North Carolina

Enacted by President Joe Biden in June of 2022, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act is the first major federal gun safety bill passed in nearly 30 years. It’s already saving lives, by closing gun law loopholes, implementing new gun violence prevention policies, and making significant investments in school and community safety. As increasingly more Americans – and a vast majority of North Carolinians – support stricter gun laws, including expanded background checks, red flag laws, and more, the Biden Administration is delivering results to keep communities safe while still respecting American’ second amendment rights. In addition to making progress on gun safety, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act also strengthens protections for survivors of domestic violence, creates more community-based violence intervention programs, and increases funding for schools across the U.S. to implement new safety measures and elevate mental healthcare.

Under the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, North Carolina is set to receive millions of dollars to help the state drive various initiatives to improve safety and curb gun violence in communities across the Tar Heel State. Most notably, the state has already received $12 million to hire and train millions of counselors and mental healthcare professionals, expand behavioral health offerings within schools and via telehealth, and creating better classroom supports for students. On top of this, the state is also leveraging $6 million to spearhead community violence interventions that will curb gun violence at its root causes.

“We have school hardening, school counselors. We have treatments cores, veteran treatment cores, families cores, and all of these resources by themselves are important but when implemented together they are game changers," said Senator Thom Tillis who pushed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act through the Senate.