Advocates and lawyers were trying to understand the impact of a state Superme Court decision, which found that a Garner man, who was convicted of a long-ago felony, had a right to own a gun.

The opinion applied only to Barney Britt, who was convicted of a drug crime in 1979, and it didn't have an immediate effect on the thousands of other felons in the state.

Criminal defense lawyers who practice in federal courts said they don't know what effect, if any, the opinion will have on federal rules, which prevent felons from buying and owning weapons except when a state has restored that right.

The ruling authored by Justice Edward Thomas Brady held that Britt should be able to own guns and that the state unfairly took away his right to own a firearm with a 2004 law that barred felons from owning firearms. Britt was convicted in 1979 of selling Quaalude pills, but he didn't have any further tangles with the law.

Though the opinion focused just on Britt's case, both sides of the gun control issue saw the ruling as significant because the state's highest court found that Britt had a right to bear arms that trumped the state's ability to restrict him from owning any weapons. (N&O)

* The 16-campus UNC system expects to eliminate about 900 administrative positions this year, an acknowledgement by university leaders of job growth gone wild.

Those 900 positions and other administrative costs could account for 75 percent or more of cuts that public university campuses will be asked to make this year as the system pares $171 million from its budget, UNC system officials say.

In cutting so heavily into administrative costs, UNC system President Erskine Bowles and others say they hope to protect academics. (N&O)

* All the clamor over health-care reform doesn't seem to bother freshman U.S. Rep. Larry Kissell.

"I remind people I taught high school," he said last week. "Loud and unruly people we call the fourth period."

But the Montgomery County Democrat is toeing a careful line on health care, balancing his own caution against the interests of his party and district just as he has on other issues during his first eight months in office. (Char-O)

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan voted in favor of an amendment to require states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued in other states.

But the amendment, offered by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, failed to get the 60-vote majority required under Senate rules. The amendment failed to pass on a 58-39 vote, reports Barb Barrett.

U.S. Sen. Richard Burr, a Winston-Salem Republican, also voted in favor of the amendment.

Hagan had told reporters this morning that she didn't know how she was going to vote on the amendment.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan declined to tell reporters this morning how she plans to vote on a concealed weapon amendment scheduled for a vote in less than 30 minutes in the Senate.

"We’re still looking at it,” she told reporters today in her weekly conference call, reports Barb Barrett. “That’s something we’re going to be working on as soon as I hang up this phone.”

The Thune Amendment, by Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, would require states to recognize concealed weapons permits issued in other states. Individual states have varying laws on who can carry concealed weapons.

Te amendment would be added to the 2010 defense authorization bill.

More after the jump.

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An earmark from three state Democrats would track gunshots in North Carolina cities.

Reps. Mike McIntyre of Lumberton, G.K. Butterfield of Wilson and Bob Etheridge of Lillington have all requested federal appropriations for the SpotShotter GLS system, which uses sensors on buildings and telephone poles to detect gunshots.

The data is then used by police to rapidly track down criminals.

McIntyre asked for $950,000 for the Wilmington Police Department to buy a system, while Butterfield and Etheridge sought a similar amount for Rocky Mount.

"Agencies using ShotSpotter systems have seen gunfire related violent crime rates fall by at least 30 percent, and have a more than a 50 percent increase in gunfire arrests," Etheridge wrote in his request.

McIntyre noted local problems with gunfire.

"In 2008, Wilmington Police responded to 1374 calls for shots fired, with a notably high volume in Houston Moore housing area and The Village at Greenfield apartments, which comprise the proposed ShotSpotter coverage area," he wrote.

How should you title a bill on a controversial subject?

One strategy: Don't mention it.

Consider the following bill titles, all of which neatly pull the trick of sounding either positive or innocuous while avoiding mentioning their raison d'être:

The Healthy Youth Act: Puts most students in comprehensive sex ed classes, with an option for abstinence-only at parents' discretion.

Personal Protection in Restaurants: Allows people with concealed weapons permits to bring handguns into restaurants and bars.

Conform State Law to Lawrence v. Texas: Gets rid of state statutes, since found unconstitutional, that prohibit gay sex.

Repeal Ban G.S. 95-99: Allows state government employees to join a union and collectively negotiate their contracts.

Defense of Marriage: Puts a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage in North Carolina up for a referendum.

Note the words "guns," "homosexuality," "sex education" or "unions" don't appear in any of the above, or any other bills filed this session, for that matter.

A bill would let magistrates carry guns into courthouses.

Rep. Pat Hurley, a Randolph County Republican, said she filed the bill to help magistrates, the lowest-level of judge in North Carolina.

Among other things, magistrates handle bail, often working late hours in rural areas.

"Some of them work in remote offices that are not staffed by bailiffs or law enforcement security," Hurley said. "They have been accosted by people who are intoxicated, emotional or agitated." 

She said the proposal would give magistrates the same permission given to other state judges in a 2007 bill.

That bill allowed District Court and Superior Court judges in North Carolina who have concealed handgun permits to bring guns into a courthouse. 

The N.C. Magistrates Association supports the bill. 

Roxane Kolar is concerned about several bills.

The executive director of North Carolinians Against Gun Violence said the advocacy group opposes bills that would allow concealed weapons in state parks and restaurants.

"Right now, most people visit state parks because it's a safe environment," she said. "While others may feel safer having their weapons in a state park, there's a lot of others who won't."

She said the group opposes allowing guns in restaurants because "guns and alcohol don't mix." Even though most people with concealed weapons permits are responsible, she said they may not stay that way after a few drinks.

In addition, Kolar said that exempting restaurants would "take away the rights of the business owner" to decide what they want.

On the other hand, she said that the group does not have a stance on two bills that would allow district attorneys to carry concealed weapons into courthouses.

"If D.A.'s feel as a whole that this would improve their safety, then we're not going to question that," she said. 

A bill would allow concealed weapons in restaurants.

Sen. Andrew Brock filed a bill last week that would allow North Carolinians with concealed weapons permits to take their guns into restaurants.

A companion bill was filed this week in the House. 

Under state law, it is a Class I misdemeanor to take "any gun, rifle or pistol" into any establishment that serves alcohol, unless you are the proprietor, police officer or on-duty military.

Brock said that criminals are more likely to target restaurants for robberies knowing that fewer patrons may be carrying a gun. He cited shootings in malls and at Virginia Tech.

"The reasons they have gunmen go into these areas is because they know the people there are defenseless," he said. "If they knew that people were armed or had a possibility of being armed, they wouldn't go in there."

A separate House bill would also allow concealed weapons in state parks. 

Brock, who plans to undergo training for a concealed weapons permit soon, said he would support that measure as well.

Some recent House bills of note:

H.B. 266: Use of Deadly Force/Public Web Site, Rep. Elmer Floyd

H.B. 269: Concealed Handgun Permit Valid in Parks, Reps. Mark Hilton, Justin Burr, George Cleveland and Jim Gulley

H.B. 270: Personal Protection in Restaurants, Reps. Hilton, Fred Steen, Burr and Cleveland

H.B. 275: Sex Offenders Can't be EMS Personnel, Reps. Carolyn Justus, Annie Mobley and Shirley Randleman