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On Wednesday, Jan. 29, the North Carolina General Assembly convened for the first time in 2025, and Representative Keith Kidwell (R-Beaufort, Dare, Hyde, Pamlico) wasted no time in filing three bills the same day. 

While House Bills (H.B.) 5 and 9 aim to relax gun laws in North Carolina, H.B. 7 aims to add a required history course for college students in the University of North Carolina higher education system. 

H.B. 5 

In March of 2023, the General Assembly passed legislation (Senate Bill 41) that allowed residents to purchase a handgun without obtaining a permit from their local sheriff’s office. The legislation passed following a veto override, a first since 2018, according to statewide news outlets. The bill ended required background checks for gun owners that were conducted by sheriffs’ offices. The bill allowed people to carry guns at religious services at places that also operated as schools in addition to starting a statewide initiative on firearm storage awareness. 

If passed, Kidwell’s H.B. 5 (also known as the NC Constitutional Carry Act) could make North Carolina the 30th constitutional carry state in the nation. This means, state law would not prohibit residents who can legally possess a firearm from carrying a handgun, openly or concealed. Therefore, a concealed carry permit would not be required for gun owners to obtain.  

“Right now, if you want to get a concealed carry permit…that requires you to take an education and training class. Part of that is because they want to be sure you understand where you can and cannot carry [concealed]…I argue that a permit to carry a firearm and pay for said permit infringes on your right,” Kidwell said. 

He bases his argument on two reasons. The first is that the process of getting a permit is “inconvenient” and “the fact that I have to show somebody that I have a document that proves the Second Amendment exists is ridiculous.” 

The second reason is that the price to obtain a permit in North Carolina may be prohibitive to some residents. The current cost of a new concealed carry permit is $90, cash. It costs $75, cash to renew a concealed carry permit. 

Kidwell’s reason for lowering the age at which a person could buy a handgun is that if a person can serve in the United States military starting at age 18, they should be able to purchase a handgun at age 18. 

On Tuesday, Jan. 4, North Carolina Senate Republicans filed a bill (S.B. 50) that would make North Carolina a Constitutional Carry state. The bill would still allow concealed carry permits to be issued for reciprocity with other states. 

“The General Assembly has made incredible strides to defend the Second Amendment rights of North Carolinians,” bill sponsors Sens. Danny Earl Britt (R-Robeson), Warren Daniel (R-Burke), and Eddie Settle (R-Wilkes) said in a joint statement. “There is still more we can do though. We need to join the majority of states and recognize that law-abiding citizens should be able to exercise their Second Amendment rights without getting permission from the government.”

Senator Bob Brinson (R-Beaufort, Craven, Lenoir) is a sponsor of S.B. 50. 

H.B. 9 

In H.B. 9, local governments would be prohibited from regulating, restricting or prohibiting a person or persons from discharging firearms when the firearms are used on or within private property with the permission of the owner of the land or property. In addition, “reasonable care” must be taken to prevent a bullet, or projectile, from crossing property lines. 

This bill is in response to an ordinance proposed in Pitt County to regulate firearms discharged in residential areas. According to Greenville news outlets, the ordinance would make it illegal to use firearms in unincorporated residential areas if the person shooting a gun is within 300 feet of a school, church, daycare, playground park, recreation area, residence, business or occupied structure. The ordinance would have also made it illegal to fire a gun across a piece of property without the property owner’s consent. 

Kidwell filed the bill as part of his “responsibility as an elected official to defend constitutional rights.” 

H.B. 7

Starting in the 2026-2027 academic year, students attending either a school in the University of North Carolina system or community may have to add an additional course to their schedules. That’s if H.B. 7 is passed by the General Assembly. 

H.B. 7 is also known as the NC REACH Act, or the North Carolina Reclaiming College Education on America’s Constitutional Heritage Act. 

In the NC REACH Act, Kidwell proposes that college students should be required to take three credit hours of either American History or Government in order to graduate with either a Baccalaureate or Associate’s Degree. 

The course(s) would cover major events in American history and government. Students would be required to read the U.S. Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, the Emancipation Proclamation, at least five essays of the Federalist Papers as determined by the instructor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham Jail, the Gettysburg Address and the North Carolina State Constitution. 

Kidwell explained that the U.S. Constitution, N.C. State Constitution, Declaration of Independence and Federalist papers are meant to teach students about the founding of America and the inner workings of how the American government operates. The Gettysburg Address, Emancipation Proclamation and Martin Luther King Jr. ‘s letter from Birmingham Jail are meant to teach students about America’s past and how people can learn from it in addition to examining race relations throughout the nation’s history, Kidwell said. 

Students are expected to discuss the authors’ perspectives and relevant contextual information related to each document. 

At the conclusion of the course(s), students would take a final exam that counted for at least 20% of their overall grade. 

The bill states that any chancellor who fails to comply with the bill for more than one academic year may be removed at the Board of Governors’ discretion. The same rule applies to community college presidents at the discretion of the State Board of Community Colleges. 

Though students learn about American history and civics in elementary, middle and high school, Kidwell believes the same students should take an in-depth course on history and civics in college along with the English, Science and Mathematics courses they complete to satisfy general education requirements. 

“The math you use every day; the English you use every day; the Constitution people tend to forget. I think it’s important to continue to drive that home,” Kidwell said. 

When asked how colleges have reacted to the proposed NC REACH Act, Kidwell said they “made it pretty clear that they were not thrilled about the idea.” 

“Yet the UNC system turned around after the REACH Act, I think probably to prevent me from trying to run it again and actually put some of this, but not as strict as a requirement, into their curriculum. So clearly they must have seen that I was right. I think it’s still at a point now that it needs to be codified,” Kidwell said. 

The Daily News asked Kidwell if there is a measurement by which lawmakers can use to determine if their bills will pass in both the House and Senate. 

Kidwell laughed then said, “there is no telling.” 

“You look at some bills and you think there is no way that’s ever going anywhere and the next thing you know, it’s running through and it passes in both chambers. There’s other stuff that you think should be a lay down and for some reason it dies,” he continued. “So you just don’t know, because literally it can take one speech in front of the wrong people or one lobbyist lobbying  somebody…”