. In a recent podcast interview, Sen. Vickie Sawyer, R-Iredell, said one topic that continues to come up is constitutional carry. She expressed uncertainty about its progress during the 2025 session but said she’s been doing research and talking with law enforcement as she continues hearing gun advocates push for permitless carry.

“I know one topic that continues to come up, and I’m not sure where it’s going to go, is the constitutional carry,” said Sawyer. “I keep hearing those who are the gun rights advocates talking about wanting to have a constitutional carry, and I’ve been doing a lot of research and talking to law enforcement.”

“But there is that constitutional issue, right? I mean, you do have the right to bear arms,” Sawyer added. “I see really both sides of the concerns about not having folks who don’t have the training but yet are allowed to purchase guns and to carry. But I think there is a constitutional issue there, I mean, you should be able to carry a gun.”

After Republicans lost one seat in the House, costing them their veto-proof supermajority, the Libertarian Party pointed to gun rights as an ongoing issue that Republicans failed to address during the previous session.

SEE ALSO: Libertarians played spoiler in key NC elections, prompting dialogue with major parties