Amends GS 14-269 to allow district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and investigators employed by the office of a district attorney to carry a concealed weapon in the courtroom. Also adds that a person employed by the Department of Public Safety who is designated in writing by the Secretary of the Department of Public Safety and has a concealed handgun permit is exempt from the prohibition on carrying concealed handguns. Makes conforming changes to GS 14-415.27. Applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2015.

Amends GS 14-269.2, which prohibits weapons on campus or other educational property, to add that the statute does not apply when a person with a concealed handgun permit, or who is exempt from obtaining a permit: (1) has a handgun concealed on the person and the person remains in the locked vehicle and only unlocks the vehicle to allow the entrance or exit of another person or (2) is within a locked vehicle and removes the handgun from concealment only for the amount of time reasonably necessary to move the handgun from concealment on the person to a closed compartment or container within the vehicle or move the handgun from within a closed compartment or container within the vehicle to concealment on the person. Applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2015.

Amends GS 14-269.2 to add that it is an affirmative defense to prosecution for possessing or carrying, whether openly or concealed, any gun, rifle, pistol, or other firearm of any kind on educational property or to a curricular or extracurricular activity sponsored by a school, that the person was authorized to have a concealed handgun in a locked vehicle under the statute and removed the handgun from the vehicle only in response to a threatening situation in which deadly force was justified. Applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2015.

Amends GS 14-269.3, prohibiting carrying weapons into assemblies and establishments where alcoholic beverages are sold and consumed, to add that the statute does not apply to a person carrying a handgun on the premises of the State Fairgrounds during the State Fair if the person has a valid concealed handgun permit, or is exempt from obtaining a permit, provided the person does not ride or enter any amusement device.

Repeals GS 14-402, GS 14-403, GS 14-404, GS 14-405, and GS 14-407.1, thereby eliminating pistol permits. Makes conforming changes to GS 14-315. Applies to offenses committed on or after October 1, 2019.

Enacts new GS 14-409.41 to provide that when a chief law enforcement officer's certification is required by federal law or regulation for the transfer or making of a firearm, the chief law enforcement officer must, within 15 days of receipt of a request for certification, provide the certification if the applicant is not prohibited from receiving or possessing the firearm and is not the subject of a proceeding that could result in the applicant being prohibited from receiving or possessing the firearm. Requires written notification of any certification denial. Allows an applicant whose request for certification is denied to appeal the decision to the district court of the district in which the request for certification was made. Provides chief law enforcement officers and their employees who act in good faith with immunity from liability arising from any act or omission in making a certification. Effective July 1, 2015.

Enacts new GS 14-409.42. Prohibits a business, commercial enterprise, or employer from establishing, maintaining, or enforcing a policy or rule that prohibits or has the effect of prohibiting a person from transporting or storing any firearm or ammunition when the person has a valid concealed handgun permit, or is exempt from obtaining a permit, is otherwise in compliance with all other applicable laws and regulations, and the firearm or ammunition is in a closed compartment or container within the person's locked vehicle or in a locked container securely affixed to the person's vehicle. Provides a definition of motor vehicle to include any automobile, truck, minivan, sports utility vehicle, motorcycle, motor scooter, and any other vehicle required to be registered under GS Chapter 20. Provides that this prohibition does not apply to vehicles owned or leased by an employer and where transport or storage of a firearm is prohibited by state or federal law or regulation. Provides that a person who is injured or the survivors of a person killed as a violation of this section's prohibition on restricting the transportation or storage of a firearm and ammunition in a locked vehicle in a manner otherwise in compliance with state law may bring a civil action in the appropriate court against the employer, commercial enterprise, or business who committed or caused such a violation. Additionally provides for the right to bring a civil action to enjoin any employer, commercial enterprise, or business from violating this section. Provides remedies for an employee who is discharged in violation of a policy or rule controlling firearms that is prohibited by this section. Gives a business, commercial enterprise, employer, or property owner that allows persons to transport or store any firearm or ammunition under the statute complete immunity and prohibits these entities from being held liable in any civil action for damages, injuries, or death resulting from or arising out of another person's actions involving a firearm or ammunition transported or stored in accordance with the statute. Effective July 1, 2015.

Amends GS 14-409.46, sport shooting range protection, to no longer require the shooting range to be in existence at least three years before Article 53C became effective in order to be eligible for the protections under the statute. Amends GS 14-409.47 to provide that Article 53C, Sport Shooting Range Protection Act of 1997, does not prohibit a local government from regulating the location and construction of a sport shooting range after September 1, 1997 (was, after the effective date of the Article). Effective July 1, 2015, but does not apply to pending litigation.

Amends GS 14-415.4, Restoration of firearms rights, by amending the definition of the term firearm rights as it applies in the statute, to no longer exclude weapons defined in GS 14-409(a) (defining machine gun or submachine gun). Applies to restorations granted before, on, or after the date that the act becomes law. 

Amends GS 14-415.12 to require a sheriff to deny a concealed handgun permit to a person prohibited from possessing a firearm as a result of a conviction of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence. Also no longer requires the denial of a permit for a person committing a violation involving fireworks, and limits the prohibition on issuing a permit to a person who has been convicted of a misdemeanor under former GS 14-277.3 to those convictions that are within three years before the application date. Applies to permit applications submitted on or after July 1, 2015.

Enacts new GS 14-415.28, setting out requirements that must be met by signs prohibiting the carrying of a concealed handgun on any premises, including the location and content of the signs. Makes conforming changes. Effective July 1, 2015.

Amends GS 113-291.1 to allow hunting with short-barreled rifles. Applies to offenses committed on or after July 1, 2015.