NC Council of Churches Legislative Seminar

April 27, 2021: 11:00 AM

 1. Agenda 4.
Gun Violence in
NC: What the
data say 2. 3. What you
can do

Concealed
carry: Myths Past and
& facts current
gun bills
 Safe NC Report
•Includes mostly 2008 – 2018 data
•Data sources:
✔
CDC WISQARS (majority of data)
✔
Injury Prevention Branch of NC
Division of Public Health
✔
Gun Violence Archive
✔
FBI reports
✔
Gun violence prevention
organizations
✔
Gun violence researchers
 Safe NC report
•Report includes:
✔Data on NC firearm suicides, homicides, unintentional shootings,
legal intervention, mass shootings/mass murders
✔Demographic data for NC firearm deaths
✔County-level data on firearm deaths and injuries
✔Program and policy recommendations
✔Most recent data available depending on source
•NC overall firearms deaths in 2018:
✔1416 deaths (rate: 13.26 per 100,000) – 3.9 lives lost per day.
✔7th among US states by number firearms deaths
✔24th among US states by rate firearms deaths

Data source: CDC WISQARS database. Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000
NC firearm suicide

• 2018 firearm suicides:

• 873 gun suicide deaths (rate:
7.84 suicides per 100,000)
• 62% of all NC gun deaths
• 2008 – 2018 NC firearm suicides:
o Rate increased 12%
o Number increased 30%

Data source: CDC WISQARS database. *Rates are age-adjusted per 100,000
NC firearm suicide: impacted populations

Data source: CDC WISQARS database.

• Steepest increases among males and white North Carolinians.
• Numbers relatively stable among other groups.
NC firearm homicide: Impacted populations
Firearm homicide rates
•Black and Native North Carolinians
suffer the highest rates
•Rates among White or Asian/Pac
Islanders were relatively static1
•Rates among Hispanic/Latino declined
steeply1
Firearm homicide numbers
• Black North Carolinians suffer more
homicides than any other racial/ethnic
group: 22.1% of 2018 NC population,
but 67.1% of gun homicides.
• In 2018, 328 gun homicides among
Black North Carolinians, 2.85 times the
Source: CDC WISQARS 2020. *Rates age-adjusted per 100,000 people. **CDC suppresses rates where numbers firearm homicides among white North
are less than 10, so a rate of 0 does not necessarily mean there were 0 deaths – just under 10. Carolinians (115).
 Which countries suffer the most firearm deaths?
(2016 – 2018 totals)

NC counties: 2016 – 2018 gun deaths

In general, more Meck. Co.: most gun But, counties with
populous counties homicides, suicides, & highest gun death rates
have more deaths. deaths overall are nearly all rural.

Highest number of firearm deaths Highest number of firearm suicides Highest number of firearm homicides
1. Mecklenburg (353 firearms deaths) 1. Mecklenburg (154 firearm suicide deaths) 1. Mecklenburg (181 firearm homicide deaths)
2. Guilford (217) 2. Wake (135) 2. Guilford (119)
3. Cumberland (98)
3. Wake (198) 3. Durham (90)
4. Guilford (95)
4. Cumberland (183) 4. Cumberland (82)
5. Buncombe (86)
5. Forsyth (134) 5. Robeson (71)

Highest firearm death rates Highest firearm suicide rates Highest firearm homicide rates
1.Vance (30.1 firearms deaths per 100,000 people) 1. Vance (22.6 homicide deaths per 100,000 people)
1. Swain (26.7 firearm suicide deaths per 100,000 people)
2.Warren (28.5)
2. Mitchell (22.0) 2. Robeson (17.9)
3.Anson (27.9)
3. Graham (21.8) 3. Anson (17.3)
4.Robeson (26.7)
4. Alexander (19.9) 4. Warren (16.8)
5.Mitchell (24.3)
5. Polk (19.4) 5. Halifax (13.7)

Source: Data kindly provided to us by the Injury Prevention Branch, NC DHHS

 What we learned
1.Continue current education & advocacy
2.Expand suicide prevention organizing & work
3.Expand beyond state firearm policy
Keep advocating for violence prevention
programs & funding:
✔
Evidence-based models – violence
interruption, hospital-based violence
prevention, others
✔
More organizing needed in communities with
higher numbers and rates of firearm violence
4.Organize with newer groups and geographic
areas, those impacted by firearm violence of all
types
 Concealed Carry Myths and Facts

Myth – Right to Carry (RTC) Laws Decrease Crime

• A majority of studies since 2005 show that RTC laws increase violent
crime.

• One study showed RTC laws are associated with 13-15 percent higher
aggregate violent crime rates 10 years after its adoption. (Donohue et
al., 2018).

