GRNC & GOA victory in Mecklenburg County

            GRNC and GOA won big last week when Superior Court Judge Eady-Williams issued a preliminary injunction, in response to litigation filed by our organizations, ordering Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden to stop dragging his feet and issue pistol purchase permits and concealed handgun permits within the times required by law.

To see full details on the decision and background, read the full account by writer John Crump in Ammoland.com.

The good news… 

            The long-awaited decision resulted from a lawsuit filed against McFadden by our two organizations, and says: 

“…the Court concludes as a matter of law Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits and are likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of injunctive relief…” 

The order enjoins McFadden from: 

1. Failing to process pistol purchase permit applications within the 14 days required by North Carolina statute;
2. Failing to process concealed handgun permit applications within the 45 days required by statute;
3. Failing to request mental health records to process concealed handgun applications within 10 days as required by statute; and
4. Failing to process fingerprints for concealed handgun permits within 5 business days.

To see the order, Click : preliminary injunction

…and the bad news

The bad news is that the case is far from over, could on for months, and has cost GRNC in excess of $25,000 just to get it this far. (Kudos to one of our “gun-friendly attorneys,” Ron Shook, who is working pro bono as local counsel, but we’ve had to hire other lawyers as well.)                    Worse, McFadden responded to the court order with what can only be described as a temper tantrum. When order to do fingerprints for concealed handgun permits within five business days, he cancelled appointments for applicants who have waited months, and announced that hence forth, applicants will have to stand in long lines to get fingerprinted.

                Writing in Ammoland.com, John Crump notes that McFadden – who is also a reality TV star of “I am Homicide” – has a $136 million budget and 1,800 employees, yet out of the 1,800 employees, only 18 employees were assigned to gun permits. Long lines for fingerprinting suggest that “Homicide” still refuses to dedicate adequate personnel to the job.

GRNC needs your help! 

The cold reality is that membership dues are not enough to fund litigation. Given the high cost of the suit against Sheriff McFadden, I am asking you to contribute to GRNC by going to: 

https://www.grnc.org/join-grnc/contribute 

            As an all-volunteer organization, my vow is to use your money more efficiently and effectively in defending your rights than any other group. And with your support, GRNC will continue its long history of legal and legislative victories.