CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A hearing was held in U.S. District Court back in June, with three individuals and multiple gun owner advocacy groups asking for a preliminary injunction to require the sheriff to issue permits in a certain way. Sheriff Garry McFadden and the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office filed their own motion to dismiss.
WCNC Charlotte learned that part of the lawsuit is going to move forward.
However, the judge denied the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction because the three people who filed the complaint have since obtained their permits, therefore rendering the request moot.
Paul Valone, president of Grass Roots North Carolina, compared the sheriff's process of granting permits to a "whack-a-mole" game.
"He was delaying permits earlier by requiring extensive delays for fingerprinting. When we got an injunction to solve that problem, he shifted to another means of delay," Valone said. "And now he's basically flooding the Veterans Administration with mental health requests for people that never served in the military."
In North Carolina, in order to conceal carry a handgun, state law requires a person to get a concealed handgun permit first, which requires a mental health check. It is the sheriff's office that is responsible to determine whether the applicant can get that permit.
Valone told WCNC Charlotte reporter and anchor Jane Monreal, that Mecklenburg County is the state's only county to delay the process of permits.
The latest lawsuit was based on two constitutional grounds.
Valone explained, "One, that the statute that allows him to delay these concealed handgun permits is unconstitutional on its face, and also that it's unconstitutional as applied to the plaintiffs who are being denied their concealed handgun permits within the time allowed by state law."
State statute says in part, "Within 45 days of the receipt of the items listed from an applicant, and receipt of the required records concerning the mental health or capacity of the applicant, the sheriff shall either issue or deny the permit."
The judge denied the facial challenge, meaning the statute in the way it is written is constitutional. The defendant's motion to dismiss was granted.
Valone said it is disappointing but was pleased the judge is allowing the "as applied" challenge.
"At this point, we look forward to doing discovery and holding the sheriff accountable," Valone said.
The statute also says the sheriff is authorized to "conduct any investigation necessary to determine the qualification or competency of the person applying for the permit."
Valone said, "My impression is that they will basically query the sheriff on why he is doing some of the things he's doing."
The judge also dismissed the Mecklenburg County Sheriff's Office as a defendant, leaving only Sheriff Garry McFadden on the lawsuit moving forward.
After reaching out to the sheriff's office, a spokesperson replied saying, "The Sheriff will be standing by our policy not to speak on pending litigation."
Contact Jane Monreal at jmonreal@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.