• “Shall issue” states are associated with a 6.5% higher total homicide rate
than “may issue” states, as well as an 8.6% higher firearm homicide rate
and a 10.6% higher handgun homicide rate (Siegel et al., 2017).
 Concealed Carry Myths and Facts

Myth – Concealed Carry is Necessary for Self-Defense

• The approximately 2,000 verified cases of defensive gun use each year
are vastly outnumbered by the 40,000 firearm deaths and tens of
thousands more injuries (Gun Violence Archive).
• Firearms are rarely used successfully in self-defense: individuals
successfully defend themselves with a gun in less than 1% of crimes
(Hemenway and Solnick, 2015).  
• The probability of a firearm being used as self-defense in the home is
approximately 7 times less likely to happen than having a firearm
accidentally used to kill an innocent person (Giffords Law Center and
Gun Violence Archive).
 Concealed Carry Myths and Facts

Myth – Concealed Carry Weapons Deter Mass Killings Because Mass Shooters
Strategically Target Gun-Free Zones
• A comprehensive FBI study of 160 active shootings between 2000 and 2013
found that of the 160 incidents, only one active shooting was stopped by a
concealed-carry license holder. Comparatively, twenty-one were stopped by
unarmed civilians (Federal Bureau of Investigation, 2013).  
• The belief that mass shooters target gun-free zones misleadingly assumes the
rationality of mass shooters. In reality, many shooters target a location based on
an emotional grievance or an attachment to a particular person or place (Metzl
and MacLeish, 2015).
• Of the 111 high-fatality rampage shootings (6 or more victims shot to death from
1966-2015), 84 percent occurred in gun-allowing zones (The Trace, 2016).
 Subway and Open Carry

• Previous picture was from americangrit.com 

• In May, NCGV had a petition to the CEO of Subway along with Guns Down
America, MomsRising and Newtown Action Alliance.

• On June 15th Subway adopted the following policy: “For the consideration and
comfort of restaurant employees and guests, Subway respectfully requests that
guests (other than authorized law enforcement) refrain from openly displaying
firearms inside restaurants - even in states where ‘open carry’ is permitted.”
 Local Ordinances
Holly Springs passed an
ordinance that will ban the
open carrying of firearms on
certain town properties. It
passed two votes by 3-2.
Between the two votes, NCGV
and other supporters sent in
400 comments in favor of the
ban.
Cornelius’ ordinance would have
banned the concealed carry of
firearms on certain town properties.
NCGV and other supporters sent in
84 comments. The ordinance was
voted down by a 4-1 vote. The good
news is that they prohibited open
carry without a concealed carry
permit on those properties and they
banned concealed and open carry at
their Arts Center.
 Second Amendment Protection Act, H652
• The bill would have legalized the carrying of concealed firearms at places of
worship with associated schools, weakened our concealed carry weapons
permitting system and allowed EMS personnel to concealed carry when on the
job with police.

• Governor Cooper vetoed the bill to protect children that go to schools

associated with religious places of worship.

• The veto was sustained in the House, with 48 representatives voting to uphold
the governor’s veto.
2019/2020 Dangerous Legislation
• Essentially eliminating our concealed
carry weapons permitting system
• Dismantling our pistol purchase
permitting system
• Arming teachers

• Second Amendment
Protection Act
• Safe storage educational
campaign and distribution of
free gun locks (H427)

• Funding for community 2021 Positive Pieces

based violence interrupter
and hospital based violence of Gun Legislation
intervention programs

• Extreme Risk Protection

Orders (H525)
 Health Care Providers and Safe Storage
• Almost two-thirds of all gun deaths are suicides.

• One study found that in two-thirds of school shootings, the shooter

got the gun from their own home or that of a relative or friend.

• One out of three parents own a gun in NC and one out of four of those
parents’ guns are unsecured.
 What you can do

Letters to the Editor Violence Intervention &

Prevention Programs
What’s in the letter?
• What you’re concerned about • Let us know if you live in a city or near a hospital interested in
establishing a VIPP.
• Why you are concerned (Personal experience? Something in your
community?) • We can connect with interested cities or hospitals about the
models of programs, data behind them, and funding mechanisms.
• What you want done about it
• These programs prevent violence, are community-based, and NC
• 200 words or less – just a few sentences! needs more of them!

What is the process?

• Write a letter (we can help!)
• Submit it to a local newspaper’s submission website.
• When it’s published, share it! Facebook, email, etc.
Other ways to make a difference
Call our supporters before Call / meet with (when safe)
key votes lawmakers
• Lawmakers want to hear from their voters
• Let them know about bills, and
what they would mean for them • They need to hear how we feel about the
bills they are/are not passing
• Encourage & empower the to
contact their lawmaker • They need to hear that gun violence
prevention matters to people in their districts

What other skills and talents do you bring?

• Writing • Graphic design
• Legal • Translation
• Fundraising • Bringing people together
• Inspiring others • Social media
ambassador
• Research
• Something else? We love
new ideas!
• Questions?
• Contact info: becky@ncgv.org
• NCGV website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• NCGV Action website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram