Gun Owners of America v. Sheriff Garry McFadden – 21CVS12654 – Mecklenburg County, NC

In August of 2021 we filed a lawsuit in state court on behalf of Gun Owners of America and Grassroots NC against Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden for violating North Carolina law and the Constitution of North Carolina by not processing gun permits according to state law.

Outcome – We negotiated a consent judgment with Sheriff McFadden which ordered him to provide fingerprinting services for concealed carry permits during normal business hours, request any mental health records within ten days of receiving an application, and to issue permits within forty-five days of receiving an application and any mental health records. Sheriff McFadden was also required to pay nominal damages in the amount of $7.00.

Williams et al v. Sheriff Garry McFadden – 3:22-cv-630 – US District Court Western District of NC

In November of 2022, we again sued Sheriff McFadden on behalf of several residents of Mecklenburg County who suffered significant delays in the processing of their concealed carry permits or renewals. This time we sued in federal court, relying on the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which held “because any permitting scheme can be put toward abusive ends, we do not rule out constitutional challenges to shall-issue regimes where, for example, lengthy wait times in processing license applications or exorbitant fees deny ordinary citizens their right to public carry.” We believe that Sheriff McFadden’s administration of concealed carry permits violates the Second Amendment by creating significant wait times for initial applicants as well as renewals because, at the time we filed the lawsuit, the Mecklenburg County Sheriffs Office was taking in excess of one year to issue permits.

Outcome – Though this case is pending litigation, on March 6, 2024 Sheriff McFadden announced significant changes to the way that his office will process concealed carry permits moving forward. These changes were obviously made in response to our lawsuit. The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office will no longer send requests for mental health records to the Veterans Affairs Administration if an applicant indicates on their application that they have never served in the military.