In the wake of recent high-profile mass shootings in Raleigh and across the country, Governor Roy Cooper says now is the time for action on gun law reform.
The governor gave a keynote address at a conference on Thursday organized by a national bipartisan gun reform group called 97-Percent. The name refers to a 2018 Quinnipiac poll that 97-percent of American voters - including gun owners - support universal background checks.
“It's obvious and we've said this, the vast majority of people in North Carolina and the United States support reasonable steps to help keep guns from people who shouldn't have them," he said.
Proponents of tightened gun laws say they’ve had little success in the Republican-controlled state assembly, even after last month's mass shooting in Raleigh left five people dead and others wounded.
Cooper says he believes education is an important part of the solution, especially when a recent increase in gun sales means more inexperienced gun owners. He voiced support for a campaign to encourage North Carolinians to safely store firearms, which passed the House but stalled in the state Senate last year.