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Read. Follow. Verify.North Carolina General Assembly Passes Comprehensive Gun Regulation Measure HB 732
Last action · April 3, 2025: Ref To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House (House action)Sponsors: Pricey Harrison and 16 others
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What This Bill Would Do
House Bill 732 enacts sweeping gun safety regulations, requiring purchase permits and a 72-hour waiting period for long guns and assault weapons, establishing Extreme Risk Protection Orders, and mandating $100,000 in firearm liability insurance for gun owners.
The measure directly alters purchasing requirements, storage rules, and legal liabilities for gun owners statewide, while mandating that the State Treasurer divest pension funds from firearms manufacturers.
- North Carolina previously repealed its pistol purchase permit requirement in 2023, a change this bill seeks to partially reverse while expanding permits to long guns and assault weapons. context
- Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs), commonly known as red flag laws, allow courts to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed a danger to themselves or others. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Firearm owners
Firearm owners must obtain $100,000 in liability insurance, store firearms in locked containers, report lost or stolen firearms within 48 hours, and comply with new magazine and weapon restrictions.
County sheriffs
Sheriffs are responsible for issuing purchase permits, conducting background checks, transmitting prohibiting records to NICS within 48 hours, storing surrendered firearms under ERPOs, and maintaining destruction records.
State Treasurer
The State Treasurer must identify firearms manufacturers in public fund holdings and promptly divest all direct and indirect holdings.
Key Facts
- Requires a permit from the county sheriff and a 72-hour waiting period to purchase or receive an assault weapon or long gun, effective December 1, 2025.
- Prohibits the manufacture, sale, transfer, use, or possession of bump stocks and trigger cranks, punishable as a Class I felony.
- Mandates that firearms be stored in a locked container when not being carried or used, with violations constituting a Class A1 misdemeanor and subjecting violators to punitive damages.
- Requires any person who owns a firearm to obtain and continuously maintain at least $100,000 in firearm liability insurance by January 15, 2026.
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- Limits large-capacity ammunition magazines to 15 rounds for fixed/detachable magazines and 8 rounds for shotgun shells, prohibiting new sales or transfers.
- Repeals State preemption of local firearm regulations, allowing local governments to enact their own firearm rules.
- Requires the Department of Public Safety to develop and publish a roster of approved, non-unsafe handguns based on California's safety roster by January 1, 2026.
- Repeals 'Stand Your Ground' laws and codifies common law regarding the use of deadly force against intruders inside a residence.
- Prohibits leaving a firearm in an unattended motor vehicle unless the vehicle is locked and the firearm is secured with a safety device or in a locked container.
- Prohibits the sale or possession of ghost guns (firearms lacking a unique serial number engraved by a licensed manufacturer).
- Directs the State Treasurer to divest the public pension fund of direct and indirect holdings in firearms manufacturers.
- Authorizes the issuance of Extreme Risk Protection Orders (ERPOs) to temporarily restrict a person's access to firearms if they pose a danger to themselves or others.
Frequently Asked Questions
When do the permit and waiting period requirements for long guns and assault weapons take effect?
What is the insurance requirement for gun owners under HB 732?
Who can file a petition for an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO)?
Are there restrictions on ammunition magazine sizes?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
3 actions- Apr 3, 2025HouseRef To Com On Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House
- Apr 3, 2025HousePassed 1st Reading
- Apr 2, 2025HouseIntroducedFiled
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Show 12 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Reversal of Local Preemption
The bill repeals G.S. 14-409.40, effectively dismantling state preemption of local firearm regulations and allowing local municipalities to establish their own rules.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.ncleg.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance95How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy90Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz85Current news / social attention level
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