RALEIGH — The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office has settled a lawsuit brought by gun rights groups and individual plaintiffs that alleged delays in processing concealed handgun permits.
The lawsuit, filed in November 2022, claimed that the sheriff’s office’s practices violated the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
The plaintiffs claimed Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden was abusing a loophole related to mental health checks for concealed handgun permits. The lawsuit filed by Grass Roots North Carolina (GRNC) noted that sheriffs in North Carolina’s 99 other counties were able to issue or deny all concealed handgun permit (CHP) applications within the statutory 45-day window while McFadden delayed CHP processing for more than a year by sending mental health records requests through the Veterans Administration.
The lawsuit was brought by individual CHP applicants and gun rights organizations such as GRNC, Gun Owners of America, Gun Owners Foundation and Rights Watch International.
Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), according to a press release, will pay $5,000 toward the plaintiffs’ attorneys’ fees. No damages will be paid to the plaintiffs.
Under the settlement, MCSO was ordered to issue or deny the permit within 45 days of review of relevant records.
“MCSO will inquire of each applicant whether the applicant has sought mental health treatment, require the applicant to list the provider, and issue or deny the permit within 45 days of review of any relevant records,” per the MCSO press release.
“It remains MCSO’s intention and Sheriff McFadden’s expectation that MCSO continue to comply with all statutory obligations related to concealed handgun permitting,” MCSO said in its release.
GRNC claimed victory in its release.
“At issue are what appear to be intentional delays in issuing concealed handgun permits (CHPs) by McFadden, who previously sent mental health record requests to the Veteran’s Administration for all permit applicants, regardless of whether they served in the military, flooding the VA with paperwork in order to create delays in permits,” the GRNC press release states.
GRNC also took issue with McFadden’s statement about inquiring about mental health treatment.
“Most amusing was McFadden’s statement that he will continue to ‘inquire of each applicant whether the applicant has sought mental health treatment,’” GRNC stated. “In truth, he is required to do so. In fact, it is a part of the CHP application form stipulated by the NC Administrative Office of the Courts.”
This is the second lawsuit GRNC and Gun Owners of America have filed against McFadden over permit delays.
The groups successfully sued McFadden over permit delays in 2021 and a 2022 ruling in that case ordered McFadden to process pistol purchase permits within the 14 days required by North Carolina law and concealed carry permit applications within the 45 days as required by state statute.
